THINKERS ON MODERNITY IN SOCIOLOGY

  1. Karl Marx connected modernity mainly with capitalism and production relations. According to Marx, the capitalist class wants to increase production to earn more profit. Under capitalism, almost everything can be turned into a commodity and sold in the market. Marx argued that things such as dance, drama, literature and religion can also be commercialized and sold.
  2. Weber considered rationality to be the major feature of modern society.
  3. Durkheim studied the effects of industrialization and urbanization on society. Durkheim believed that society is greater than the individual and strongly emphasized social cohesion. Although Durkheim valued social cohesion, he recognized that society constantly changes.
  4. Ferdinand  Tonnies
  5. Gemeinschaft refers to close-knit community life based on family, kinship and strong personal relationships.
  6. Gesellschaft describes modern urban society, where relationships become more impersonal and weaker because of industrialization and urbanization.
  7. George Simmel

Simmel saw modernity mainly through city life and the money economy. The city concentrates modernity, while money spreads modern ways of life throughout society.

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