Ralf Dahrendorf - Relationship To Other Classical Theorists, and Perspectives

Relationship To Other Classical Theorists, and Perspectives

Unlike many of the other works published by social theorists in the 1950s, Dahrendorf’s work acknowledges the same class interests that worried Marx . Like Marx, Dahrendorf agreed that conflict is still a basic fact of social life. Dahrendorf believed that class conflict could have beneficial consequences for society, such as progressive change. Dahrendorf is recognized for being one of the best departures from the structural functionalist tradition of the 1950s. Dahrendorf criticized and wanted to challenge the “false, utopian representation of societal harmony, stability, and consensus by the structural functionalist school.” Nevertheless, Dahrendorf still shares key ideas with structural functionalists, such as a general faith in the efficacy of political and economic institutions. Like Weber, Dahrendorf criticizes Marx’s view that the working class will ultimately become a homogeneous group of unskilled machine operators. Dahrendorf points out that in postcapitalist society there are elaborate distinctions regarding income, prestige, skill level, and life chances. Dahrendorf’s pluralist view of class and power structures and belief that hierarchies of authority are inevitable in modern societies also reflect Weberian ideas.

Read more about this topic:  Ralf Dahrendorf

Famous quotes containing the words relationship and/or classical:

    We must introduce a new balance in the relationship between the individual and the government—a balance that favors greater individual freedom and self-reliance.
    Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)

    Culture is a sham if it is only a sort of Gothic front put on an iron building—like Tower Bridge—or a classical front put on a steel frame—like the Daily Telegraph building in Fleet Street. Culture, if it is to be a real thing and a holy thing, must be the product of what we actually do for a living—not something added, like sugar on a pill.
    Eric Gill (1882–1940)