The Current State of America : Vol 1

21st Century Sociology : The Current State of America

Vol 1

Recently, sociological theorists such as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Erving Goffman, as well as Max Weber, all have revamped my view of the current state of America. The question I believe most Americans ask is this, "where did the current state of America originate from." While digging deep into the informative research of the previous theorists I've mentioned, the reasons why we are where we are today are plentiful. As Max Weber famously created the concept of formal rationalization taking over America, American's and other capitalist countries around the world have developed a "means to end" mindset. This mindset of course does not consider our core values as individuals, it however solely realizes on the individuals possibility of success in the economic world. Weber also explains formal rationalization will lead to disenchantment, which is the loss of the mystery and wonder of the world. Previous to Webers theory of disenchantment, Karl Marx stated that working class would rise and lead the fight to a revolt against the capitalist. Similarly to Weber, Marx explains the worker experiences the loss of the individual, as well as the loss of lust for life it's self. Alienation is also a major part of Marx's theory, this explaining that the individual will become machine like, and will become foreign to the objects that he or she is created on a daily basis. The work pours his soul in to the commodity he is creating for a living, and has no real personal touch nor opinion on how the commodity is made. The capitalist owner never sees the mode of production, nor even attempts to create the commodity he makes millions of dollars on. The worker created the product, however does not own the product. The only possession of a worker is their ability to work.

In the 21st century, a Wal-Mart employee, most likely can only afford to shop in the Wal-Mart he or she works in. This is because the capitalist owner decides the wages of the worker, however the worker does not complain of the wage very much, because of their need of the job for survival. The Wal-Mart employee could care less about the product he or she is selling, maintaing, or advertising. This is simply because of alienation. Alienation allows the capitalist system to maintain its self, while the capitalist attempts to push the worker to strive for excellence by possibly giving them a 10 cent raise. The Wal-Mart theory, is a excellent example of the Current State of America, and possibly the reason for people to ponder upon the question, as well as taking action to confront these pressing issues in our society. Therefore, the theory of formal rationalization has taken over society, and has maintained its dominance in the 21st century.