Sociology Optional Paper-I Section A by Smriti Rao

Model Answer

Question #1. Examine the Marxian theory of Alienation, and evaluate its relevance in contemporary society.

In his book titled ‘Das Kapital’, Karl Marx made an attempt to decipher the working of the society through economic determinism. According to the model, there lies an economic base which encapsulates the predominant mode of production in the society, such as agriculture, or industrialization. On top of this base, lies the Superstructure which refers to the other institutions in the society such as Religion, Family, Politics, and Socio-cultural institutions. It is thus the base that determines the functioning of the superstructure. Karl Marx examines a phenomenon called ‘Alienation’ which occurs when the Base undergoes change, such that the society arrives at the stage of Capitalist mode of production.

In his theory on historical materialism Marx explains that Capitalist mode of production represents a period in the society’s evolution that is characterized by extreme exploitation and subversion of stability. This period is marked by a phenomenon called ‘Alienation’. Alienation refers to a feeling of estrangement and disenchantment that leaves individuals in a group isolated and distanced.

There are 4 types of alienation:

1. Alienation from the product - The capitalist mode of production is marked by heavy mechanization which renders no control over the product for the worker. The end products are owned by the capitalists and thus the workers are alienated from the fruits of their labour.
2. Alienation from the process of production – Due to complex procedure of big industries, the workers find themselves as a cog in the wheel, no longer in possession of the process as the workers no longer work for themselves but for the capitalists.
3. Alienation from the group – Marked by long working hours with little scope for interaction, there is no room for worker solidarity. Workers become commodities that compete with each other to extract profits.
4. Alienation from own self – Over a period of time, the workers lose their creative outlet, become frustrated due to the mechanical work and limited interaction with others. This leads to alienation from the workers own human potential.

Alienation can thus be understood as a consequence of pathological division of labour, which reaches its peak in the capitalist mode of production. In the contemporary context, alienation can be seen to be on the rise, as newer modes of work appear:

Alienation from the process of production:
Scientific discovery has allowed Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Automation to change the nature of work, giving more credence to machinery than manual labour, thus deskilling of the labourforce.

Alienation from product:
Inventions such as Virtual Reality and Artificial reality distance the worker from product and creative process of production, as more and more social life and consumerism becomes virtual.

Alienation from workers
Furthermore, as companies switch to Work from Home option, the worker gets distanced from fellow workers, leading to a sense of disenchantment and withdrawal from the society. However, critics point out how it leads to greater flexibility and lifestyle choices, which allows greater scope for social interaction.

Alienation from Self
As the world moves towards polarization of job market based on important and unimportant skills, the phenomenon of disguised unemployment, where workers do not find sufficient and appropriate work, leads to meaninglessness. Additionally it leads to widening income gap. As more and more labour gets replaced with machinery, workers face alienation from work, process of production, product, and self.

According to Marx, the fallacy of alienation can be tackled through a measure of steps such as abolition of private property, trade unionism, and democratic control of means of production. Neo Marxists further analyze the need for policy framework, global dialogue, codified labour laws need to effectively tackle the problem of alienation. Hence division of labour, systematic inequalities and phenomenon of alienation continue to hold relevance in the contemporary context.

Question #2. Attaining complete objectivity is an elusive goal, however Value Relevance, can render a quality of scientific enquiry to sociological research. Comment.

-Define Positivist approach, Objectivity as its core.
-Critique complete objectivity, as observed by post positivism, interpretivism.
-Incorporate examples of sociological methodology.
-Differentiate between value neutrality and value relevance.

Sociology is a discipline that studies human societies and their interaction with social institutions. Early Sociologists such as August Comte and Emile Durkheim sought to build a scientific discipline based on the principles of Naturalism, characterized by objectivity, inductivism, and empiricism. This theoretical approach came to be known as Positivism. However, with time the scope of sociological study and methodology widened and even invited speculation as to whether Sociology is a Value Free Science.

Sociologists believed that social sciences cannot be studied along the lines of natural sciences since human beings are not objects governed by universal laws. Micro theory adopts interpretivist approach to uncover the meanings behind human behaviour, attitudes, and emotions. Interpretivism employs methodological strands such as phenomenology espoused by Alfred Schutz, ethnomethdology by Harold Garfinkle, and Symbolic Interactionism by George Herbet Mead.  

Bridging the gap between Positivism and Non Positivism, Max Weber elucidated upon the nature and scope of the methodology and subject matter of Sociology in his book on ‘Methods of Social Sciences’. Weber argued that it is the task of Sociology to understand the social action taken by the individuals which involved subjective understanding of the same as opposed to the Objectivity.

Weber stated that there are two types of values involved in sociological research, namely:

1) Researcher’s value- Which refers to the values that the researcher carries with himself. According to Weber, this needs to be controlled and maneuvered.
2) Researched’s Value- This needs to be taken into account.

William Whyte’s experience in studying the Italian criminals in the Street Corner Society, reveals the insufficiency of quantitative methodology. Whyte contended that formal methodology such as questionnaires and interviews which are known for ensuring objectivity barely scratched the surface. He employed ethnography and participant observation, and in the process found out that while the scientific process demands detachment, participant observation enables one to get a deeper insight into social reality and therefore explaining the relevance of ‘researched’s value’.

Similarly, Andre Beteille’s work on Tanjore village exemplifies the problem of attaining complete objectivity in the process of data accumulation.

According to Weber, the researcher cannot conduct research in a state of tabula rasa meaning blank slate; therefore he acknowledges that researcher’s subjective understanding will be a part of the research. Value neutrality refers to the idea that research must be conducted in normative fashion governed by the ethos of science such as objectivity and fact finding. Weber believed value neutrality is impossible to achieve, instead ‘Value Relevance’ takes precedence, which suggests that once the researcher chooses his area of study, he/she must ensure that they depart from all sorts of personal biases and prejudices.

To conclude, even though complete objectivity remains to be an elusive goal, Value relevance is an approach that the sociologists can take to ensure that research produces reliable and valid body of sociological knowledge.