Analyzing Sociological Perspectives: Weber, Gates, and Durkheim on Society, COVID-19, and Modern Contracts

Identify An Area Of Social Life Where We Depend Upon "A Specially Trained Organization Of Officials." Identify An Area That Does Not Seem Dependent On An "Organization Of Officials."

Max Weber argues about society and law. He gives his argument on the elements of the European community, stating that "no country and no age has ever experienced, in the same sense as the modern Occident, the absolute and complete dependence of its whole existence ... on a specially trained organization of officials," (16). It implied how the European society had developed a well-structured administration protecting the rights of the citizens. Through these arguments, it offers an understanding of Max Weber's opinions on society and law. In social life, people depend on 'a, specially trained organization of officials'. Through this, it ensures that all people are offered equal rights and that the government is responsible for safeguarding all individuals' rights. It ascertains that laws in each society govern both the people from doing what is not required.

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Identify and Explain One or Two Important Features of Modern Law that Display Elements of What Weber Characterized as "Bureaucracy." Can You Identify Any Features of Modern Law That Are Not Bureaucratic In A Weberian Sense?

The author's modern law features are the hierarchy of the society, rules and regulations, and specialization and division of labor. For Bureaucracy, Weber presents that it might be developed to maintain societal rights and offer a genuine community system. Through this, he explains how rational-legal authority protects individuals' rights by maintaining and establishing procedures and forms that are just and reasonable. It is a feature that Weber is trying to refer to in the argument on how European communities have adopted a firm government structure. Additionally, European societies have moved from the central-eastern communities where they preach the older forms of popular justice had originated in conciliatory proceedings between kinship groups" (81). It shows how power is passed down from a family basis from the male to the one inheriting the power. The people who are in control are always staying in power and others. However, according to the author, he does not accept this government structure because of the social hierarchy. Bureaucracy does not have any social order since it is not abused compared to the eastern communities. Those individuals with power are there to implement the law and protect people's rights. The author's argument offers a declaration of citizens' and man's rights since Weber thinks that a firm administration that sustains the laws it has and safeguards the rights of the community shall survive because of the continuous social division among the lower classes and upper classes in the society. Because of the strong government structure, assists the author in explaining how disenchantment has created manifestation in this form of organization's subsistence.

Theorist

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought considerable impacts to the community in general, leading to many lives in the nation and the entire universe. Bill Gates, a conspiracy theorist, explained the effects the pandemic had affected the United States in terms of business, economy, and people's health. It was correct given the rate of unemployment of many people in the United States. Since the pandemic, many people lost their jobs and were forced to stay home without receiving any income, which significantly impacted many families. The pandemic also affected the students since many of them were forced to stay at home because of the whole nation's lockdown. Despite there still being businesses that were still in operation, many organizations were shut down because of their after-effects which resulted in significant losses. Additionally, Bill Gates feels that the country was never shut down at the exact time, which allowed the spread of the pandemic leading to many people dying and others infected by the disease. It was seen after the United States former president refused to shut down the country for reasons best known to him.

In Your Own Words, How Did Durkheim Understand the Social Basis of Modern Contractual Relations?

Durkheim implemented an evolutionary approach where he considered the community to have advanced from a traditional to a modern society by expanding and developing labor division. Durkheim also compared a community to an organism with various sections that operated to ensure that orderly and smooth operations were conducted in the community's evolution. I believe that Durkheim is recognized as a structural-functionalist since he considered the community as having structures that operate jointly, and through this approach function and structure are obtained. He also regarded society as composed of people; however, the community consists of people with their thoughts, actions, and behaviors; instead, it has existence and structures of its own, apart from those inside it.

Consequently, the community has structures that coerce, constrain, and influence people through social currents, common sentiments, social facts, and norms. All this stands to develop systems and institutions, which affect a person. Furthermore, he was more worried about the social order issue of how modern society embraces itself regarding how it is involved with several people, where each person acts autonomously or individually with different, distinct, and separate interests. Since structures and forces are not frequently appropriate in maintaining and producing social order due to social change like social development and labor division, there might be interruptions in a shared consciousness and social solidarity. Durkheim connects all the issues and develops a forced division of work, which consisted of slavery, and periods of rootlessness and confusion as to what he identified as 'anomie,' which he identified as among the causes of suicide people in the community.

Do You Agree With His Account? Why or Why Not?

I agree with Durkheim's account since his work concerning society and culture is still essential and relevant in modern society, and through this, many sociologists study culture. Another reason is that he was mainly interested in whatever kept the community jointly by focusing on the behaviors, beliefs, values, perspectives, and shared experiences, which permits individuals to believe that they are part of a particular group. Their shared interest should be to work together to maintain the group they are involved in. I believe that Durkheim is recognized as a structural-functionalist since he considered the community as having structures that operate jointly and through this approach function and structure are obtained Also, Durkheim's works were based on culture, and it left an impact on how sociologists perceive culture in the modern world. Through his contributions, people are making sense concerning whatever keeps them together as a group and assist in comprehending those factors, that divide human beings and the ways of dealing with those divisions.

Reference

Weber, M. (1991). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism/Max Weber.