Question

In a series of interviews spanning four years, leftist social critic Noam Chomsky discusses how the concentration of wealth and power among a small elite has polarized American society and brought about the decline of the middle class. How would you describe these particular phenomenon with the concepts of Noam Chomsky with the big theorist of sociology Karl Marx (Conflict theory), Emile Durkheim (Functionalism Theory), Max Weber (Class, Power, & Status). Pick one theorist

Answer 1

The pioneer social critic Noam Chomsky discusses how the concentration of wealth and power among small elite has polarized American society and brought about the decline of the middle class. He maps the trajectory of America and how inequality has led to devastating outcomes due to this unchangeable history it possesses. What has been elaborately described is the 50 years of policies designed to favour the most wealthy individuals and groups at the expense of the majority and also looks back on his own life of activism and political participation. He spoke of class mobility whereby a person who is born poor is shown the American dream of being a hard worker and creating the desired opportunities for himself in order to achieve success. Today however, it has all collapsed and the power is centralised into the hands of a few who are controlling the taxpayers like never before.

Karl Marx’s conflict theory focuses on how the society is in a state of perpetual conflict due to competing for the limited (scarcely available) resources. It establishes that social order is maintained by domination and power rather than consensus and conformity. This is cognizant with what has been spoken of by Chomsky. This is true because Chomsky’s notion of power in the hands of few is closely associated with what Marx had to offer regarding the operation of the economy. Both iterated the same ideas in a different context. While Chomsky maps the history of the States in order to reach his conclusion, Marx had a more generalised view or universal outlook towards the functioning of societies and economies.