Marx and Weber

Marx and Weber by Lotfi Sonar ... In the book Marx and Weber, Lotfi Sonar presents a new perspective on the contemporary stance as it appears in the works of Karl Marx and Max Weber towards the East, detailing how Marx and Weber's positions contained a degree of European superiority and centrism towards societies, religions, and cultures traditionally described as Eastern, including countless examples such as Russia, Islam, India, China, and Buddhism. Sonar's thesis is far from obvious; it is common to praise Marx in academic literature as the hero of the common class and the philosopher of alienation, but as a counter-model to that general perception, Sonar clarifies how Marx, in his writings on British imperialism in India, was sympathetic towards the British, not towards the oppressed Hindus; based on his view of the former as pioneers of a civilization that rightfully crushes the alleged Indian backwardness, superstitions, and heritage. Similarly, the prevalent perception of Weber today, through George Ritzer's McDonaldization of Society lens, is that he is the discoverer of rationality, efficiency, standardization, and predictability as modern Western achievements. The dark side of this perception is that it considers all cultures with non-Protestant roots as lacking these traits—irrational, inefficient, confused, and chaotic. As much as these ethnocentric attitudes in Marx and Weber's works are minimal; they have been overlooked in various ways. Despite the influence of both on contemporary sociological theorist Anthony Giddens, who viewed modernity as a monster—describing Western modernity as a tyranny—without challenging the Marxist assumption that its necessity involves crushing all non-Western cultures in its path.