ABSTRACT
The claim to a ‘super-theory’ of social sciences consists not only of being able to grasp all aspects of the social as a ‘grand theory’, but also to classify the explanatory approaches of other theories. Better than almost any other sociological theory, Marxism has a sophisticated understanding of the capitalist economy and is able to define the relationship between the economy and other social sectors by distinguishing between the economic ‘base’ and the ideological ‘superstructure’. For many social scientists, class situation may seem too blunt an explanation for the manner in which people think and what knowledge is evident to them. For a long time, however, the ‘critique concept’ of most social sciences was more narrowly defined than the critical understanding derived from the differentiation of sociology. The scientific appeal of systems theory is that, unlike Marxism, it is ‘impractical’ and ‘heretical’ for companies and trade unions, capital and work, economy and politics.
