ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the key sociological elements of his work and the work of his followers which have most keenly influenced writers on social administration. Karl Marx is one of the great figures of nineteenth-century scholarship whose work spans most of the separate social science disciplines. The final theme, the totality of history, draws the rest together. The essence of this idea is again reflected in Hegel's work, in the doctrine of historical materialism to be discussed more fully shortly. Surplus value is used by the owners of the means of production partly to maintain themselves and to maintain the mechanisms of the state that protect their interests. The capitalist system, resulting in the alienation of workers, is seen to be rooted in class relationships which are characterised by a conflict of interests. Structural marxism has its origins in the work of Louis Althusser and some modern anthropological thought. Critical theory focuses attention on the shaping power of ideology.
