“An Army of Civil Servants”: M ax W eber and É mile D urkheim on Socialism

This paper is a comparison of the views of M ax W eber and É mile D urkheim on socialism; these two have yet to be compared on this topic. They offered shared critiques of socialism, but differed in assessment of its overall worth, with D urkheim being more welcoming. After considering possible explanations for this divergence I argue it reflects the contrasting methodologies adopted by both. Whilst W eber places questions of the “value” of socialism solely in the conscious of the individual, and therefore beyond sociology, D urkheim sees this as a social question and therefore part of the practical concerns of sociologists.