Essay Question 2:
The discussed authors presented accounts of how societies of the past differ from societies at the present. How do these theorists describe these differences between past and present and how do they explain the historical transition from the former to the
latter? What are the major advantages and disadvantages for society at large produced by this transition? What kind of changes for the future (from their point of view) do the authors either predict or propose?
The classical sociologists provided arguments on how individual(s) and society relate to each other. What role does individual action play in explaining society and social processes at large? What impact does society in turn have on the constitution of human beings as individuals? What kind of prospects for autonomy and/or self-realization do individuals have depending on the social context of which they are a part (i.e. as members of different classes, occupational groups, urban living conditions etc.)?