1. What ideas from Marx remain relevant to contemporary society and what ideas must be discarded in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Marxist societies of Eastern Europe? What might Weber have said about the last century of global history?
2. How optimistic or pessimistic are you? Do you think societies are getting better or worse? Why?
3. What are the characteristics of a rational social organization? In what ways has advancing rationality improved people’s lives? How has it made them worse? How would Weber have answered these questions?
4. What is Durkheim’s “anomie” all about? How can modern societies reduce the level of anomie? Can this be done without limiting people’s individual freedom?
5. Provide examples of the bonds of mechanical solidarity in today’s society. What about bonds of organic solidarity?