In this essay, I will cover Marxist, interactionist, and functionalist theories of society. I will examine their strengths and weaknesses. Using the three social theories, Marx's macro approach which is used to analyze society from the point of view of class conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the macro approach which Durkheim used to analyze social systems and large-scale populations and whose theory views individuals issues as reflecting larger social patterns and the micro approach of George Mead who focused on small-scale social interaction and whose theory interprets the behavior of individuals as meaningful and as a way of interpreting the way the world is socially constructed. Marxism was founded by Karl Marx and like functionalism, it is a structuralist theory; This is another macro approach that in some ways echoes the same views as functionalism in that Marxists view the structure of society as entirely responsible for how an individual's behavior is strongly influence. Unlike functionalists, Marxists do not view this as fair and believe that society contains vast inequalities that benefit the few rather than the many. It takes a macro approach to society and starts from the idea that societies are ordered because of the ability of powerful and influential groups to impose their ideas on the powerless. “Capital is dead labor which, like a vampire, lives only by sucking in living labor, and lives all the more the more work it sucks in” (Marx, Capital, p. 342). Karl Marx was very influential and there are many variations of his early work. For Marxism, class and economics are essential. Work is very important in this regard, because Marx says that all forms of social activity cannot take place without people taking care of it first... middle of paper ......the way which they focus so much on one individual can be seen as positive or negative. Works Cited Bryant, L. Functionalism. [online] Available: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/functionalism.htm [Accessed January 1, 2014]. Durkheim, E. (2012), The Division of Labor in Society, Eastford. Martino Fine Books. Foucault, M. (2003). Society must be defended, London. Penguin pressHaralambos, M. (2008) Haralambos and Holborn - Themes and Perspectives in Sociology 7th edition, London. Collins Educational. Marx, K. (1992) Capital: Volume 1: A Critique of Political Economy, London. Penguin ClassicsMerton, R. (2010) Sociology of Science and Sociology as a Science, Durham. Duke University PressStoler, A. (1995), Race and the Education of Desire: Foucault's “History of Sexuality” and the Colonial Order of Things. Durham. Duke University Press