Karl Marx and Max Weber, as well as their theories, share many similarities. Both were German sociologists whose work spanned decades and whose influence extended even further. Marx and Weber also had much to say about the modern world economy, both immersed in religion, and most importantly, each of these men tried to answer the question of how civilization got to where it is and where it would go from there. The central tenet of much of Marx's most prolific writing is work, and the power and relationships that flow from it. Marx believes that everyone acts for selfish and material reasons. Man only acts in his own interest. He works because he needs a salary to support himself and his family, not for any greater purpose. Capitalists exploit labor because it is the only way to compete in a capitalist market. It's not their fault, it's the system's fault. This is further supported by his ideas of the alienation of work. Marx defines it thus: The alienation of the worker in his product means not only that his labor becomes an object, an external existence, but that it exists outside of him, independently, as something foreign to him, and that he becomes a power of its own in front of him; this means that the life he has given to the object presents itself to him as something hostile and foreign. (Marx, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, 72) One of Marx's ideas is that workers are worth more effort and are happier; when they work for something they can call their own. In the past, a craftsman worked on a good from start to finish, it was the product of his own work. When the industrial revolution took off, everything changed; now the workers have only taken a small step in the process, they find themselves in the middle of paper ......wer and authority November 21, 2011. Conference.Marx, Karl. “Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844.” The Marx-Engels reader. Ed. Robert C. Tucker. 2nd. New York: WW, Norton & Company, 1978. 66-125. Print.Marx, Karl. “The coming upheaval.” The Marx-Engels reader. Ed. Robert C. Tucker. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1978. Olsen, Eric. “Weber Essay.” Essay. 2011. Document. Weber, Max. “Class, status, party.” Sociology essays. Trans. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. New York: Oxford University Press, 1946. 180-195. Print.-. The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Trans. Talcott Parsons. New York: Dover Publications, 1958. Print.Weber, Max. “The types of legitimate domination”. Weber, Max. The theory of social and economic organization. Ed. Talcott Parsons. Trans. AM Henderson and Talcott Parsons. New York: The Free Press, 1947. Print.