Marxist and Interaction theories: an exploration and application to the topic of work and employment.

Social theory provides social scientists a system of explanatory concepts that help explain the social world within which we live. The purpose of this article is to consider the world of work and employment using Marxist and Social Interactionist modes of explanation. The first half of the discussion relates to Marxist concepts relevant to work and employment which will be discussed and explained by citing empirical evidence of both sociological research and news events. The second part of the article will consider Social Interactionist theories. Again, the relevance of this theory will be related to world of work and employment. The third and concluding part of the article discusses the relative merits and failings of both theoretical schools of thought. Although considered diametrically opposite (i.e. Marxist macro theory versus Social Interaction micro theory), it will be argued that they are complimentary theories.