Although the world is moving forward all the time. And as society undergoes constant change, with
new topics constantly entering the societal discourse, the role of sociology is rather constant
over time. In what way, then, has sociology spoken to us, and should it continue to speak to us
today? Sociology should primarily tell a story. Tell the story of all of us. Tell the story of
societies. And this regardless of our views and attitudes, our gender, race, age, education, social
status, or place of birth. It should tell the story of attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and
relationships. And it is based on individuals, which almost inevitably form groups and already
formed interest and power groups. Setting these stories in storylines that are grounded in time and
place.























When talking about sociology, several names come to mind, such as Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, Émile
Durkheim, Max Weber, to mention a few and perhaps, most notable alumni of the field. Auguste Comte
can be considered the first to baptise the discipline with a name—or at least to bring such name
under the spotlight—within the positivist paradigm; his idea, to apply the scientific method proper
of the natural sciences (e.g. biology, chemistry) to Society—which he interpreted as a single
element moving unidirectionally in time toward a common end—so to identify any hindrance preventing
its betterment (Sica, 2019) or the re-establishment of a social order which was disrupted by past
and contemporary changes (i.e. the French revolution, the scientific revolution, the industrial
revolution). Similarly, Émile Durkheim, under the influence of Comte’s positivist approach,
speculates a Society—which contrary to Comte’s vision does not entail a common end nor a shared
evolutionary progression—compounded by Social Facts which he defines as “ … manners of acting,
thinking and feeling external to the individual, which are invested with a coercive power by virtue
of which they exercise control over him.” (Durkheim, 2013, pp. 21), in other words, objective
elements of psychological nature, created by common mutual interaction, discoverable through
scientific inquiry. If Comte and Durkheim are prone to analyse the social order of things, the
German front takes conflict as a focal point for sociological elaboration, with Karl Marx and Max
Weber being historically the leading figures. Karl Marx sees the struggle of social classes—which
stems from the economic character of Society—as a central element of analysis. The social
structures (e.g. law and politics) entailed in a specific Society are necessarily affected by its
economic nature (McLellan, 2009). Expanding on Marx’s ideas, Max Weber identifies other factors,
besides the economic one, at the basis of the differentiation of social structure (Allen, 2004).