1. In which type or types of societies do the benefits seem to outweigh the costs? Explain your answer, and cite social and economic reasons.
2. Is Gerhard Lenski right in classifying societies based on technological advances? What other criteria might be appropriate, based on what you have read?
3. Choose two of the three sociologists discussed here (Durkheim, Marx, Weber), and use their arguments to explain a current social event such as the Occupy movement. Do their theories hold up under modern scrutiny?
4. Think of the ways workers are alienated from the product and process of their jobs. How can these concepts be applied to students and their educations?