The debate with Marxism presents the intellectual and practical background of the rise of sociology in the 19^thcentury. One of the most interesting points of this debate is about the degree of differentiation of the analytical categories that is needed to understand the basic mechanisms of society. On the one hand, there is the capacity and the need to reduce complexity required by every science if it wants to meet a level of generalization that permits social action. On the other side we need an analytical differentiation able to take into account the maximum of possible relevant elements for the understanding of the social.

This article sheds light on the relations between Marxism and sociological critique and shows how both have to learn from each other in order to be able to perform contemporary social critique.

The text defends the thesis of the “colonialization” of social differentiation by mechanisms stemming from capitalism. A perspective of liberation is presented that takes Marx as well as its critics seriously.