Your answer to this will depend in part on your own ideas, but I am happy to provide some thoughts to help get you started!

Although his ideas are still widely debated around the world, there is no denying that Karl Marx had a defining impact on the field of sociology. In fact, he is considered one of the founding theorists of the field. Marx developed the theory of historical materialism, which asserts that the material world, and all of the economic and social tension within it, shapes human development. This way of thinking allows sociologists to understand how our relationship to the means of production shapes how we think and behave.

Marx was also the theorist who put forth conflict theory. He looked at the materialistic society around him and saw that it functioned on inequality. The wealthy members were at the top, and they controlled the means of production. These powerful people exploited the workers at the bottom of the social structure. Marx argued that this strained relationship between social classes would eventually lead to revolution. Thanks to Marx, sociologists understand the importance of examining the causes and potential effects of social conflict. This is particularly important in today's age of global capitalism.

Contemporary society sometimes downplays Marx's defining role in the field of sociology because of his political and economic ideas. Many people perceive Marx as a radical, dangerous thinker because of the way his communist ideas changed the world. For instance, consider how Stalin adopted several Marxist ideas in his brutal rule of the Soviet Union. Often people look to such applications of communism and claim that Marx was a bad influence on the world. However, it is important to remember that all large-scale attempts to implement communism throughout history have incorporated elements of totalitarianism and oppression and thus do not accurately reflect all of Marx's ideas.