Sociology was born from the desire of human beings to understand our behavior. However, over the years the way humans behave and believe has been passed down from generation to generation; and was explained primarily in religious terms. The origins of sociology date back to the social movements of the late 18th century, such as the French Revolution of 1789 and the subsequent Industrial Revolution in Europe. (Giddens, 1997) The German thinker Karl Marx (1818-1883), wanted to understand and explain the changes that occurred in society at the time of the industrial revolution in Europe. (ibid) In 1843 Marx met Engels in Paris. It marked the beginning of a lifetime of friendship and professional collaboration. In 1848 Marx and Engels published “The Communist Manifesto”. The Manifesto outlined the struggles between the classes. Thereafter it became apparent that Marx was not an economist. His theories are a combination of economics, history, sociology and politics. Marx moved to London in 1849 where he spent the rest of his life. A social class can be defined as a large group of people who share similar economic resources. (Giddens, 1997) Communist Marx identifies two social classes: bourgeoisie and proletariat. “Marx believed that history was a series of class struggles between owners of capital (capitalists) and workers (proletariat)” (econlib.org, 2013). Marx states that the bourgeoisie cannot exist without the proletariat and vice versa. In the Manifesto Marx and Engels outline the evolution of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie “sprouted from the ruins of feudal society” (Marx and Engels, 1848). The bourgeoisie or capitalists are those who purchase and often exploit labor power to maximize their own surplus value. The b... middle of paper... Capital centralization refers to organizations holding sufficient capital to produce on a large scale. Larger scale manufacturing offers a clear advantage over smaller organizations. Therefore small suppliers end up going out of business or being absorbed by larger organisations. The limited availability of suppliers has created a monopolistic market. The biggest disadvantage of a monopolistic market is price. (Begg,2006) An example of centralization would be the six big energy companies in Great Britain. Unlike most European Union countries, energy companies in Great Britain are private. (James et al, 2013). Companies are free to charge whatever they want. Already high prices increased further by 8.6% in October this year. The companies' excuse is that the government could intervene with laws; making it difficult for them to raise prices. (ibid)