I am an optimist about society. I believe that people's beliefs, values, and ideals hold society together. I trust that people's decisions about society and the future will be based on rational thought, not tradition. People will develop the institutions that will be suited for the future. I call this idealism. Who am I?

A. Karl Marx

B. Émile Durkheim

C. Max Weber

D. Gerhard Lenski

The correct answer is letter A, Karl Marx. This man was such an optimist that these other three people over the years have critiqued or used his sociological studies for inspiration on their own forms of work.

Karl Marx had a strong belief that society will be shaped by collective consciousness and human nature. That man will always strive to find the best for himself within a growing and advancing population, and in doing so, man would greatly affect how society paces.