In the history of anthropology and sociology, there have been many different social theories. Often these theories are influential for a time, then lose popularity once a new, more appealing theory is established. Marxism and functionalism are two examples of social theories that had a great impact in the anthropological and sociological fields, but which have since faded from the spotlight. Marxism was created by Karl Marx in the mid-1800s and was later adopted by other theorists, such as Marvin Harris. Marxism was built on the idea that there has been a continuous class struggle throughout human history and that it is this conflict between classes that will lead to social change and ultimately the birth of communism . Functionalism was introduced in the mid-1900s and was adopted by Émile Durkheim, EE Evans-Pritchard, Bronislaw Malinowski, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, and many other ethnographers. The fundamental notion of functionalism is that society is made up of many different but interdependent parts, each of which has a specific function and works together to maintain a society. The ethnographer often saw his or her job as uncovering the social order and structure present within society (Baert 1998). Although Marxism and functionalism developed in close temporal proximity and similarities can be drawn between the two theories, they are fundamentally opposed to each other. The main difference between the two theories is that, from a Marxist perspective, society is seen as constantly changing, whereas from a functionalist way of thinking, society appears to be relatively stable. Marx viewed society as dynamic, or "constantly changing", due to the recurring replacement of the ruling party... middle of paper ......the theories' strengths and weaknesses complement each other. Marxism is useful for explaining change, but it lacks the ability to account for stability. On the other hand, functionalism is favorable to explaining stability, but it is incapable of justifying change. Although the two theories are distinct from each other, they balance each other out. This suggests that when research is conducted in the field of anthropology and sociology, it would be beneficial for the researcher to incorporate both frameworks into their research in order to obtain the richest and most relevant information. In conclusion, rather than forgetting a theoretical framework, when the next more attractive framework is developed, it may be advantageous for the anthropologist or sociologist to incorporate the strong aspects of the previous theory into their new approach...