Which thinker believed that sociologists could address problems such as education and poverty?

• A. Auguste Comte
• B. Karl Marx
• C. Emile Durkheim
• D. Harriet Martineau

Answer: (A)

This item centers on the idea that sociology should be put to work solving real-world problems by studying society scientifically. Auguste Comte is the figure who framed sociology as a positive science meant to uncover social laws and then use that knowledge to guide social reform. He argued that by systematically observing social life, sociologists could identify patterns and mechanisms that shape education, poverty, and other social issues, and that this insight should be applied to improve how society is organized. While other thinkers also engage with social problems in various ways—Marx through economic structures and class, Durkheim through how institutions function to maintain order, Martineau through advocating reform and applying sociological insights—Comte’s project centers on establishing sociology as a tool for practical social improvement, which makes him the best answer here.