Marxist View on Social Class Inequality

Question 1

What do traditional Marxists see modern societies as

Answer 1

Organised along capitalist lines. This means that the pursuit of profit by competing economic elites is the most important goal of these societies. They see capitalist social structure as divided into two inter-related parts: The Infrastructure and the superstructure

Question 2

What is the Infrastructure

Answer 2

The economic base (capitalism)

Question 3

What is the Superstructure

Answer 3

Families, education system, mass media, religion, political system

Question 4

What do traditional Marxists say

Answer 4

That the most important part of the capitalist social system is the infrastructure

Question 5

What did Marx claim about the infrastructure

Answer 5

That it is dominated by a wealthy and powerful minority - who own and control the means of production etc

Question 6

How do the people in the infrastructure make their wealth

Answer 6

They need labour-power provided by the proletariat

Question 7

What is the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat called

Answer 7

‘The social relations of production’

Question 8

What does Marx argue about the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

Answer 8

The relationship is unequal because the bourgeoisie set wage levels and control the organisation of the workplace

Question 9

What does Marx say about the wage paid

Answer 9

The wage paid to the worker is only a small fraction of the true value of their work - The difference between what they are actually worth and what they are paid becomes profit and is the main cause of inequalities in wealth and power

Question 10

What does Marx argue about the tolerance of the inequalities being produced

Answer 10

The exploration and inequality is tolerated by proletariat because of the superstructure.

Question 11

What does Marx say the function of the superstructure is

Answer 11

To transmit ruling-class ideology - ideas that originate with the bourgeoisie but which the majority of society are persuaded to accept as normal

Question 12

What is the function of ruling-class ideology and how is it transmitted

Answer 12

Transmitted by social institutions that make up the superstructure
It is to convince those lacking in wealth and power that capitalism is a fair system.

Question 13

As a result what do Marxists argue

Answer 13

That the working-class suffer from a false class consciousness - they are deliberately kept in a state of ignorance by the ruling class about the true cause of their problems, that is that the capitalist system benefits the wealthy

Question 14

What did Marx believe about the downfall of capitalism

Answer 14

Capitalism suffered from three contradictions:

• The gap between the rich and the poor would grow so wide you can’t ignore it anymore
• Control over the work by the bourgeoisie aimed at improving worker efficiency and driving up profit would result in alienation of the workers, they begin to question the value of it in their lives
• Capitalism was an unstable economic experienced periodic crises. Marx believed one day an economic crisis would be so big the whole system will come crashing down

Question 15

Who criticises traditional Marxists

Answer 15

neo-Marxists

Question 16

What do Neo-Marxists criticise traditional Marxists for

Answer 16

Being over-deterministic

Question 17

What do Marxists not acknowledge and also ignore

Answer 17

• They don’t acknowledge people are free to make their own choices or that people can experience the same social class situation in different ways
• They ignore other forms of inequality that originate from gender, ethnicity and age

Question 18

What have Marxists been criticised on about conformist workers

Answer 18

That they present an over-socialised picture of working-class people being turned into conformist workers and being duped into false class consciousness by the superstructures transmission of the ruling class ideology

Question 19

What do Neo-Marxists say about the false class consciousness socialisation

Answer 19

That this fails to consider that the working-class might actually be aware of class inequality but feel that the benefits of capitalism compensate for inequality.

Question 20

Define Conformist

Answer 20

A person who behaves according to social expectations, norms and laws

Question 21

What did Neo-Marxist Gramsci (1971) attempt to do

Answer 21

Modify Marx’s theory to respond to the criticisms

Question 22

What did Gramsci develop

Answer 22

The idea of ‘hegemony’ to explain why the Western working class had not become class-conscious and taken revolutionary action

Question 23

What does Hegemony refer to

Answer 23

The domination of culture by the capitalist class so that rule by constant rather than through force comes about

Question 24

What did Gramsci argue

Answer 24

Through the control of cultural institutions like the mass media, the capitalist ruling class had persuaded the working class that they could be trusted with the economy and so the working class had consented to the bourgeoisie exerting control over their lives

Question 25

What does Gramsci note about this hegemony and control never being fully complete

Answer 25

Many workers experience dual consciousness and see through the hegemony due to their daily experience of exploitation and inequality of the workplace. They are therefore aware of the injustices brought about by the capitalist system