Theories - Marxism

Question 1

Marxism overview

Answer 1

Ruling class exploits labor of the subject class to gain profit - done through low wages, long hours or stopping the challenging of authority by threatning unemployment. R/c own the forces of production, factories etc, but subject class only have their labor.

Question 2

Classical Marxism

Answer 2

Methodology used to identify societies and developments through history. Marx & Engels - communism and socialism are scientific necessities not ideas.

Question 3

The base and superstructure

Answer 3

The base (means of production) determines the superstructure (everything not directly to do with production) & the ruling class have ideological control through the superstructure.

Question 4

Historical materialism

Answer 4

Provides individuals with food shelter & clothing.
used to show how change is driven by material objects & each period of history has its own unique set of characteristics. Industrialisation has introduced tools and machines to help expand production - emerging the owners of means of production and wage labourers.

Question 5

Societies through time

Answer 5

Ancient society - exploitation of slaves legally tied to their owners
Feudal society - based on the exploitation of serfs legally tied to land
Capitalist society - based on exploitation of free-wage labourers

Question 6

classical marxism evaluations - criticisms

Answer 6

• Less of a clear divide between the Bourgeois-Proletariat. in many developing nations there’s many middle class & many other classes now, only 6% of the population are wealthy elite individuals.
• Revolution hasn’t happened and probably won’t as people need to work to support their families/themselves etc.

Question 7

Neo-marxism

Answer 7

Adapt traditional marxism to make it apply to more modern perspectives and overcome criticisms.

Question 8

Humanistic Marxism - Gramsci

Answer 8

Socialism will occur when people become conscious of needing to overthrow capitalism - politcal action is encouraged and time is perfect for revolution.

Question 9

Hegemony

Answer 9

Process by which dominant culture maintains its dominant position. Do it through: coercion - army, police, prison
consent (hegemony) - ideas and values to persuade subordinate class that its rule is legitimate

Question 10

Hegemony achieved

Answer 10

Gramsci agrees with Marx that r/c maintain consent because they control institutions such as the media and the education system but will never truly be achieved because ruling class are a minority and proletariat have dual consciousness. Because it’s never truly achieved, chance for it to be undermined but dual consciousness stops this.

Question 11

dual consciousness

Answer 11

people receive a set of beliefs through general socialisation into a dominant culture but have another set of beliefs based on their own practical experiences of life.

Question 12

How can capitalism be overthrown

Answer 12

the working class have dual consciousness and can see through the ideology of the ruling class - aware of poverty & exploitations
revolution - proletariats need to form a group of organic intellectuals - people from same social class who are class conscious and are able to project an alternative vision of what society would look like under communism to form counter hegemony.

Question 13

Althusser criticism of humanistic marxism

Answer 13

Organic intellectuals forming ideas of overthrowing capitalism wont happen because all ideas are determined by capitalist structures and wont allow any ideas that threaten its existence to form.
Socialism will form with a capitalist collapse of the entire system

Question 14

Structural marxism

Answer 14

Structural approach - Althusser rejects Marx’s base & superstructure theory making up a capitalist society, instead exisitng on 3 different levels.

Question 15

Althusser’s 3 levels

Answer 15

Political level - through government & organisations
Economic level - the production of goods that satisfy needs
Ideological level - people’s view on themselves and the world (ideological state apparatus through media, education, religion)

Question 16

Althusser - repressive state apparatus

Answer 16

The physical and mental coercion into compliance done by the police, army, prison.

Question 17

Ideological state apparatus

Answer 17

The institutions that spread beorgieosie ideologies to ensure proletariat maintain false class consciousness. -family, media, education

Question 18

Althusser criticism

Answer 18

Humanistic marxists argue his theory discourages political activism and suggests theres little individuals can do to change society.

Question 19

overall marxist evaluations - positives

Answer 19

explains why there is such an uneven distribution of wealth and power between social classes and other problems/conflicts in society that arent explained by eg functionalists.

Question 20

overal marxist evaluations - criticisms

Answer 20

economic factors aren’t the whole reason for social inequality and other factors may contribute like race or religion.
Feminsts- gender produces more social inequality than social class.