Marxism Flashcards
(13 cards)
Marxist Perspective
Conflict between owners and workers
Private ownership of the means of production = inequality
Capitalism -> Communism (shared ownership)
Karl Marx
Capitalism Inequality
The cause of all inequalities is class conflict, over control of the means of production between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
Marx describes the relationship between the bourgeoisie and proletariat as unequal and exploitative
The owners of the businesses must create profit from the work of the poor, in order to maintain their power - this surplus profit is the main source of wealth for the owners
According to Marx this is the source of social inequality and poverty
Karl Marx
Labour Theory of Value & Surplus Value
The value of commodities is determined by the labour time to produce them
Workers are often paid less than the value they create (this surplus value goes to the bourgeoisie)
Capitalist economies run into trouble when workers can’t afford to buy the products they’re making
There are very few wealthy individuals and wealth is declining for everyone else (immiserised)
An economy cannot survive based on the spending power of a small number of rich people (evaluation of trickle down economics)
Karl Marx
False Consciousness & Inequality
Workers are indoctrinated into a false consciousness - they believe capitalism and inequality is fair and don’t realise they’re being exploited
If the profits generated through the means of production were shared equally, there would be enough for everyone to have a good standard of living
If workers understood this, they would not tolerate capitalism and work towards their own interests (communism)
Louis Althusser
Ideological and Repressive State Apparatus
Proletariat are in a state of false consciousness, they’re unaware of the exploitation of capitalism and their unequal relationship over the control of the means of production
Ideological state apparatus helps to maintain capitalist ideology and a false belief in meritocracy
These apparatus include the education, the media and religion
Westergaard & Resler
Competition & Power
The nature of capitalism; the division between the bourgeoisie and proletariat, and competition encourages inequality
There is a significant inequality in power distribution in capitalism
The bourgeoisie hold much of the power in capitalist society
This unequal distribution of power is the main cause of social inequality (weber supports this)
Karl Marx
Interrelationship between Proletariat and Bourgeoisie
Capitalism/Bourgeoisie:
-requires surplus value from the labour of the proletariat
-needs proletariat to spend money on the products of capitalism
Proletariat:
-need money from the bourgeoisie, to purchase the products produced by the means of production
Kincaid
Motivation & Unequal Rewards
Capitalism requires a highly motivated workforce
Those whose services are not required, get lower rewards than the workforce - if this was not the case, there’d be no incentive to work - this is a cause of significant inequality
Motivation is maintained through inequality in the rewards for work
Workers compete with each other for higher income and work harder to achieve
People with the lowest wages help to reduce demands for higher wages, as the workforce compare their incomes with the lowest wage jobs
Bourdieu
Cultural Capital & Habitus
Cultural capital:
-key source of inequality, connections, knowledge, influence power
-increase in cultural capital is an advantage
Habitus:
-expectations and standards
-proletariat have low expectations
Karl Marx
Inequality & Reserve Army of Labour
Capitalism goes through peaks and slumps - in times of peak, everyone has work, but in times of slumps, workers can be laid off
These groups within the working class form a reserve army of labour; these are mostly women, migrant workers and the poorest in society
This means that regular workers cannot demand high wages, as there is always someone very poor who will be willing to take their job - this is a key cause of inequality
David Byrne
New Reserve Army of Labour
- Globalisation has led to an increase in poverty and inequality, as capitalists move their businesses to less developed countries where wages are cheaper
- There have been restrictions on unions, preventing strikes for higher wages
- The benefit system forces people to work, regardless of how low the pay offered, enabling exploitation
These have led to a new reserve army of labour
Karl Marx
Lumpenproletariat
This group in society will never develop class consciousness
They are too ignorant and lack the willingness to develop class consciousness required to understand the exploitation they experience
This is paradoxical, as these are often the poorest in society, who would benefit most from the downfall of capitalism
Karl Marx
Model of Stratification, Class Conflict & Change
- A social system based on the production of goods, needs and satisfaction, complex division of labour (capitalism)
- A system of inequality based on the control of the means of production (bourgeoisie)
- Increased awareness of opposing class interests, increased class consciousness, understand surplus value
- Increased rates of class conflict
- Social change and revolutions, shared ownership of the means of production (communism)
