Marxism

Question 1

how is Marx different to other positivists?

Answer 1

doesn’t advocate a distanced objectivity

Question 2

what did Marx believe about society?

Answer 2

had the potential to be a radically different place – free from exploitation, alienation and social inequality

Question 3

when did Marx enter adulthood?

Answer 3

during the early stages of industrialisation

Question 4

what is the economic base?

Answer 4

composed of the forces (means) of production and the relations of production

Question 5

what is the superstructure?

Answer 5

reflects and supports the economic base

Question 6

what are the forces of production?

Answer 6

raw materials, method of work and production

Question 7

what are the relations of production?

Answer 7

relations into which people are organised to carry out productive tasks

Question 8

how did Marx divide the history of societies? (4)

Answer 8

hunter gatherer
societies arranged around slavery
feudal society
capitalism

Question 9

how did he distinguish between the different modes of production?

Answer 9

Each society has a dominant class relationship and is based on a particular form of exploitation

Question 10

what happened in hunter gatherer societies?

Answer 10

no ownership of land, primarily egalitarian social relations

Question 11

what happened in societies arranged around slavery?

Answer 11

highly hierarchical due to relations of production, agriculture, cities begin to form

Question 12

what happened in feudal societies?

Answer 12

certain people who own land, peasants and surfs who exist on this land and give a percentage of what they own to the Lord, and in return get protection, rise of merchant class at the end which leads to capitalism

Question 13

what happens in capitalist societies?

Answer 13

marked by certain people owning the means of production and others not, proletariat have to save their labour to exist within the system, exploitation

Question 14

what are two examples about how the ideology of an era is defined by the economic base?

Answer 14

capitalism - licensing and legally enforcing private property including the means of production
feudal society - religion – the King is in his role due to God

Question 15

what do the bourgeoise own?

Answer 15

means of production

Question 16

what do the proletariat own?

Answer 16

their labour

Question 17

what is a commodity?

Answer 17

object with an exchange value

Question 18

what is an exchange value?

Answer 18

what could the object be traded for

Question 19

what is a use value?

Answer 19

related to what the individual can do with the good

Question 20

what is the labour theory of value?

Answer 20

the value of an object is related to how much labour goes in to creating it

Question 21

in what ways is a worker alienated?

Answer 21

• Alienation from product
• Alienation from work process itself
• Alienation from other humans
• Alienation from species being

Question 22

who did Hochschild focus on in the 1983 study?

Answer 22

individuals in hospitality whose job it was to appear happy and friendly

Question 23

what did Hochschild find?

Answer 23

• Mentally detach themselves from their own feelings
• Workers are becomes enstranged from their feelings
• Even human feelings have become commodified

Question 24

what is the aim of communism?

Answer 24

to create a form of production and organisation of society in which people can overcome alienation

Question 25

what do many refugees experience in the UK according to Vickers? (3)

Answer 25

destitution, periodic detention, and the constant psychological stress of threatened deportations

Question 26

why did the economic crisis happen?

Answer 26

endless extension of credit pursued by the most economically advanced capitalist countries

Question 27

how did the bailouts massively effect the working and middle classes of many countries?

Answer 27

money paid out by the state is clawed back through significant reductions in the public sector, including cutting essential services and redundancies for tens of thousands of state employees

Question 28

how did the economic crisis further destabilise the world?

Answer 28

the main imperialist states become more aggressive to advance their interests against their rivals, sometimes resorting to direct military action which displaces many individuals

Question 29

why are oppressed countries now used to increase international capital investment? (5)

Answer 29

freedom from environmental and planning controls, restrictions on union organisation, low wages, low health and safety standards, and lax controls on tax and repatriation of profits

Question 30

how is the international reserve army of labour used to oppress the domestic working class?

Answer 30

used as a bargaining power, to cushion employers against shocks

Question 31

how are the international reserve army of labour oppressed? (6)

Answer 31

a higher rate of exploitation and profit through systematic discrimination, denial of rights and harassment of ethnic minority labour including underpayment of wages, unauthorised deductions, non-compliance with health and safety, long working hours and overcrowded, unsafe or otherwise unsuitable housing

Question 32

why do migrant workers accept these conditions?

Answer 32

while the material conditions of life available to most in their countries of origin are even poorer

Question 33

how can it be seen that borders are marked by class and capital? (Barber and Lem)

Answer 33

capital can move freely, whilst immigration of those from oppressed nations is still heavily regulated

Question 34

how are refugees even divided by class? (Bloch)

Answer 34

often only those who have the resources who can flee to a rich imperialist country, and not another oppressed country nearby

Question 35

how are domestic workers oppressed?

Answer 35

A survey in 2002 found that two thirds of respondents had experienced physical abuse from their employers

Question 36

why are A8 workers preferred over other migrants? (Datta et al) (2)

Answer 36

for their 'whiteness' and on the understanding that they would be more likely to return to their country of origin than people who have travelled greater distances

Question 37

which countries make up A8?

Answer 37

``` Czech Republic. Estonia. Hungary. Latvia. Lithuania. Poland. Slovakia. Slovenia ```

Question 38

what percentage of requests by A8 workers for tax-funded, income-related benefits were refused by the government in the first quarter of 2010?

Answer 38

71%

Question 39

how are the migrant workers who work for supermarkets oppressed?

Answer 39

low prices and 'just in time' methods lead to dependency on gangmasters for food, work and board, together with threats and intimidation

Question 40

what number of nurses (out of 20,000) who joined the medical register in 2003- 2004 came from overseas?

Answer 40

15,000

Question 41

what percentage of those living on the street in London were estimated to be from Eastern and Central Europe in 2009?

Answer 41

20%