Theory - Marxism Flashcards
(24 cards)
What is the theory of materialism?
Marx argues that people work to meet their material needs (materialism) by using techniques and equipment (means of production) and cooperating with one another to organise production (social relations of production).
Outline Marx’s base superstructure theory.
the means and social relations together form the ‘mode of production’ or the economic base of society, all other institutions (the superstructure) are determined by and reinforce/maintain the base.
What is ‘primitive communism’?
Marx argues that, before the agricultural revolution and the concept of property, we exist in a classless communist society where all work and goods are shared equally.
What is a class society?
A class society is a society where one class owns the means of production, enabling them to exploit the labour of the other class, partly by controlling the ‘surplus value’ (the difference between what the actual worth of the labour and how mcuh workers are paid).
What are the class societies and how did they come about?
- Ancient society: slave v slaver: the agricultural revolution kept people in the same place, developing the idea of private property
- Feudal society: serf v lord: the use of physical slaves in war (the main source of slaves) ultimately meant that as slave societies began to lose, they lost their source of labour and had to turn to other sources as the use of peasant workers in war had destroyed the craftsmen class
- Capitalist society: proletariat v capitalist: the development of a merchant class seperate to the aristocracy and based purely on wealth, as well as the redevelopment of urban areas after the end of slave societies
What are the three distinct features of capitalism from previous class societies?
- The proletariat are legally free and seperated from the means of production, they still have to sell their labour in order to survive - only being paid the ‘cost of subsistence’ whilst the bourgeoise take the ‘surplus value’
- Due to competition between capitalists, the ownership of the means of prodution becomes more concentrated, with what would have been the craftsmen class pushed into the proletariat
- The concentration of ownership and the de-skilling of workers by new technologies produces class polarisation, where the proletariat and bourgeoisie ‘face each other as two warring camps’.
How do the bourgeoisie have ideological control?
The class that own the means of material production also control the means of mental production - they control all institutions that spread ideas so areable to spread a false consciousness that justifies inequality and their domination. However, Marx argues that workers develop a true ‘class consciousness’ over time as polarisation gets worse.
What does Marx see human nature as?
Human nature is our capacity to create; this is especially important as the lack of control over our labour in class society produces ‘alienation’ (seperation from our nature). This is at its peak under capitalism, where workers have a lack of control over the forces of and a highly specialised division of labour (reducing ‘creation’ down to a single, mindless repetition).
What is the state to Marx?
The state is part of the superstructure, he calls it ‘armed bodies of men’ that exist purely to protect and mainain the rule of the dominant class - this prohibits reform as the state itself is part of capitalism.
What are the goals of a communist revolution and Marx’s predictions?
A communist revolution (which will most likely happen in advanced, urban capitalist societies (specifically London)) will:
- Abolish the state and create a classless communist society.
- Abolish exploitation, replace private ownership with social ownership, and replace production for profit with production to satisfy human needs.
- End alienation as humans regain control of their labour and its products.
What are the criticisms of Marx’s view of class?
- He views class as the only meaningful inequality - Weber argues that that status and power differences can also be important inequalities, independently of class, such as in the USSR.
- His view of class is very simplistic, seeing only two - Weber sub-divides the w/c into the skilled and unskilled, as well as a m/c and the petty bourgeoisie
- Class polarisation has not occurred, with the m/c expanding, not shrinking, and the industrial w/c actually being the ones to shrink (at least in the West)
How is Marx’s base-superstructure model criticised?
Economic determinism: it ignores the role of free will and ideas in actively creating social change, seeing the ‘economic base’ as deciding all major institutions in society.
What is the globalisation criticism of Marx?
Marx’s idea of society was constructed in a pre-globalised world - he didn’t forsee things like the movement of industrial labour to developing countries, and how that would affect the development of class consciousness and revolution.
What are the ‘two Marxisms’?
Young Marx and old Marx held very different views of society:
- Humanistic Marxism: created by young Marx, belief in volunatrism and alienation
- Scientific Marxism; created by old marx, belief in determism and Marxism as a science
According to Gramsci, what are the two ways that the ruling class maintain control?
- Coercion: physically forcing the subordinated class to accept their domination
- Consent (hegemony): using ideas to persuade the subordinated class into believing that their rule is legitimate
According to Gramsci, why is the ruling class hegemony never complete?
- The ruling class are a minority so have to create a ‘power bloc’ to rule, making alliances with the m/c - forcing them to make ideological compromises
- The proletariat have a ‘dual consciousness’: the hegemony and their lived experience of capitalism, allowing them to partially ‘see through’ the dominant ideology
According to Gramsci, how will a revolution come about?
Given the incompleteness of hegemony, revolution is possible, especially during economic crisis lead the w/c to question the status quo - however, this will only happen if ‘organic intellectuals’ (class-conscious workers) are able to form a ‘counter-hegemonic bloc’ (an alternative moral ideological vision of society based on socialism).
What is the main criticism of Gramsci?
Gramsci over-emphasises the role of ideas and under-emphasises economic factors - class-conscious workers may tolerate capitalism because they feel they have no choice (such as due to fears of unemployment or state repression), not because they accept the moral leadership of the bourgeoisie.
What is Althusser’s model of society?
Capitalist society has three levels:
- The economic: all activities involving production to satisfy a need
- The political: all forms of organisation
- The ideological: all the ways people see themselves and the world
Althusser’s ‘structural determinism’ (Craib) argues, not that the economic determines everything else, but that each level has ‘relative autonomy’ from one another (being affected, but not determined), though there is a ‘two-way causality’ (each level affects eachother).
What are Althusser’s two types of state apparatus?
The state performs political and ideological functions for capitalism:
- The repressive state apparatus: ‘armed bodies of men’ (Marx) that coerce the working class into complying with the will of the bourgeoisie.
- The ideological state apparatus: the institutions that manipulate the public into viewing capitalism as legitimate and/or natural
How does Althusser criticise humanism?
Structuralist Marxists don’t believe in free will, Craib (1992) calling us puppets of unseen structures that determine all our thoughts; Althusser argues that idea of free will, or that we can create social change, are forms fo false consciousness that legitimises capitalism.
How does Althusser believe the revolution will come about?
‘Over-determination’: each level of society will increasingly contradict one another (liberal democracy says freedom, capitalism says no) until the collapse of the system as a whole.
What is the main criticism of Althusser?
Gouldner argues he discourages political activism, arguing that the downfall of capitalism will be the over-determinism and individuals will have little effect; Thompson (1978) argues that it is the w/c class struggle that can change society and accusses Althusser of elitism - expecting workers to blindly follow the communist party who ‘know best’.
What is Craib’s view of Althusser?
He says Althusser ‘offers the most sophisticated conception of social structure available in the social sciences’.
