topic 6 - marxism

Marxism explanation

Marx saw capitalist society as clearly divided into two classes

• the bourgeoisie who own capital. This includes resources like land, means of production and money.

• The proletariat dint own capital. They sell labour power to bourgeoise

• Bourgeoisie exploit the labour off of workers to make profit

Wage exploitation

The bourgeoisie keep salary low to maximise profits. This is only possible as long as another worker is willingly replace the one who refuses to accept conditions

Marx’s ideas

Class consciousness

• according to Marx, capitalism lays the foundation of its own destruction

• For example - bringing the proletariat together in even larger numbers and driving down their wages.

Evaluation of Karl Marx

Problems with Marx - too simply

• one dimensional- he thinks it is the only source of inequality

• Two class groups are not enough

Max weber criticises Marx

• a class is a group of people who have similar life chances

There are 4 main types of classes:

1. Property owners

2. Petty bourgeoisie

3. The working class

4. Professionals (doctors, lawyer etc )

Gramsci

Is a humanistic Marxist

• he believed in class struggles

• He emphasised in the role of culture, ideology and social forces beyond the economy

• Gramsci believed the ruling class maintains its dominance over society in two ways:

Coercion - forcing somebody to expect rules

Consent (hegemony) to persuade acceptance of rules maintaining dominance via ideas and values

What are organic intellectuals

A body of workers, organised into a revolutionary political party, who are able to formulate a alternative vision of how society could run

Evaluation of Gramsci

• he under emphasises the role of coercion

• Worker might tolerate capitalism

• His ideas can be seen in Willis study who notice meritocracy is a myth

What is meant by a structural conflict theory?

A sociological perspective that views society as an arena of ongoing struggles between groups competing for limited resources like power, wealth and status. It is a macro level theory meaning it focuses on large scale social structures and institutions.

5 stages of society according to Marx

• primitive communism

• Slave society

• Feudalism

• Capitalism

• Socialism