intro - marxism Flashcards
What kind of theory is marxism?
a structural conflict theory that suggests that there is a class conflict in society
What is capitalism?
an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state
What is communism?
refers to an equal society, without social classes or class conflict, in which the means of production are the common property of all.
What kind of approach does marxism use?
a macro approach - looking at large-scale social processes, such as social stability and change
What is meant by the means of production?
the land, factories, raw materials, technology and labour necessary to produce society’s goods
What is meant by the relations of production?
the relations, such as shared ownership or private ownership between those involved in production; who controls production and the relationship between owners and non-owners, e.g. whether people are forced to work or are paid
What did Marx mean by the bourgeoisie?
a small, wealthy and powerful class of owners of the means of production
What did Marx mean by the proletariat?
a much larger, poorer class of non-owners = owned no means of production of their own and had no means of living other than to sell their labour/labour power to the bourgeoisie in exchange for a salary
What is class conflict?
the exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie created major differences in interest between the two classes which created conflict
What is false consciousness?
a failure by members of a social class to recognise their real interests and that they were being exploited
What is class consciousness?
an awareness in members of a social class of their real interests
What is meant by alienation?
workers are estranged from that which their labour produces
What is the dominant ideology?
the set of ideas and beliefs of the most powerful groups in society, which influences the rest of society
What is meant by a revolution?
joining together to act against the bourgeoisie through strikes, demonstrations and other forms of protest to overthrow the bourgeoisie.
What does Marx believe that the bourgeoisie control?
- the economic base = the means and relations of production which determine everything else in society
- the superstructure = society’s social institutions e.g. education, family and religion that are used to share the ideology of the ruling class + Marx saw them as primarily influenced by the economic system
What is meant by the surplus value?
workers produce more than what is needed for employers to pay their wages, the products are sold to consumers for more than they cost to make which results in a surplus profit for the business people = keeping the poor,poor and the rich, rich
What did Althusser come up with?
the ideological state apparatus = the institutions used by the state/ruling class to push their capitalist norms and values on the people
strengths of marxism:
- its a structuralist approach which links the major institutions
- emphasises the importance of the economy unlike functionalism
- tries to link the structural elements of society with the consciousness or thought of the individual - alienation
criticisms of marxism:
- functionalists = Marxism over-emphasises conflict, when there must be harmony and shared values for social order to be possible
- seen as economically deterministic, everything revolves around money
- has ignored the role of women/patriarchy in society
- countries that have implemented communism have become more capitalist and turned their backs on communism
- trade unions have led to law changes and better working conditions
