Karl Marx

Question 1

who also tied the development of the state to the division of labour?

Answer 1

durkheim

Question 2

Who said in Craib’s classical social theory that the forces of production are the abilities we possess to create wealth?

Answer 2

Mandel

Question 3

what did Marx believe human fulfilment consisted of?

Answer 3

developing peoples powers of social production - the development of culture, science, etc

Question 4

what did Marx `and Engels argue in the communist manifesto?

Answer 4

that the constant opposition of classes always ends in either a revolutionary reconstitution of society or the ruin of contending classes.

Question 5

marx doesn’t think class is solely defined by wealth but rises from…

Answer 5

..the production of relations - the way in which people live and relate to the way society produces goods.

Question 6

class is a relationship of exploitation, what are the two basic classes?

Answer 6

the owners of the means of production and the non-owners

Question 7

what is the key institution in capitalism?

Answer 7

the labour contract

Question 8

how are workers coerced by Gramscis hegemony?

Answer 8

………….. the majority of people aren’t class conscious and are persuaded by Althussers ideological apparatuses of the state (find out more)

Question 9

explain the distinction between feudalism and capitalism

Answer 9

Marx notes that in feudalism the king owns everything and there is a clear relationship where the peasants owe a share upwards while in capitalism exploitation is hidden.

Question 10

why is it, according to marx, that whatever is going on in the economy has repercussions for the rest of society?

Answer 10

changes in the economic foundation lead to the transformation of the whole superstructure

Question 11

what does Weber say about the state?

Answer 11

“the state is that which has a monopoly of legitimate violence” - legitimate power over citizens

Question 12

explain why marx thinks the state is a false universal

Answer 12

it is based on a set of social relations - it isn’t totally independent of society. power lies not in the state but in the social mechanisms of society

Question 13

what are the two factors of the state?

Answer 13

coercive power and welfare functions

Question 14

Humanity are alienated from the products of human labour, they don’t regard the exploitation that goes into creating products. What does this link to?

Answer 14

Williams’ concept of magic

Question 15

dominant class is no longer defined in terms of ownership of the means of production according to ………., this is marx’s definition, it is now defined by the control of the three means of domination which are..

Answer 15

miliband

• the means of production
• state administration and coercion
• means of communication and consent

Question 16

what are the tasks according to Miliband of critical social science?

Answer 16

• trace a social map of the different social classes and the divisions within those classes
• to demonstrate the structures and mechanisms of domination and exploitation between those classes

Question 17

why does Miliband think that it is possible to understand racism and sexism in terms of class?

Answer 17

• most discrimination e.g. by white male workers, is an expression of their class position and desire to enhance or maintain it
• violence and abuse is often an expression of the deep psychological injuries of class

Question 18

the forces of production and the social relations of productions form the infrastructure/ economic basis of society. the other aspects of society are know as what?

Answer 18

the superstructure, largely shaped by the infrastructure, so economics.

Question 19

marx maintained that societies contain basic contradictions what does this mean?

Answer 19

that they cannot survive forever in their existing form

these contradictions involve the exploitation of one social group by another

Question 20

who stated that the state and its activities was unalterable and why did marx reject this?

Answer 20

hegel
marx thought hegel ahad created an illusion that inequalities and human hardship were natural outcomes rather than resulting from social disadvantages and inequalities in society

Question 21

what did marx believe about peoples relation to reality?

Answer 21

that it was always filtered through the material ideas and conceptions we have of the world as well as out class position