marxism

Question 1

sociologists for media

Answer 1

Marsh and Keating
Marcuse
Miliband

Question 2

sociologists for education

Answer 2

Althusser

Bowles and Gintis

Question 3

sociologist for family

Answer 3

Zaretksy

Question 4

What did Althusser argue about institutions

Answer 4

Institutions are a form of ideological state apparatus to socialise the working class into accepting inequality

Question 5

What did Althusser argue about education

Answer 5

Role of education is dominated by the hidden curriculum - taught informally - teaches the ruling class ideology to encourage acceptance of capitalism

Question 6

How would functionalists evaluate the role of the education system

Answer 6

They would disagree with marxist views

they believe that education socialises all individuals into a common culture based on a value consensus

Question 7

marxist argument for education

Answer 7

education socialises students into an uncritical acceptance of hierarchy, obedience and failure

working class taught to see failure as their own fault rather than the result of processes that benefit the ruling classes as they require a workforce

Question 8

How would interactionists evaluate education

Answer 8

Dennis Wrong

socialisation is not passive but a negotiated process where the individual actively engages in the process

Neo-marxists also agree - Willis ‘The Lads’ study highlights the rebelling of the capitalist ideology in education and created an anti-school subculture

Question 9

How would radical feminists evaluate education

Answer 9

socialisation process is not legitimating and reinforcing class inequalities but reinforce patriarchal oppression

such as - hidden curriculum, school uniform, language differences from teaches, subject choice

Question 10

Economic base

Answer 10

Marx

Determines everything in society
Consists of -
means of production
relations of production
relationship between owners and workers

Question 11

Superstructure

Answer 11

Marx

The superstructure is shaped by the economic base of society (infrastructure)
Holds the institutions, such as education system, media ect that pass down the dominant ideology of the ruling class

Question 12

Ideological State apparatus

Answer 12

Althusser

Institutions such as education system that transmit a ruling class ideology to the working class

Question 13

How would interactionists evaluate the superstructure

Answer 13

argue that Marxists ignore the freedom of choice that people have creating their identity

people ‘choose’ rather than being ‘brainwashed’

Question 14

How would functionalists evaluate the superstructure

Answer 14

do believe that society can be understood in terms of a structural approach, but they do not agree with Marxism that this structure is based on a class conflict but rather a value consensus

Question 15

How would Max Weber evaluate the superstructure

Answer 15

the model neglects the role of ‘ideas’

for example, he argues that it was the emergence of a new set of ideas, those of Calvinistic Protestantism which helped to bring modern capitalism into being

Question 16

How did Marx argue for class conflict

Answer 16

The ruling class own the means of production which puts them in a position of power to exploit the working class by making profit

Question 17

Surplus value

Answer 17

The difference between what it costs to produce a good and what that product is sold for is known as surplus value and goes to the employer by means of profit

Question 18

How would radical feminists evaluate class conflict

Answer 18

the main conflict in society is not between class, but between gender with men systemically exploiting women for their own benefit through patriarchy

Question 19

How would marxist feminists evaluate class conflict

Answer 19

believe in the principles of the marxist argument, but see the working class as women in society, being exploited at the hand of men

Question 20

What does Marcuse argue?

Answer 20

‘false needs’ are created through the media so that we buy material goods as these are seen as ‘making us happy’

popular culture such as TV and advertising has had a negative effect on culture because it creates these false needs

Question 21

how is false class consciousness created through the media

Answer 21

soaps deflect the attention of exploitation away from the working class and re-directs their attention to the issues within the programme

Question 22

how do marxists argue that socialisation is an ideological process

Answer 22

the aims of it are transmitting ruling class ideas that society is meritocratic - myth of meritocracy

Question 23

how would neo-marxists evaluate ideology and socialisation

Answer 23

argue that not all working class are passively indoctrinated into the dominant ideology and some can demonstrate a resistance by rebelling through creating oppositional subcultures seen in Willis’s study

Question 24

how would radical feminists evaluate ideology and socialisation

Answer 24

they believe that socialisation of the dominant ideology can be a form of indoctrination but this is an indoctrination into patriarchal ideology rather than capitalist ideology

Question 25

How do marxists criticise functionalist views on the family

Answer 25

they do not agree that children are socialised into shared cultural norms and values which will ultimately benefit all of society as a whole argue that socialisation benefits the interests of the ruling class

Question 26

what does Zaretksy argue

Answer 26

family instils capitalist values such as obedience, respect for authority - allows for the ruling class to maintain dominance ensures the individual can be exploited later in life but won’t understand that they are being exploited

Question 27

what does the capitalist values in family lead to

Answer 27

it reduces conflict, increases conformity which therefore means that exploitation can occur unchallenged

Question 28

how would functionalists evaluate the role of the family

Answer 28

Parsons - disagrees that the family passes down a capitalist ideology, thus reinforcing a class-based conflict argued that the family actually builds solidarity

Question 29

how would radical feminists evaluate the role of the family

Answer 29

the main ideology being socialised within the family is not capitalist values, but actually patriarchal values

Question 30

how would interactionism evaluate the role of the family

Answer 30

the individuals are not ‘passive’ victims of socialisation, but ‘active’ in the process of socialisation

Question 31

how would postmodernists evaluate the role of the family

Answer 31

argue that there is a choice within the family in terms of socialisation - we can teach non-capitalist values if we want argue that Marxism ignore the wide and increasing variety of family structures that exist in the contemporary UK

Question 32

What does Althusser argue

Answer 32

the role of education as an agent of socialisation is dominated by the hidden curriculum this is taught informally to students the ruling class ideology is taught through the hidden curriculum - acceptance of the capitalist system and conformity students are not provided with educational knowledge that challenges the existence of capitalism

Question 33

what do marxists argue about the role of the education system

Answer 33

education socialises students into an uncritical acceptance of hierarchy, obedience and failure the working class - taught to see failure as their own fault rather than seeing it as the result of certain processes that benefit the ruling classes as they require an unskilled, uneducated manual labour force

Question 34

how would functionalists evaluate the role of the education system

Answer 34

disagree with the marxist views that education socialises the working class into accepting social inequalities and argue that it actually socialises all individuals into a common culture based on a value consensus

Question 35

how would interactionists evaluate the role of the education system

Answer 35

Dennis Wrong socialisation through the education system is not ‘passive’ but a negotiated process whereby the individual actively engages in the process Neo-marxists agree with this - Willis study highlights the rebelling of the capitalist ideology in education and created an anti-school subculture

Question 36

how would radical feminists evaluate the role of the education system

Answer 36

socialisation process in education is not legitimating and reinforcing class inequalities but reinforce patriarchal oppression sites of oppression - hidden curriculum, school uniform, language differences from teachers, subject choices

Question 37

what does Miliband argue

Answer 37

the ruling class use the media to transmit the dominant ideology to the working class creates a harmful mass culture we learn out class identities through the media the media is the new ‘opium of the people’

Question 38

What does Marsh and Keating argue

Answer 38

popular culture is a false culture devised and packaged by capitalism to keep the masses content

Question 39

what does marxists argue about the role of the media

Answer 39

we are socialised by the media into not being able to think for ourselves critical thought is not encouraged by the media which has undergone a process of ‘dumbing down’ - Barnett whereby we are socialised into not being able to think for ourselves

Question 40

how would feminists evaluate the role of the media

Answer 40

criticise marxists for focusing exclusively on class and capitalist ideology, thereby failing to account for gender stereotypes that are transmitted through the media

Question 41

how would interactionists evaluate the role of the media

Answer 41

action based active audience model sees the audience as not passively consuming media, but actively selecting what they want to take from the messages in the media and even being critical of them

Question 42

Neo-marxist views on culture

Answer 42

Gramsci - suggested that individuals in a capitalist society possessed a ‘dual consciousness’ saw the world through the ideology of the ruling class but also through their everyday experience of low wages, poor working conditions and their own exploitation - helped them see through ideology and realise society is not fair ruling class never have control over the ideology they promote as it will be challenged by some members of the working class argue that not everyone will obey the ruling class ideology and there may be differences in the values and beliefs of those from different social classes