Marxism Flashcards
Marxism in society…
Marx argued that at the heart of capitalism was a class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. He argued the bourgeoisie owned the means of production (the factories, etc.) and employed the workers exploitatively. By paying their workers less than the value of their labour (work) they are able to extract surplus value (profits) which is the engine of capitalism.
Marxists argue that the proletariat are persuaded to accept this situation through a combination of coercion and ideology (the latter causing false class consciousness). Marx was a communist and believed that the proletariat should have a revolution and overthrow capitalism. While most Marxists share that view, some (particular neo-Marxists) share the critique of capitalism and the analysis of class relationships without necessarily sharing the political objectives.
False class consciousness…
This is a term brought by Althusser and it argues that the proletariat are unable to see their true state.
This inability to consider your own state causes the revolution to effectively be impossible. Marx quotes the revolution will happen when “all that is solid melts into air”.
4 key functions of the education system…
1) Forming a crucial part of the ideological state apparatus (ISA)
2) Producing a complaint and obedient work force
3) Reproduce class inequality
4) Myth of meritocracy (legitimisation)
Althusser - Ideological State Apparatus
Althusser argued that the state consists of two apparatuses which keep the bourgeoisie in power:
Repressive state apparatuses which maintain the rule of bourgeoisie by force such as police, army and courts.
The ideological state apparatuses - maintain the role of bourgeoisie by controlling people’s ideas, values and beliefs i.e. religion, media and education.
Education, reproduces class inequality by transmitting ideas from generation to generation and failing the working class deliberately.
Bowles and Gintis - Compliant Workforce
Education also legitimates class inequalities by reproducing ideas that disguise the truth. Bowles and Gintis develop these ideas further and suggest capitalism requires a workforce with the behaviour and personality suited to their role as exploited hard workers who accept low pay. The role of education is to produce an obedient workforce that accepts inequality as inevitable.
They looked at 237 high school students and found that schools reward submissive, compliant workers and punished defiant behaviour. However Bowles and Gintis used questionnaires which are subject to social desirability bias, in addition all they found was correlation between obedience and rewards, correlations can not establish cause and effect due to intervening variables.
Correspondence Principle
Bowles and Gintis argue there are parallels between school and work in capitalist society as they both have hierarchies, and pupils or workers are always at the bottom.
This is what they refer to as the correspondence principle– that school mirrors the structures found at work. The correspondence principle works through the hidden curriculum, these are the lessons taught indirectly in school e.g. competition, accepting authority, mindless obedience etc. In this way schools prepare working class pupils for their role as exploited workers.
Gramsci - concept of hegemony…
Gramsci rejected economic determinism as an explanation of social change: the transition from capitalism to communism will never come about simply as a result of economic forces. Even though factors such as mass unemployment and falling wages may create the preconditions for revolution, ideas play a central role in determining whether or not change will actually occur.
This can be seen in Gramsci’s concept of hegemony. Gramsci saw the ruling class maintaining its power over society in two ways:
> Coercion – it uses the army, police, prison and courts to force other classes to accept its rule.
> Consent (hegemony) – it uses ideas and values to persuade the subordinate classes that its rule is legitimate.
Gramsci - hegemony for the ruling class…
In advanced Capitalist societies, the ruling class rely heavily on consent to maintain their rule. Gramsci agrees with Marx that they are able to maintain consent because they control institutions such as religion, the media and the education system. However, according to Gramsci, the hegemony of the ruling class is never complete, for two reasons:
> The ruling class are a minority – and as such they need to make ideological compromises with the middle classes in order to maintain power.
> The proletariat have dual consciousness. Their ideas are influenced not only by bourgeois ideology but also by the material conditions of their life – in short, they are aware of their exploitation and are capable or seeing through the dominant ideology.
Myth of Meritocracy
Bowles and Gintis see the education system as a myth making machine that promotes this myth of meritocracy, that everyone is equal and can achieve but really it simply reproduces class and racial inequalities. Evidence suggests that income is determined by family class and background more so than educational achievement.
Willis looked at the way schooling serves capitalism. He used an interactionist approach that focuses on the meanings pupils give to their situation and how this can lead to resisting indoctrination.
Reproducing class inequality…
In school, the middle classes use their material and cultural capital to ensure that their children get into the best schools and the top sets. This means that the wealthier pupils tend to get the best education and then go onto to get middle class jobs. Meanwhile working class children are more likely to get a poorer standard of education and end up in working class jobs. In this way class inequality is reproduced.
Paul Willis’ Study…
Using a qualitative method of interviews, Willis studied the culture of “lads” - a group of 12 working class boys who were making their transition from school to work.
The lads had an anti school subculture when at school and found school boring and meaningless and rejected the idea of meritocracy.
Willis notes the similarity between this anti school counter culture and shop floor culture of male manual workers. Both cultures see manual work as superior and intellectual work as inferior.
Paul Willis
These similarities explain why anti school lads tend to end up in low jobs:
Being accustomed to finding school unfulfilling and boring they have little expectations from work and those can cope with its tedium. Their acts of rebellion guarantee they will end up in unskilled jobs as they failed to gain the qualifications.
However, it must be noted that interviews are not always reliable. This method tends to lack internal validity as the interviewer can interpret the results in a biased manner. In addition the sample size was far too small to make generalisations from.
Evaluation
The Marxist approach has been criticised by Port Fordist, who argues that education reproduces diversity and equality.
In addition, Paul Willis found that students do not passively accept this indoctrination for capitalism instead they can still develop an anti school attitude.
Feminists criticise Marxist approach for over emphasising the class inequality in schools and ignore the patriarchal inequalities faced by women. Feminist argue schools promote and idea of patriarchy where girls are taught to be submissive and well behaved while boys are allowed to express their dominance.
