Marxism

Question 1

What are Marx’s general ideas about society?

Answer 1

• argued that society is based on class conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeoise
• believe society is marked by conflict, instability & inequality

Question 2

What is meant by historical materialism?

Answer 2

• is Marx’s theory that material/economic conditions shape all other areas of society
• The mode of production (e.g., tools, technology, labour) determines the relations of production (class relations), which in turn shape the superstructure of ideas, institutions, and power

Question 3

What societies involve exploitation identified by Marx?

Answer 3

• All class societies involve exploitation:
• Ancient (slaves)
• Feudal (serfs)
• Capitalist (wage labourers) > In capitalism, the proletariat is legally free, but has no means of production, so must sell their labour to survive
• They are paid less than the value they produce — the surplus is taken as profit by capitalists.

Question 4

How do Marx see the capitalist system?

Answer 4

• Marx saw capitalism as a system with:
• Surplus value extraction (exploitation)
• Competition between capitalists, pushing down wages
• Technological advances that de-skill labour (e.g., automation)
• Class polarisation — society splits into a small ruling class and a large working class

Question 5

What are Marx’s views on class consciousness?

Answer 5

• Marx believed capitalism would eventually create the conditions for its own destruction
• As exploitation increases, the working class becomes aware of their oppression — developing class consciousness — and unites to overthrow the ruling class
• e.g. Union action, general strikes, or class-based protest movements (e.g., teachers’ strikes, cost of living protests).

Question 6

What are Marx’s view on ideology?

Answer 6

• Marx argued that the ruling class controls the production of ideas (media, education, religion)
• This spreads false consciousness — beliefs that justify inequality as natural or deserved which serves the dominant class
  e.g. The myth of meritocracy tells people that success is based on effort, not structural class advantage — legitimating inequality.
• ideas from family, religion as well

Question 7

What are Marx’s views on alienation?

Answer 7

• Alienation is when workers are estranged from:
• The product of their labour (they don’t own it)
• The process of production (no control over work)
• Their own humanity (creativity is stifled)
• Each other (competition replaces cooperation)
• Capitalism reduces work to a meaningless, repetitive task — dehumanising the worker.
• e.g. religion

Question 8

What are Marx’s views on the state, revolution & communism?

Answer 8

• Marx called the state “armed bodies of men” (police, courts, army) that protect the ruling class (their property, suppress opposition)
• Revolution will occur when the proletariat becomes the majority and overthrows capitalism, leading to a classless, stateless, communist society.

Question 9

Evaluation of Marx

Answer 9

• Economic determinism: Reduces all social change to economic causes.
• Outdated class model: Two-class system ignores middle class, self-employed, etc.
• Failed predictions: Revolution hasn’t occurred in advanced capitalist societies.
• Neglects other inequalities: Ignores gender, ethnicity, and status (Weber).

Question 10

What are the two types of Marxism?

Answer 10

• Humanistic Marxism > Focus on human agency, consciousness, resistance (Gramsci)
• Structuralist Marxism > Society is structured by systems that determine action (Althusser)

Question 11

What are Gramsci’s views?

Answer 11

• Gramsci (humanistic Marxist) argued that the ruling class maintains control not just through force (coercion) but by winning ideological consent — this is called hegemony (uses ideas & values to persuade the subordinate classes that its rule is legitimate)
• However, hegemony is never total. The working class can create a counter-hegemony if they develop class consciousness and an alternative worldview > produce their own body of organic intellectuals
• this would win ideological leadership from the ruling class by offering a new vision of how society should be organised based on socialism

Question 12

Evaluation of Gramsci

Answer 12

• underplays state coercion (RSA), especially in authoritarian regimes.
• Criticised for being vague on how counter-hegemony can realistically form.

Question 13

What are Althusser’s views?

Answer 13

• Althusser rejected both economic determinism and humanism, in favour of structural determinism arguing that society has three interrelated levels:
  Economic: Production
  Political: State, government
  Ideological: Ideas, culture
• the political & ideological levels have relative autonomy and they can affect what happens to the economy > two way causality
• identified two key apparatuses:
  RSA (Repressive State Apparatus): Police, courts, military – operate through coercion.
  ISA (Ideological State Apparatus): Education, media, religion – operate through consent.

Question 14

Evaluation of Althusser

Answer 14

• E.P. Thompson (1978): Ignores the role of human struggle and agency.
• Too abstract and deterministic — portrays people as ideological puppets.