Marxism Flashcards
What are Marx’s 7 ideas?
Historical materialism, Class society and exploitation, Class consciousness, Ideology, Alienation, The state, Revolution and communism and Capitalism
In how many ways can Marx’s ideas be summed up?
7
What are the 3 distinct features of Capitalism?
The proletariat are legally free, Concentrated power and Two warring camps
What has reduced workers to unskilled labourers?
Fordism
What are the 2 areas of criticism of Marx?
Class and Economic determinism
What 3 class criticisms have been made of Marx’s ideas?
Marx has a simple, one dimensional view of inequality. The two class model is also simplistic (Weber sub-divides these classes). Class polarisation has not occurred
There are 2 economic determinism criticisms of Marx. What are they?
The economic factors aren’t fundamental to society and Marx’s predictions have been proved wrong
Alvin Gouldner describes two new Marxism’s. What are they?
Humanistic/critical Marxism and Scientific/structural Marxism
Who is a humanistic Marxist?
Antonio Gramsci
Who is a structuralist Marxist?
Louis Althusser
What are Antonio Gramsci’s views on alienation?
Marxism is a political critique of capitalism as alienating and inhuman and they call to overthrow it
Gramsci believes in voluntarism. What is voluntarism?
Humans have free will
What does Gramsci encourage?
Political action
What does Althusser view Marxism as, and why?
Scientific as it discovers the laws that govern the workings of capitalism
Althusser holds a deterministic view of society. What is determinism in structuralist terms?
Structural factors are the cause of history
Gramsci believes in hegemony. What is hegemony?
The ideological and moral leadership of society
What does hegemony reject as an explanation of change?
Economic determinism
According to Gramsci, the ruling class maintain their dominance in two ways. What are they?
Coercion (the army, police, prisons and courts of the capitalist state force other classes to accept rule) and Consent (uses ideas and values to persuade the subordinate classes that it’s rule is legitimate)
The hegemony of the ruling class is never complete for 2 reasons. What are they?
The ruling class are a majority and the proletariat have a dual consciousness
Under what conditions can hegemony be undermined?
Economic crises
What has Gramsci been accused of?
Over-emphasising the role of ideas and under-emphasising the role of both state coercion and economic factors
Althusser rejects the idea of a base superstructure model in favour of a different model. What is this model?
Structural determinism
In the structural determinism model, what are the three structures in capitalist society?
Economic level, political level and ideological level
What are repressive state apparatuses?
The ‘armed body of men’ who coerce people into working
What are ideological state apparatuses?
They are the hegemonic side to things and they include the media and education
What are Althusser’s criticisms of humanism?
There isn’t such thing as free will as it is simply an example of the ideological state apparatus, and that a revolution will come because of the failings of capitalism
What are some criticisms of Althusser?
His scientific approach discourages social change and E.P Thompson argues that it can’t just be the changes of capitalism
