Marxism

Question 0

What are Marx’s 7 ideas?

Answer 0

Historical materialism, Class society and exploitation, Class consciousness, Ideology, Alienation, The state, Revolution and communism and Capitalism

Question 1

In how many ways can Marx’s ideas be summed up?

Answer 1

7

Question 2

What are the 3 distinct features of Capitalism?

Answer 2

The proletariat are legally free, Concentrated power and Two warring camps

Question 3

What has reduced workers to unskilled labourers?

Answer 3

Fordism

Question 4

What are the 2 areas of criticism of Marx?

Answer 4

Class and Economic determinism

Question 5

What 3 class criticisms have been made of Marx’s ideas?

Answer 5

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

Question 6

There are 2 economic determinism criticisms of Marx. What are they?

Answer 6

The economic factors aren’t fundamental to society and Marx’s predictions have been proved wrong

Question 7

Alvin Gouldner describes two new Marxism’s. What are they?

Answer 7

Humanistic/critical Marxism and Scientific/structural Marxism

Question 8

Who is a humanistic Marxist?

Answer 8

Antonio Gramsci

Question 9

Who is a structuralist Marxist?

Answer 9

Louis Althusser

Question 10

What are Antonio Gramsci’s views on alienation?

Answer 10

Marxism is a political critique of capitalism as alienating and inhuman and they call to overthrow it

Question 11

Gramsci believes in voluntarism. What is voluntarism?

Answer 11

Humans have free will

Question 12

What does Gramsci encourage?

Answer 12

Political action

Question 13

What does Althusser view Marxism as, and why?

Answer 13

Scientific as it discovers the laws that govern the workings of capitalism

Question 14

Althusser holds a deterministic view of society. What is determinism in structuralist terms?

Answer 14

Structural factors are the cause of history

Question 15

Gramsci believes in hegemony. What is hegemony?

Answer 15

The ideological and moral leadership of society

Question 16

What does hegemony reject as an explanation of change?

Answer 16

Economic determinism

Question 17

According to Gramsci, the ruling class maintain their dominance in two ways. What are they?

Answer 17

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)

Question 18

The hegemony of the ruling class is never complete for 2 reasons. What are they?

Answer 18

The ruling class are a majority and the proletariat have a dual consciousness

Question 19

Under what conditions can hegemony be undermined?

Answer 19

Economic crises

Question 20

What has Gramsci been accused of?

Answer 20

Over-emphasising the role of ideas and under-emphasising the role of both state coercion and economic factors

Question 21

Althusser rejects the idea of a base superstructure model in favour of a different model. What is this model?

Answer 21

Structural determinism

Question 22

In the structural determinism model, what are the three structures in capitalist society?

Answer 22

Economic level, political level and ideological level

Question 23

What are repressive state apparatuses?

Answer 23

The ‘armed body of men’ who coerce people into working

Question 24

What are ideological state apparatuses?

Answer 24

They are the hegemonic side to things and they include the media and education

Question 25

What are Althusser’s criticisms of humanism?

Answer 25

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

Question 26

What are some criticisms of Althusser?

Answer 26

His scientific approach discourages social change and E.P Thompson argues that it can’t just be the changes of capitalism