Marxism Flashcards
What theory is Marxism?
Conflict theory - society is based on conflict
Who believed there was conflict between 2 groups of people? And who were they?
Marx
-conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
Who are the bourgeoisie?
Middle class, minority group, have money, control society, have money
Who are the proletariat?
Working class, majority class, work in factories, ‘low skilled’ labour, powerless
What does the bourgeoisie own?
MEANS OF PRODUCTION
-things you need to make stuff: factories, tools / machinery, material resources
What does the proletariat own?
Own their LABOUR, they sell this to the bourgeoisie (RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION)
What is the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat like? And why?
Exploitative
- B work the P for long hours, low pay in poor condition, minimal holiday
What did Marx believe the proletariat were going to do?
- Become aware of their exploitation
- Form class consciousness
- Two routes =
•join/form a trade union, argue for better conditions, strike
•revolution - workers should rise up, overthrow the bourgeoisie, seize the MEANS OF PRODUCTION
Create a new class-less society based on shared ownership of the means of production =COMMUNISM
Who talks about marxists view of education? What did they believe?
Althusser
-state is controlled by the bourgeoisie, split into the RSA and the ISA
What is the RSA and who owns it?
Repressive state apparatus
- criminal justice system
- police
- army
What does the RSA have control to do?
Monopoly of violence
Ability to use force
What is the ISA and who is involved?
Ideological state apparatus
- media
- education
- religion
How does education in the ISA maintain Marxist views?
Education is used to maintain bourgeoisie power over the proletariat
-upholding the status quo (the situation as it is)
How is Althusser criticised?
He was a philosopher not a sociologist
-offered no evidence for the RSA/ISA theory
How can Karl Marx be criticised?
Capitalism has persisted, Marx’s ‘prophecy’ of a proletarian uprising did not come to pass
How is Bowles and Gintis criticised?
They take a ‘class first’ approach, ignoring other factors/influences
What did the bourgeoisie controlling education do?
-reproduced inequality (replicate the status quo)
-proletariat to gain the necessary skills to labour whilst keeping them ‘in their place’
(Recreate a constant supply of docile workers)
Who stated meritocracy was a myth? And why?
Bowles and Gintis -social class is the key indicator of success
What is the correspondence principle?
- parallels between school and the work places- prepare students for labour
- certain traits were rewarded and others punished
Who did a study on the ‘lads’
Paul Willis
Who were the lads?
12 Working class males, behaves poorly in school (break rules, be disruptive) -ultimately they underachieved, leading to no qualifications, leading to low skilled, low paid, manual labour
How did the ‘lads’ view Education?
A waste of time, not for them, cannot leave the working class - called it a ‘con’
How did the ‘lads’ view manual labour?
-viewed it in a positive way
-masculine
Where as… ‘professional’ roles and education was undesirable and ‘feminine’
How did the lads view other pupils?
- verbally abused girls
- called middle class boys and hard working w/c boys ear’oles
So why did it not matter to try hard or not?
It didn’t matter if they tried hard (because meritocracy was a myth) or if they don’t (because they want a labour role/ job) and would end up in that role regardless of effort
How was Willis criticised?
Only 12 ‘lads’ involved
- from the same class
- issues of validity? Reliability? Representativeness?
