Marxism

Question 1

What are the processes of historical change a reflection of…

Answer 1

a reflection of the economic development of society.

economic development is the motor of history.

Question 2

What is the central tension that Marx identifies?

Answer 2

tension between means of production and relations of production. They form economic base of society.

Question 3

How do means of production develop?

Answer 3

They develop through technological advancement

Question 4

What happens when means of production develop?

Answer 4

previous relations of production become outmoded. Leads to a process of social change, relations of production are transformed in order to better accommodate new configuration of means.

Question 5

What does Marxist also focus on (main thing)

Answer 5

Class and class struggle plays a key role in marxist analysis.

Question 6

What is society systematically prone to?

Answer 6

It is systematically prone to class conflict, unlike liberals belief that groups have a natural harmony.

Question 7

What is the main class conflict between?

Answer 7

The owner of the means of production (bourgeouois) and working for the means of production. (proletariat)
The proletariat are exploited by the dominant.

Question 8

How will we get emancipation?

Answer 8

through understanding the workings of the capitalist society, we can get emancipated from this exploitative system. replace it with a community society.

Question 9

Who is world systems theory associated with?

Answer 9

Immanuel Wallerstein.

Question 10

When did the world system emerge?

Answer 10

It emerged in Europe at around the 16th century.

Expanded to include whole world

Question 11

What drove this expansion of the world system?

Answer 11

The driving force was capitalism.

Question 12

What were the three components.

Answer 12

Periphery, semi periphery and core.

Question 13

What is the semi periphery like?

Answer 13

semi periphery has characteristics of the core and characteristics of the periphery.

Question 14

Write the 6 points for the core?

Answer 14

1. Democratic government
2. High wages
3. Import; raw materials
4. export; manufacturers
5. high investment
6. Welfare services.

Question 15

Write the 5 points for the periphery

Answer 15

1. non democratic governments
2. Below subsistence wages.
3. Import; manufactures
4. Export; raw materials
5. No welfare services.

Question 16

Write the 5 points for the semi periphery

Answer 16

1. Authoritarian govt
2. low wages
3. export; ‘mature manufacturers and raw materials’
4. Import: manufactures and raw materials
5. Low welfare services.

Question 17

What economic role does the semi periphery have? (( 2 main things)

Answer 17

Provides a source of labour, prevents wages getting too high in the core (as jobs to semi periphery.)
provides a new home for those industries that can no longer function profitably in core e.g. core.

Question 18

How are the three zones linked together?

Answer 18

They are linked together in an exploitative relationship in which wealth is drained away from periphery to the core.

Question 19

Describe entrenchment of the positions.

Answer 19

The positions are deeply entrenched, entrenchment of inequality; rich gets richer, while poor became poorer.

Question 20

What was the key question that dominated by Gramsci?

Answer 20

Why had it proven to be so difficult to promote revolution in western Europe.

Question 21

Where did Marx predict revolution would first happen?

Where did it actually happen?

Answer 21

in the most advanced capitalist societies.

In reality; it was bolsheviks of backward Russia that revolted.

Question 22

What was Gramsci answer?

Answer 22

revolved around his use of concept of hegemony, reflected his idea of power.

Question 23

What animal did he use to develop his view of power?

Answer 23

as a centaur; half beast, half man.

half coercion, half consent.

Question 24

Had Marx committed to consent?

What kept the alienated from rising up despite being a majority?

Answer 24

No, he just focused on coercive powers of the state, it was simply coercion that kept exploited and alienated majority from rising up.

Question 25

How did Gramsci believe that the system was maintained?

Answer 25

Consent.

Question 26

How is consent created?

Answer 26

created and recreated by hegemony of ruling class in society.

Question 27

What does hegemony allow? (Hegemony is the dominance of one social group over others)

Answer 27

It allows moral, political and cultural values of the dominant group to become widely dispersed throughout society and to be accepted as subordinate groups as own.
- hegemony becomes naturalised.