Marxism And Class Inequality

Question 1

Studies for Marxism and class inequality

Answer 1

1. Class conflict
2. The contradiction of capitalism
3. Overthrow of capitalism
4. Pierre Bourdeui: cultural capital

Question 2

According to Marx class conflict : he argued that capitalism gave rise to two new classes ?

Answer 2

The bourgeoise and the proletariats

Question 3

According to Marx: class conflict what is the bourgeoises ?

Answer 3

Ruling class, or capitalist class who owned the means of production: factories,land, resources and can shapes people’s ideas by media and education systems

Question 4

According to Marx: class conflict shah is the proletariat ?

Answer 4

Working class, who owned no wealth and forced to sell labour for wages for the capitalist

Question 5

According to Marx: class conflict, what was the relationship of bourgeoisie and proletariat based on ?

Answer 5

Relationship was based on class conflict/struggle

Question 6

According to Marx: class conflict , the workers create the wealth of the bourgeoises only a fraction of the profit comes back to the workers as wages, what does Marx call this ?

Answer 6

Surplus value

Question 7

For Marx class conflict, how are workers exploited?

Answer 7

Because the employers seek low wages and high profit

Question 8

According to Marx: contradiction of capitalism, Marx argued that capitalism suffered from what ?

Answer 8

Inherent contradiction and inbuilt problems

Question 9

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism

What would inherit contradiction and inbuilt problems lead to ?

Answer 9

Eventually leads to its downfall

Question 10

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism

What would be the four downfalls that would happen ?

Answer 10

1. Exploitation (theft and underpay)
2. Polarisation of social classes
3. Alienation
4. Economic crisis

Question 11

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : exploitation (theft and underpay)

What does capitalism involve in terms of paying ?

Answer 11

Paying a worker one wage for their labour and selling at higher price

Question 12

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : exploitation (theft and underpay)

What does Marx seeing capitalist paying worker less and selling at higher wage as ?

Answer 12

As theft by stealing talent and hard work to maximise capitalist profit and underpaying and exploring workers

Question 13

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : polarisation of social classes

How do capitalist expect to maintain their profit ?

Answer 13

Driving down wages or replacing workers with machine

Question 14

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : polarisation of social classes

What did Marx “immiseration thesis” predict ?

Answer 14

Predicted that living standards of workers would fall further and further and class division would become more polarised

Question 15

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : polarisation of social classes

Example of polarisation ?

Answer 15

Petty bourgeoisie (small m/c) would sink into working class by powerful businesses furthering the divide between two classes

Question 16

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : polarisation of social classes

What would polarisation strengthen ?

Answer 16

Strengthen class divide and difference

Question 17

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : alienation

According to Marx what do workers need to feel ?

Answer 17

• Need to feel connected to the fruits of their labour
• to feel themselves in the objects they’ve created to feel work as meaningful

Question 18

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : alienation

However what does capitalism do that makes workers not feel work as meaningful ?

Answer 18

Capitalist alienates (disconnects) workers from meaningful outcome of labour e.g making chair leg over and over again

Question 19

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : alienation

Due to workers being alienated from work, how do workers feel ?

Answer 19

Workers do not feel satisfaction due to having no control over own work but just as means to increase profit

Question 20

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : economic crisis

What does Marx argue tend to happen to capitalist economies ?

Answer 20

Tend to suffer from economic crisis due to competition between companies
Boom and bust periods

Question 21

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : economic crisis

What would recession lead to according to Marx ?

Answer 21

Collapse of capitalism e.g Great Depression

Question 22

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : economic crisis

How do the capitalist feel about recession ?

Answer 22

They live the reality of proletariats under economic system

Question 23

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : overthrow of capitalism

What is it called when workers are unaware of their own exploitation ?

Answer 23

False class consciousness

Question 24

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : overthrow of capitalism

When workers are aware of their own suffering what is this called ?

Answer 24

Class consciousness

Question 25

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : overthrow of capitalism After the working class have a class consciousness , what else happens ?

Answer 25

Overthrow capitalism through a revolution and a new economic system called communism

Question 26

According to capitalist: contradiction of capitalism : overthrow of capitalism Once communism is achieve what would society look like ?

Answer 26

- Would replace capitalism where the means of production - no capital money - no rich and poor - no social class - everyone contribute something to society ‘according to their ability’ (skills and talent) - classless society

Question 27

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital What does Bourdieu argue about ?

Answer 27

Cultural capital

Question 28

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital What is cultural capital ?

Answer 28

Knowledge, taste, norms, values and skills that gives a person an advantage in life associated with middle class Opera, ballet, museums

Question 29

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital What can cultural capital lead to ?

Answer 29

Material rewards (economic rewards)

Question 30

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital What agents does Bourdieu focus in ?

Answer 30

Family and education

Question 31

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital What three things does Bourdieu say about the family

Answer 31

- Middle class pass down cultural capital to their children - working class families tend to have less cultural capital so cannot transfer much for advantage to children - education system is bias as favour middle class culture and devalues working class skills and knowledge

Question 32

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital What does Bourdieu say about middle class and education

Answer 32

Middle class children come to school equipped to cultural capital - norms, values,experiences and have knowledge that fit into middle class ethos of school leaving to children achieving educational goals

Question 33

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital Why are middle class advantage already in school ?

Answer 33

Because they already have skills and knowledge from education from parents

Question 34

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital What does working class children experience ?

Answer 34

Cultural deficit

Question 35

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital Due to working class having cultural deficiet what does this mean ?

Answer 35

- teachers and schools have little importance to their experience and values - alienated by middle class schooling - so loose importance of school so eliminate themselves and fail exams

Question 36

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital What is the main function of education ?

Answer 36

Cultural reproduction

Question 37

Pierre Bourdieu: cultural capital Why is education a cultural reproduction ?

Answer 37

Because middle class reproduce their middle class cultural and working class reproduce their working class culture

Question 38

What are the evaluations of Marx

Answer 38

- ignores other kinds of inequality - middle class - false predictions - success of capitalism

Question 39

What does ignores other kinds of inequalities say ?

Answer 39

Marx only focuses on social class inequalities but ignores other important inequalities e.g gender, age, ethnicity

Question 40

What does middle class Marx evaluation say ?

Answer 40

Marx Dismiss the importance of the class inbetween the proletariat and bourgeoisie (the petite bourgeoises). Marx only focuses on two classes as petite bourgeoises has grown in size what about this ?

Question 41

False predictions evaluation of marx

Answer 41

Marx predicted that downfall of capitalism in advanced industries e.g Britian, Germany is inevitable but revolutions have happened in underdeveloped societies such as Russia, china - in western societies there is little sign of class consciousness

Question 42

What is success of capitalist evaluation ?

Answer 42

Capitalist society have seemed to flourished despite “inherent contradictions “ and though capitalist economies tend to go through a cycle of boom and bust but discontent is contained