Marxist View on Ethnic Inequality Flashcards
What does Cox argue
That racism is socially constructed by those who control the means of production in order to justify the exploitation of less powerful groups
What does Cox conclude
That racism is a type of ideology - a set of powerful beliefs that aimed to assert the superiority of White people in the 18th and 19th centuries and which aimed to justify the imperial goals of capitalism
How has Cox been criticised
He was criticised as ‘race-blind’ because his theory is more focused on capitalism and his evidence that racism is deliberately constructed by the capitalist class is not convincing
What does Castles and Cossack argue
That ethnic minorities are generally part of the exploited working class and it is this that determines their fate in capitalist society.
What do Marxists see
The racial conflict, discrimination and inequality as symptoms of some deeper, underlying class problems
What are the three symptoms deliberately encouraged by the capitalist class
- Legitimisation
- Divide and rude
- Scapegoating
Describe the symptom ‘legitimisation’
Racism helps to justify how low pay and poor working conditions because ethnic minority workers are generally presented by employers as second-class citizens undeserving of the same rights as White workers.
Some ethnic women minorities are a reserve army of labour. This surplus of labour power is regarded as necessary by the capitalist class because it keeps wage costs down as well as wearing the power of White works
Describe the symptom ‘divide and rule’
If ethnic-minority and white workers unite in a common economic interest, they are in a stronger position to campaign for better wages and conditions.
Castles and Kosack argue that racism benefits employers because it divides the workforce
Describe the symptom ‘scapegoating’
When society is troubled it leads to widespread frustration, aggression and demands for radical change. Instead of directing this anger at the capitalist class or economic system, White people are encouraged by racist ideology to blame the ethnic minorities.
How are Castles and Kosack’s theory criticised
As it is really a study of migrant labour and is probably more relevant to the first generation of minorities that arrived in Britain in the 1950s. So it is not clear on how to explain ethnic inequalities sixty years on.
What do Marxists ignore
The fact some ethnic minorities shave been very economically and politically successful.
How are the 3 symptoms criticised
Institutional racism may reflect legitimisation, divide and rule and scapegoating but it is more likely to be the product of failure of a conservative White culture’s failure to adapt to social change
