Marxist View on Social Class Inequality Flashcards
What do traditional Marxists see modern societies as
Organised along capitalist lines. This means that the pursuit of profit by competing economic elites is the most important goal of these societies. They see capitalist social structure as divided into two inter-related parts: The Infrastructure and the superstructure
What is the Infrastructure
The economic base (capitalism)
What is the Superstructure
Families, education system, mass media, religion, political system
What do traditional Marxists say
That the most important part of the capitalist social system is the infrastructure
What did Marx claim about the infrastructure
That it is dominated by a wealthy and powerful minority - who own and control the means of production etc
How do the people in the infrastructure make their wealth
They need labour-power provided by the proletariat
What is the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat called
‘The social relations of production’
What does Marx argue about the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
The relationship is unequal because the bourgeoisie set wage levels and control the organisation of the workplace
What does Marx say about the wage paid
The wage paid to the worker is only a small fraction of the true value of their work - The difference between what they are actually worth and what they are paid becomes profit and is the main cause of inequalities in wealth and power
What does Marx argue about the tolerance of the inequalities being produced
The exploration and inequality is tolerated by proletariat because of the superstructure.
What does Marx say the function of the superstructure is
To transmit ruling-class ideology - ideas that originate with the bourgeoisie but which the majority of society are persuaded to accept as normal
What is the function of ruling-class ideology and how is it transmitted
Transmitted by social institutions that make up the superstructure
It is to convince those lacking in wealth and power that capitalism is a fair system.
As a result what do Marxists argue
That the working-class suffer from a false class consciousness - they are deliberately kept in a state of ignorance by the ruling class about the true cause of their problems, that is that the capitalist system benefits the wealthy
What did Marx believe about the downfall of capitalism
Capitalism suffered from three contradictions:
- The gap between the rich and the poor would grow so wide you can’t ignore it anymore
- Control over the work by the bourgeoisie aimed at improving worker efficiency and driving up profit would result in alienation of the workers, they begin to question the value of it in their lives
- Capitalism was an unstable economic experienced periodic crises. Marx believed one day an economic crisis would be so big the whole system will come crashing down
Who criticises traditional Marxists
neo-Marxists
What do Neo-Marxists criticise traditional Marxists for
Being over-deterministic
What do Marxists not acknowledge and also ignore
- They don’t acknowledge people are free to make their own choices or that people can experience the same social class situation in different ways
- They ignore other forms of inequality that originate from gender, ethnicity and age
What have Marxists been criticised on about conformist workers
That they present an over-socialised picture of working-class people being turned into conformist workers and being duped into false class consciousness by the superstructures transmission of the ruling class ideology
What do Neo-Marxists say about the false class consciousness socialisation
That this fails to consider that the working-class might actually be aware of class inequality but feel that the benefits of capitalism compensate for inequality.
Define Conformist
A person who behaves according to social expectations, norms and laws
What did Neo-Marxist Gramsci (1971) attempt to do
Modify Marx’s theory to respond to the criticisms
What did Gramsci develop
The idea of ‘hegemony’ to explain why the Western working class had not become class-conscious and taken revolutionary action
What does Hegemony refer to
The domination of culture by the capitalist class so that rule by constant rather than through force comes about
What did Gramsci argue
Through the control of cultural institutions like the mass media, the capitalist ruling class had persuaded the working class that they could be trusted with the economy and so the working class had consented to the bourgeoisie exerting control over their lives
What does Gramsci note about this hegemony and control never being fully complete
Many workers experience dual consciousness and see through the hegemony due to their daily experience of exploitation and inequality of the workplace. They are therefore aware of the injustices brought about by the capitalist system
