Structural conflict theory - Marxism Flashcards
capitalism
An Economic system based on the private ownership of business
Prices of goods are determined by supply and demand in a ‘market’
Owners of these businesses can keep and spend the profit made however they choose
The workers in a capitalist system take a share of these profits via wages. But these are low and they are exploited.
According to Marx, Society is made up of 2 parts:
1)The Infrastructure
This is the economy – what happens in the economy affects what happens in the other social institutions
2) The Superstructure
This is made up of the other Social Institutions
These serve the interests of the economic system
Social class
Marx saw that are two groups in capitalist societies – the ‘owners’ and the ‘workers’
Bourgeoisie – Owners / Ruling class
Proletariat – Workers / Subject class
The ruling class own the ‘means of production’ and manage to impose their own values on the rest of society
Means of production – the things needed to make stuff – e.g. Land, buildings, materials
marx’s arguement
Marx and the ‘Marxists’ who followed argued that society is based in conflict
This is between the two social classes – the ‘bourgeoisie’ and the ‘proletariat’
The social classes are part of the economic system of society – this system changes in a series of ‘epochs’
problem of capitalism
Marx argued that capitalism was inherently flawed
Workers are exploited for their surplus value by the owners
Surplus Value
Surplus value – the difference between the value of something prior to the production process and the value of it at the end
E.g. the price of a raw material and the subsequent price of a manufactured item
what’s the problem with ‘adding value’?(Surplus value
Marx argues that this ‘surplus value’ is ‘profit’ in a capitalist economy
The profit goes to the owner not the worker
The worker will get paid their wage but will not see the real value of their work
This is an ‘exploitative’ relationship
The worker becomes ‘alienated’ from their work – work becomes degraded and less meaningful for the majority
Marx argued capitalism wasn’t a fair system
Marx suggested that society was far from meritocratic – with the least talented exploiting everybody else and living off the workers’ labours
This fact was hidden by a number of ‘illusions’ through the social institutions
E.g. Education – spreads the ‘myth of meritocracy’ and encourages people to work hard
False consicousness
Marx argues that the workers couldn’t see the reality of their situation
This means that the proletariat cannot see their exploitation because it is just the ‘way it is’
Agents of social control operate on us to obscure the relationships of owners and workers so that there appears to be a value consensus
Ruling class ideology
Marx suggests that social institutions are ‘agents of social control’ working for the ruling class
Socialisation passes on the norms and values of the ruling class to the workers
This is called ‘ruling class ideology’
Ruling class ideology through socialisation
Powerful groups in society have the ability to present their own ideas as right and natural for everyone
E.g. ‘meritocracy’
These ideas are passed on through the social institutions
E.g. schools, media, religion
Marx said that religion was the ‘opium of the people’
Polarisation
Polarisation would occur
Marx saw that the workers would eventually realise their exploited situation and would rise up and overthrow their capitalist masters – gaining class consciousness
This would bring in a new era of communism – an economic system based in communal ownership
It would mean the ‘end of history’ – no need for any further changes to the structure of society
criticism of marxism
Loss of influence post-1990s
Collapse of Communism in Soviet Union and European countries
Growth of a wealthy middle class, and an increasingly high standard of living for the majority in western societies
Overly deterministic – too much emphasis on the economy
Postmodernism argues that there are no ‘meta-narratives’ like Marxism that explain everything
