Marxism

Question 1

what did Marx (1818) say about the economic system?

Answer 1

• Marx saw the economic system as the basis for all societies have different kinds of economic systems or modes of production
• according to marx the earliest human societioes were based on primitive cmmunism where all members worked together to obtain what they needed, such as by hunting and gathering
• as societies evolved and a more specialised division of labour developed developed, so cllass relationships began to emerge
• in ancient societies like Greece and Rome, there was a division between masters and slaves under fudalism in medieval Erope, between landowners and serft

Question 2

what did Marx say about capitalism?

Answer 2

• Marxs work focused on capitalist societies like modern Britain
• capitalism emerged from feudalism between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries as goods began to be mass produced in factories and steam power was used to drive modern machinery
• according to Marx, this gave rise to two new classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

Question 3

what did Marx say about the bourgeoisie?

Answer 3

-the boureosie invested their wealth in financing the new industries of the industrial age
-the bourgeoisie were the ruling class beause they owned the means of production e.g. factories, mines and banks
-this in turn meant that they were used ti generate wealth
this in turn meant that they controled the politicakl syetem and cultural institutions that shaped peoples ideas such as the media and the educational system

Question 4

what did Marx say about the proletariat?

Answer 4

-the proletariat is the majority of society who owned no wealth and were forced ti sell their labour for wages to the capitalists

Question 5

what did Marx say about cultural conflict?

Answer 5

• Marx argued that though the bourgeoisie and the proletariat depend on one another, their relationship is also based on conflict or class struggle
• while the workers create the wealth of the bouregeoisie, only a fraction of what Marx calld the surplus value that they create comes bak to them in wages
• for Marx the workers are exploited by their employers who seek to keep wayes low and profits high

Question 6

how is polarisation of social classes a problem of capitalism?

Answer 6

• the divide between the working class and capitalsts would grow steadily wider as the bourgeoisie tried to drive down wages and increase profits
• intermediate classes such as small business owners would be driven out of business by increasinglu powerful big businesses by increasingly powerful big businesses, further widening the divide between the two main causes

Question 7

how is alienation a problem of capitalism?

Answer 7

• workers would not be able to find any satisfaction or contentment because they would have no control over their own work, simply being used as commodities to increase production and profits
• outside work, people would be encouragined to find satisfaction in consumer goods and materialism rather than in real human relationships

Question 8

how is an economic crisis a weakness of capitalism?

Answer 8

• marx argued that capitalist economies tend to suffer from periodic crises
• competition between companies creates boom periods but these are inevitably followed by recessions
• eventually a crisis would lead to the collapse of the whole capitalist system

Question 9

what did Marx say about the working classes potential to overthrow capitalism?

Answer 9

• Marx argued that the working class had the potential to overthrow capitalism because the workers were in the majority and had only ti realise their potential by uniting in a revolution
• however, to achieve this they had to throw off what Marx called false class consciousness and become a class for itself
• marx argued that the capitalist class perpetrated an ideology or series of ideas that justified capitalism and its inequalities through the political system, law, mass media, religious beliefs and the education system

Question 10

what did Marx say about communism?

Answer 10

• Marx believed that a new economic system called communism would replace capitalism where the means of production would be shared by the whole community
• everyone would be expected to contribute something to society according to their ability and instead of wages would receive what they needed in terms of food, accommodation, health care and so on according to their needs
• this would mean that social classes based on economic inequalities would disappear and communism would result in a classless society

Question 11

how has marxs theory been influential?

Answer 11

Marxs ideas have had a huge influence on political thought and inspired the rise of socialism and communism, leading to revolutions in countries like Russia and China

• Marx has also influenced sociologists who have used his ideas to analyse the wokings of capitalist societies and the nature of social class inequalities in them
• many sociologists who do not see themselves as Marxists draw on some of his key concepts, often combining them with ideas derived from the work of Weber

Question 12

what are the crityicisms of Marxism?

Answer 12

• ignores other inequalities
• the middle class is growing
• no class consciousness or revolution
• the success of capitalism

Question 13

why is economic determination a weakness of narxism?

Answer 13

• Marx argued that ultimately all societies can be explained in terms of the economic system and economic relationships
• however people may think or behave in certain ways for cultural reasons
• for example because of the influence of religions or nationalist beliefs rather than because they are following economic or class interests
• marxs emphasis on economic or social class inequalities also tend to ignore the importance of other types of inequality such as those based on gender or ethnicity

Question 14

why is the middle class a weakness of Marxism?

Answer 14

• Marx largely dismissed the importance of classes situated between the bourgeoisie and proletariat, such as small business owners, highly paid professionals and managers who run businesses on behalf of the capitalists
• however critics point out that rather than shrinking or being absorbed into two main classes, these groups have grown in size and importance, meaning tat we should be talking about a middle class or middle classes

Question 15

how is class consciousness and revolution a criticism of capitalism?

Answer 15

such as Britain, Germany or the USA as inevitable

• in reality communist revolutions have usually occurred in relati9vely under developed societies such as Russia, China and cuba
• in western societies there is little sign of class consciousness
• for example, fewer and fewer workers support for revolutionary parties and political movements has waned since the 1980s

Question 16

how is the success of capitalism a criticism of Marxism?

Answer 16

-capitalist societies seem to have flourished d
espite their inherit contradictions
-though capitalist economies tend to go through a cylee of boom and bust
-in most cases discontent created by economic proboems is contained
-in most western societies the working class have enjoyed rising living standards and access to even wider consumer goods, while the political systems of liberal democracy associated with many capitalist societies allows everyone to elect their own giovernments and enjoy political freedoms and human rights

Question 17

what is the defence for capitalism?

Answer 17

• class isn’t disappearing
• proletarianisation
• neo Marxism
• globalisation and transatuional corporations

Question 18

how is the continuing importance of social class inequlity a strength of Marxism?

Answer 18

• writing in the 1970s, Marxist sociologist Resler (1976)argued that there was little evidence of class divisions in British society disappearing nd suggested that such inequalities could only be understood as the result of the way that the capitalist syetem operates
• arguable class divisions have actually widened since the 1970s

Question 19

how is the proletarianisation of the middle class a strength of Marxism?

Answer 19

• some sociologists clim that as the gab between the rich and poor widens, Marxs prediction about polarisation is coming true
• American sociologist Braverman (1974) argues that many so called middle class workers have in reality been de skilled
• for example the skills of clerical workers and even professionals have been programmed into machienes or broken down into simple tasks that can be performed by less skilled workers
• this reduces the control such as workers havbe over work processes and also means that employers can pay them lower wages
• the result is a process of proletarianisation, whereby more and more workers who might formerly have been regarded as middle class are reduced to the same class position as the working class or proletariat

Question 20

how does neo Marxism support Marxism?

Answer 20

• neo Marxists have tried to develop and adapt Marxs ideas to deal with some of the criticisms made of Marxs work
• for example the Italian communist leader Gramsci (1971) developed the concept of hegemony to explain why the working class in western European countries yhad not risen up in revolution
• Gramsci argued that the ruling class rarely need to use force to excert power because they rule through persuasion
• Hegemony means using cultural and political means to encourage enough of the working class to side with the ruling class and the capitalist system to ensure the stability of the economic system
• this involves using institutions such as the media and education to control peoples minds
• however, Gramsci argued that this hegemony is never complete, many of the working class have dual consciousness and are to some degree also aware of the inequalities and injustices of capitalism
• Gramsci called on left wing intellectuals to build on this awareness to create a greater class consciousness and ultimately lead the working class to a revolution

Question 21

how is globalisation and transnational corporations a strength of Marxism?

Answer 21

• some sociologists argue that capitalism has been transformed since Marx was writing in the 19th century by the process of globalisation
• increasingly, big businesses such as IBM, BP, Coca-Cola and British American tobacco operate in a global economy, often controlling assets spread across a number of countries, they are transnational corporations
• the largest TNCs have annual sales in excess of the gross national income of many of the poorer countries in the world
• according to Sklair (2003) nation states now find it difficult to control the activities on TNCs, giving TNCs greater power than national governments
• from this perspective those who control TNCs have become a global ruling class