1.1.1

Marxism

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Marxism 

Karl Marx believed that working class people suffer from false class consciousness; they are unaware of the exploitation they experience.

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Social institutions

  • Marx believed that the social institutions fool the working class into thinking that they are getting a fair deal and that their status position is natural and therefore unchangeable.
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False class consciousness

  • The ruling class are seen to be acting for the benefit of society and the working class accept and share this view, due to the influence that the Superstructure (which includes institutions like religion, education and family) has on the public.
  • Marx refers to this as the false class consciousness as they are totally unaware of the exploitation that they are facing. 
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Althusser

  • Althusser takes a structural view to society and is therefore similar to Marx.
  • However, he also criticises Marx for his economic deterministic beliefs and comes up with his own explanations of how the ruling class control the working classes.
  • He argues that society is based on three interlocking systems that drive capitalism forward.
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Interlocking systems

  • Economic system:
    • Produce all material goods.
  • Political system:
    • Organises society, passes laws and provides leadership.
  • Ideological system:
    • Provides all the ideas and belief systems that are followed by the population.
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Gramsci

  • Gramsci is often referred to as a ‘Humanistic Marxist’ because he believed the proletariat can influence social change through developing their own ‘hegemony’ rather than waiting for economic changes that Marx referred to.
  • He suggested that the proletariat would construct a ‘counter-hegemony’ to provide people with an alternative way of life to the capitalist state.
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Capitalism alternatives

  • Within this framework would emerge working class intellectuals; a group of well-educated working class individuals who could show the proletariat an alternative to capitalism.
  • In short, the only way to influence a revolution is by winning the hearts and minds of the proletariat and give them something to believe in. 

Jump to other topics

1Theory & Methods

2Education with Methods in Context

3Option 1: Culture & Identity

4Option 1: Families & Households

5Option 1: Health

6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare

7Option 2: Beliefs in Society

8Option 2: Global Development

9Option 2: The Media

10Crime & Deviance

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