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Structural conflict: Marxism - Coggle Diagram
Structural conflict: Marxism
Functionalism vs Marxism
Similarities
Institutions socialise us / create social order through social control and social cohesion
There is inequality in society
Macro approach
Positivist methods to understand society
Structural theory / top down approach
Differences
Meritocracy is a myth
Socialisation through different ways
Bourgeoisie have power over proletariat
Immediate social change is needed through revolution
Conflict theory
Members of society
Owners of the means of production - own all capital and buy the labour of the proletariat
Lumpenproletariat - devoid of class consciousness, unemployed, unorganised, uninterested in revolutionary advancements, never understanding their exploitation
Workers of the means of production - proletariat exploited by the bourgeoisie, selling their labour
Petty bourgeoisie - small business owners, think and vote like M/C, aim to become part of the bourgeoisie, but still devoid of class consciousness
According to Marxism, the bourgeoisie will reduce in size and become richer as the proletariat becomes bigger and poorer
Analysis (AO3)
Proletariat struggle and bourgeoisie do well
Only half of free school meals students earned more than £17,000
Social change
Feudal society - serfs are legally tied to the land areas, Bishops, Kings
Capitalist society - free
Ancient society - slaves, historic equivalent to proletariat
Materialist theory of history - always some hierarchy and supply of resources, and those in control decide how these supplies are sent
Marx identifies three successive class societies, each with its own form of exploitation
Move from ancient society to capitalism, revolution moving through each stage - needs to happen again for communism
Society's structure
Superstructure maintains the base, and bourgeoisie controls what is taught, how it is taught, and who it is taught to
Family maintains base - inheritance (Engels), safe haven (Zaretsky), unit of consumption
Includes the means of production, and all individuals - all goods are produced in the base
Education - correspondence principle (Bowles and Gintis), myth of meritocracy
Base shapes what happens in the superstructure
Religion - justifies exploitation, divine right of kings
Inequalities
Alienation - alienated from workplace, lack of control over their lives, unable to succeed
Ideologies - dictated and decided by the bourgeoisie, able to control the thoughts of proletariat, creating false class consciousness
Myth of meritocracy - thinking that are working hard leads to success
Supernatural compensation - false class consciousness
Social mobility - ability to move up with the social strata is not actually possible (Only half of free school meals students earned more than £17,000)
Social capital - social groups and connections an individual has as a result of their social position (Bourdieu)
Cultural capital - skills, knowledge, attributes and beliefs an individual has as a result of their social position
Analysis (AO3)
Devine
W/C are no longer being exploited by the bourgeoisie entirely
They are still politically the same - resented capitalism / inheritence
Workers earned more money and had some level of affluence, so could afford a few luxuries
However, no longer believed in Labour to make a difference
W/C have changed and have become a 'new affluent worker'
British Class Survey - found 7 social classes in society, not just 2
Harvey
Marx - coming together will lead to a revolution
Harvey - coming together makes capitalism worse (globalisation), which Marx did not foresee
However, argues that capitalists can take advantage of globalisation to produce goods quicker and cheaper than before
Economic changes in 1970s sped up capitalism and exploitation of the proletariat is more extreme
Highlights that there have been some real changes that have actually affected capitalism, eg. globalisation
There are other dilemmas other than class, including gender, ethnicity, religion, which can be considered more important
Looks at Marxism from postmodern perspective (neomarxist)
Evaluation (AO3)
Economic determinism - social mobility is not possible
Free will - economies are not the sole determinant for an individual's life chances
Weber - categorisation is too simple, and proletariat and should be split further
Does account for use of free will through the revolution
Feminists - gender is ignored, and this might be a bigger division than class
Explains the massive inequalities in terms of wealth, power, and income through the owners of the means of production
Revolution has not happened, and 1917 Russian Revolution failed
Recognises the importance of the economy and its influence on society's structures and everyday life (base / superstructure)
Weber - more than just class that divides individuals, for example status and power (can have high status but little money, like religious leaders)