TRADITIONAL MARXISM

TRADITIONAL MARXISM

1. INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUPERSTRUCTURE

   • Marx believed economy driving force in soc that determines nature soc institutions & people's beliefs/values, infrastructure - underpins/determines entire soc consists 2 parts: means of production eg land, factories, raw materials and relations of production relations between owners/non-owners
   • superstructure: inc. soc institutions (ISA's) eg family, ed, religion & political system, Marx saw these primarily determined/influenced by economic system

2. PRIVATE OWNERSHIP & SOCIAL CLASSES

   • Marx argued labour sole source wealth, in primitive soc when only enough meet essential need produced everyone need work to survive, all producers on same economic level, as soc produces more necessary possible section soc not work be supported by labour others. This stage private ownership of means production occurs, been privately owned since existence simplest soc most dependent on owners for employment
   • soc divided 2 classes: owners/non-owners, as means production developed new relations production emerge soc evolves via revolutionary change arising from owner v non-owner conflict

3. EXPLOITATION

   • Marx argued workers produce more than needed for employers to pay wage, 'surplus value' provides profit for employers, workers who produce surplus not get full value work- therefore exploited

4. CAPITALISTS AND WORKERS

   • Marx argues 2 soc classes cap. indust. soc, small, wealthy powerful bourgeoisie who own means of production and larger poorer non-owner class (proletariat), proletariat forced sell labour to survive in return get slary, capitalist exploit workers making profit by keeping wage low instead giving full value goods produced

5. CLASS CONFLICT

   • exploitation non-owners creates diff in interests which leads conflict, workers interests: higher wages at expense owner's profits, owners want: higher profit expansion business only achieved via low wage, Marx believed this conflict would affect all areas life

6. THE RULING CLASS

   • Marx argues owning class is r/c because own means production decide where factories located, whether open/closed, control workforce via firing/hiring, democratically elected gov couldn't afford ignore power r/c - if decide not invest production could lead rising unemployment/other soc probs

7. DOMINANT IDEOLOGY

   • Marx believed dom ideology r/c and insitutions superstructure reflect this, law protects r/c interests, religion acts 'opium of people' persuading workers accept position, media owned by r/c so only their ideas portrayed, workers brainwashed acceptance position - failure realise exploitation prevents rebellion - lack of awareness of interests = FCC

8. REVOLUTION AND COMMUNISM

   • Marx - one day circumstances arise which workers aware exploitation, wealth/power more concentrated global scale workers poorer, contrast lead development CC - pop polarised into cap/workers, workers band together strike/demonstrate against cap system, lead rev/overthrow r/c, means of production hands state run interests all = communism

9. APPLICATIONS

   • FAMILY - buffer zone for alienated workers, produces next gen workers, fam unit consumption Zeretsky, monogamous NF = patrilineal inheritance/prevents soc mobility, women provide heir return econ security Engels
   • CRIME - laws made by r/c to benefit r/c Pearce, cap. generates feelings greed/self interest motivate crime Chambliss, corp crime costs more than w/c crime but tends go unnoticed Snider
   • EDUCATION - meritocracy is myth, correspondence principle school = work, school teaches vaules need work informally via HC Bowles and Gintis,
   • BELIEFS - religion 'opium of people' and 'spiritual gin', r/c create religion legitimate/perpetuate their values, religion instrument of and cushion for oppression

10. STRENGTHS

    • points power ideology shaping lives/influencing values, helps explain inequality in soc and fact diff groups diff interests, offers explanation for diff forms soc institutions take historically/cross-culturally
    • asks suspend 'taken for granted' assumptions and explore soc critically, points importance soc structure influencing way think/behave

11. WEAKNESSES

    • according func marxism over-emphasises conflict, Marx's predictions not actually come true - capitalism global economic system, func believe soc change evolutionary not revolutionary
    • pomo believe no longer live cap. soc but in pomo one where pick/mix identity from plurality choices, ignores other key variables eg gender/ethnicity, Marx accused being econ deterministic