Marxism - 1.1

Question 1

What is Marxism

Answer 1

Believed that the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat for their labour.

Question 2

What was Karl Marx’s belief

Answer 2

• Two classes – Bourgeois – Proletariat
• The relationship between them is Exploitation/ Surplus Value
• The Base (economy) determines the Superstructure (all other institutions)
• The ruling class have ideological control through the superstructure
• The proletariat exist in false consciousness
• The fundamental problem with Capitalism is that it causes alienation
• Revolution is inevitable because the iron law of Capitalism is that exploitation must carry on increasing.
• Communism is the final stage of societal evolution (the abolition of private property)

Question 3

False Class Consciousness - Marx

Answer 3

Where the proletariat are unaware of the exploitation they are facing

Question 4

Althusser - Structural Scientific Marxist View

Answer 4

• There are three levels of control: economic, political, and ideological. The Bourgeois maintain control on all three levels and they all reinforce each other.
• They maintain control through the Repressive state apparatus – the army
• More importantly – the Ideological state apparatus – everything else, most obviously education and the media
  .
• Criticised humanistic Marxism – structure determines everything, people are incapable of having genuinely revolutionary ideas within the existing Capitalist system.
• Capitalism needs to collapse before socialism comes about.

Question 5

What are the 3 Interlocking Systems that Althusser suggested and what are their functions?

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

What type of Marxist is Gramsci?

Answer 6

‘Humanistic Marxist’

Question 7

What was Gramsci’s belief - Humanistic Marxist

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

Who argues that society is based on three interlocking systems that drive capitalism forward; The economic system, the political system and the ideological system?

Answer 8

Louis Althusser

Question 9

What is the Repressive State Apparatus

Answer 9

control the population through force - these would include institutions such as the army and police

Question 10

What is the Ideological State Apparatus

Answer 10

control through coercion, or manipulating the way people think - and would include institutions such as education, religion, media and family.

Question 11

Criticisms of Marxism

Answer 11

– More complex class structure
– Capitalism is less exploitative (welfare state)
– Relative autonomy
– Postmodernism: people are free, not under false consciousness
- Work is less alienating for self-employed people
– Scientific Marxism is economically deterministic (Interactionism)
– Failure of communism in Eastern Europe
– It is a metanarrative (Postmodernism)

Question 12

Who 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?

Answer 12

Gramsci

Question 13

What are the two State Apparatuses outlined by Althusser?

Answer 13

Ideological State Apparatus- How the media controls they way in which we think.

Repressive State Apparatus- How we are controlled by force by institutions such as the Army/Police etc.