...Outline and asses marxist theories on social inequalities. Marxism is a political, social, and economic philosophy derived from the work of the 19th-century historians Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It views human history as a struggle between social classes and asserts that capitalism is inherently exploitative. According to Marxism, social inequality is an unfair situation, in which some individuals or groups have more money, influence and power etc over others, usually referring to the bourgeoisie, who use this advantage to oppress the proletariats. Marxists would argue that social inequality is caused by false class consciousness, and that eventually would lead to a revaluation. Marxism is a conflict theory, focusing on inequalities and divisions within society. According to Karl Marx, all stratified societies have two major classes, the bourgeoisie (rich) and the proletariats (poor). The rich owns the means of production, such as land capital, machinery etc, while the poor does not, this gives the ruling class the power to exploit the lower class, through the use of the superstructure, e.g. the legal and political system to justify their actions and maintain social order, due to the fact that the ruling class have more influence compared to the working class. According to Karl Marx, the rich exploits the working class who have to sell their labour to survive, thus creating huge inequalities, furthermore, due to the fact that many working class people rely on this...
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...| What is a Reconstituted Family? | A reconstituted family is a family that consists of a mother and her children from one family and a father and his children from another family joining together through marriage. | | What is meant by the term 'industrialisation'? | When the industry changed from being one of agriculture to one where factories, shops, markets and healthcare was provided. This is the process of Structural Differentiation. | | What does cohabitation mean? | Cohabitation is where people live together without being married, it is also seen as a 'trial' marriage. | | The definintion of the 'Warm Bath Theory' | The Warm Bath Theory is... After a long, stressful and tiring day at work, going home to your family or household is said to relax you like a warm bath would. | | Who came up with the 'Warm Bath Theory'? | Parsons was the one who believed that the warm bath theory was an important major function of the family (stress reliever). | | What is Primary Socialisation? | Primary socialisation is where the family teaches the children the values and norms of society and the behaviour that is acceptable and unacceptable. | | What is meant by an Instrumental Leader? | The instrumental leader within the family is the male as he goes to work to earn money and provide for his family. | | Who identifield the Instrumental and Expressive Leader? | Parsons identifield the Instrumental and Expressive Leader. | | What is meant by an Expressive Leader? |...
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...Social Inequality Unit 04 [pic] What are Marxist theories of inequality? Learning targets: • Marxism is concerned for the poor and powerless. • It claims that society is in conflict between the rich who control everything and the poor who must work for the rich and gain little in reward for their work. • The rich are able to maintain their position of power through control of the law, the police and other forms of authority. • The rich also control the manufacture of ideas about society through controlling the media and education so poor people are taught to believe that capitalism is a good thing. Key questions (AO1) What is the Marxist view of society? (AO1) What causes inequality according to Marxists? (AO2) What are the strengths of the Marxist view? (AO2) What are the weaknesses of the Marxist view of inequality? Summary of Key Points Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) was an economist, philosopher and journalist who was motivated by concern for workers who were experiencing terrible poverty while all around was great wealth and power. He was a revolutionary who believed in working for a classless society. Marxism was not a powerful force in sociology until the 1960s and 1970s when it formed the basis of a challenge to functionalism. It offered a better account of the divisions of society at that time than functional sociology did. Marxism also triggered many of the ideas that were...
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...Assess different Marxist views of relationship between crime and social class Marxists believe that the capitalist system is just a way in which the ruling classes control and exploit the workers, and it focuses on the unequal conflict between these two sectors of society. Marxists believe that the capitalist system is criminogenic – which means that by its nature it inevitably causes crime. Marxists see crime in the capitalist system as something the ruling class can use to control the working class and crime is a result because of the oppression the working class face. They also believe that laws are enforced mostly to benefit the interests of the ruling class. Neo-Marxists are another branch of Marxism. They discuss more contemporary ideas of crime and their ideas, such as saying crime results out of political anger. They state that the traditional Marxist perspective is too deterministic. Traditional Marxist’s view of crime has 3 key aspects: The Criminogenic capitalism, the state and law making and ideological functions of crime and law. Criminogenic capitalism is the Marxist idea that crime is inevitable because of the nature of capitalism. They believe that because of capitalism as the unequal divide between classes, committing crime is sometimes the only way people can live. For example, a young man who is living in poverty may have to resort to robbery in order to survive. In addition, sometimes the working class may feel frustrated that they are under the control...
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...Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the contribution of Marxism to our understanding of families and households. (24 marks)Marxists see all society’s institutions as helping to maintain class inequality and Capitalism. Therefore, the main contribution of Marxism to the sociology of families and households has been to explain how the family functions to maintain the interests of the bourgeoisie, and maintain the Capitalist system. Marxists’ contributions have drawn much criticism from Feminist and Functionalist sociologists, who question whether Marxism can help us to understand the family in contemporary society. Marxists argue that the key factor determining the shape of all social institutions, including the family, is the mode of production. Engels (1891) argues that the Capitalist mode of production has shaped the family in many ways. He argues that Capitalism depends on the patriarchal monogamous nuclear family. In Engel’s view this family structure is essential to Capitalist society because of the inheritance of private property- men have be certain of the paternity of their children in order to ensure that their legitimate heirs inherit from them. For Engels, it is the nature of Capitalism which dictates the structure of the nuclear family, and in turn the nuclear family maintains class inequality as inheritance of private property ensures that class divisions between the proletariat and bourgeoisie are maintained. However, Engel’s view can be criticized...
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...ruling classes (the bourgeoisie) control and exploit the workers (the proletariat), and it focuses on the unequal conflict between these two sectors of society. Marxists believe that the capitalist system is criminogenic – which means that by its nature it inevitably causes crime. As item B states, Marxists see crime in the capitalist system as ‘a tool of the ruling class’ where they can control the working class and crime is an unavoidable result because of the oppression the working class are subject to. They also believe that laws are enforced mostly to benefit the interests of the ruling class. (An example of this is 80% of laws exist to protect private property.) NeoMarxists (also known as critical criminology) are another branch of Marxism which was established in the 1970s. They discuss more contemporary ideas of crime and their ideas, such as saying crime results out of political anger. They note that the traditional Marxist perspective is too deterministic and try to implement an element of free will in their theory. Traditional Marxist’s view of crime has 3 key aspects: The Criminogenic capitalism, the state and law making and ideological functions of crime and law. As previously stated, criminogenic capitalism is the Marxist idea that crime is inevitable because of the nature of capitalism. They believe that because of capitalism as the unequal divide between classes, committing crime is sometimes the only way people can live. For example, a young woman who is living...
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...Assess the contribution of Marxist theories to our understanding of society today Within sociology there are many varieties of conflict perspectives. Marxism is one of these. It is both a structural and a conflict theory. From a structural perspective, Marxists analyse the way society as a whole fits together. It views society as a structure in which the economic base determines the shape of the superstructure. The superstructure is made up of all the institutions such as the family, the media and the education system. Their function is to serve ruling class interests and maintain a capitalist society, according to traditional Marxists. Traditional Marxism has been extended through the work of neo Marxism. Neo Marxism is a more modern, new and up to date version of traditional Marxism. Karl Marx is the founding father of Marxism and Marxism is based on the ideas of Karl Marx, hence the name Marxism. Marx describes the concept ‘Polarisation of the Classes’. This describes the historical process of the class structure becoming increasingly polarised. Marx describes how in capitalist society the class structure becomes polarised into a wealthy bourgeoisie and an impoverished proletariat. One way in which Marxist theories helps us to understand society is through explaining historical materialism. Materialism is the view that all humans are beings with material needs, such as food, clothing and shelters and must therefore work in order to meet them. Overtime tools have been developed...
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...Outline and Assess functionalist explanations for ethnic inequality Functionalists hold the view that ethnic inequality is a dysfunctional for society, and that ethnic minorities need to become more similar to the white majority. This is known as Assimilation theory, which is staunchly criticised by the Marxists who believe racism exists to justify the inequalities that are so wide spread by the Bourgeoisie via Capitalism. Weberianism concurs with Marxists (so they diverge from the Functionalists) to an extent, but they introduce status into the explanation. Postmodernists take a approach antagonistic to all of the afore mentioned approaches, and that is to argue that blanket terms such as ethnicity are no longer relevant in the modern era, where our identities are defined by consumerism and globalisation. Functionalists outline the Assimilation Theory, suggested by Patterson. Patterson believes that the influx of immigrants into Britain in the 1950s disturbed what was a homogenous society with social stability and a high degree of social integration, leading to a value consensus. The norms and values brought in with the immigrants led to a Cultural Clash, where each different ethnicity were seen to be against the norm. This created many stereotypes e.g. boisterous West Indians. Prejudice also came about, buoyed by xenophobia, competing for jobs between ethnicities and a lack of similarity (Assimilation) with foreigners. Patterson continues by arguing this has caused self-segregation...
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...0 8 Assess the contribution of Marxism to our understanding of society. (33 marks) http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-SCLY4-QP-JUN13.PDF Marxism is a conflict theory which was developed by Karl Marx. It is a structural approach to society, meaning that it looks at the large-scale societal structure in order to see how society functions and operates. They believe that structure is categorized into two kinds of structure; the infrastructure and the superstructure. The superstructure is the culture, institutions, political power structures, roles, rituals, and norms that influence how we behave in society. The infrastructure means the basic systems and structures that a country or an organization needs in order to work properly. Marxism is useful to our understanding of society as it shows us how society is based on capitalism which caused the division of two opposed classes. Marx believed that in society we have two main classes; the bourgeoisie or the ruling class and the proletariat or the working class. The bourgeoisie are the owners of the means of production (factories e.g.). Marx argues that the bourgeoisie’s ownership of the means of production also gives them ideological and political power that they to exploit the proletariat. The proletariat are the working class in capitalist society. They own no means of production and are wage slaves who are forced to sell their labour power to the bourgeoisie in order for them to survive. The bourgeoisie construct the relations...
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...Britain is often described as an unequal society in terms of wealth and income. Social inequality from a sociological point of view means a lack of fairness between different groups of people living in society. The essay aims to explore the reasons behind the unequal distribution of wealth and income from a functionalist, Marxist and Weber point of view. From a functionalist point of view, the unequal distribution of wealth and income in contemporary Britain is necessary for the survival of society. They would argue that all aspects of society, even poverty, contribute to Britain’s overall stability. Functionalists such as Davis and Moore argue that those who perform the difficult and important jobs are therefore entitled to more power, prestige and money. This motivates the most qualified people to exercise their talents in the most important social positions. However, this can be criticised because it is too difficult to determine the functional importance of any jobs. Nurses are an example of people who are not highly compensated and do not have notably high prestige, but who work long hours and are essential to maintaining society’s health. The high stress of their job and low incentives to do it contradict the theory of functionalism. Another explanation of the unequal distribution of wealth and income is that the means of production is controlled by a small and powerful ruling class. Marxist sociologists argue that in a capitalist society, the bourgeoisies exploit the...
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...making the body of society work coherently, for example the education system may represent the brain as it is this which teaches us not only what to think but how to think. Marxism is comparable in the way that it is also a structural theory and that society controls us all via social control and sanctions however Marxism focuses on the brainwashing of the proletariat by the media, so that we are indoctrinated into believing what society wants us think and also the control of social inequality so that society maintains itself and the relations of production continue. Louis Althusser, a Marxist developed the idea of “ideological state apparatus”, this idea that the ideological state apparatuses, such as churches, schools, family, media and such reinforce the rule of bourgeoisie over the proletariat primarily through ideology in form of norms and values. This demonstrates the view that we are controlled by society as it teaches us and forces it's norms and values on us in order for us to conform to the group, although this is a Marxist point it also is identical to the Functionalist perspective. Many Functionalists believe that there are four main aims of society; Adaption, goal attainment, integration and latency, this idea came from a functionalist named TalcottParsons. He called this Structural Marxism. Parsons saw that society evolve over time and worked his theory around this, adaption is how we change to meet needs of modern society and fit in, goal attainment is...
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...BTEC L3 Extended Diploma Health & Social Care 2014/15 |Name of unit |Assessor | |U7 Sociological Perspectives for Health and Social Care | | | |J Gurney | |Assignment title Assignment 2 |Verifier |Date | | |B. El-Fares |12/10/10 | |Date issued: 25th Nov 2014 | |Submission date 6th Jan 2015 | |Scenario | | ...
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...Functionalist Approach- A sociological approach which examines society’s structures (such as the family, the education system and religion) in terms of the functions they perform for the continuation of society and for individual. Marxism- A sociological approach that draws on the ideas of Karl Marx and applies them to modern society. Marx's theories about society, economics and politics, which are collectively known as Marxism, argue that all society progresses through the dialectic of class struggle. He was heavily critical of the current socio-economic form of society, capitalism, which he called the "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie," believing it to be run by the wealthy middle and upper classes purely for their own benefit, and predicted that it would inevitably produce internal tensions which would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system, socialism. Under socialism, he argued that society would be governed by the working class in what he called the "dictatorship of the proletariat." He believed that socialism would eventually be replaced by a stateless, classless society called pure communism. Feminist Approach- a sociological approach which examines the ways gender operates in society against the interests of women. Feminism is the term that describes the feminist movement in society. It is also used to describe an approach within sociology. Liberal feminism aims for individuals to use their own abilities and the democratic process to help women...
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...Outline and assess Marxists explanations of class inequality There are many concerns in sociology as to whether class is still important. Many argue that it is not important as an individual’s identity is based on status, values and intelligence. Postmodernists claim that class is now dead. We can now be defined by consumption (what we spend money on) rather than class. However, others argue that class in still an influence on people’s lives, affecting certain aspects such as health and education. Marxism is a conflict theory that believes class division within society still exists between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat through the unequal distribution of wealth, power and status. The relationship between the two classes is based upon exploitation and class conflict. The proleteriat produce more goods only to get paid a low wage in return which enables the bourgeoisie to gain large profits. They believe the middle class also exists, but it is fragmented and undergone through the process of polarisation, either rising to the bourgeoisie or falling into the proletariat. The higher classes will get smaller and richer while the working class will get larger and poorer, eventually leading to revolution. Marshall argues that the underclass does not exist, claiming that the underclass would work if appropriate work was available. They also point out that half of those who claim benefits are in full-time work. They believe the concept of underclass is an ideological justification...
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...Science comes from the Latin word meaning ‘knowledge’. Science is a way of looking at the natural world in a systematic and objective way therefore is able to universal laws. An ideology is a system of ideas and ideals and often acts as a foundation for economic or political theories and policies. A belief system is a framework of ideas that people use to explain the world around them. Science is often seen as truer than other belief systems as it can be tested empirically meaning information comes from experience or from experiments. However not all sociologist agree with the assumption that science is more valid, for example, post-modernists would argue that science is just the dominant meta-narrative of this time, however this could easily change in the future. Another reason science can be seen as a belief system is due to the idea that science works in paradigms, this idea was developed by Thomas Kuhn, paradigms are a framework containing basic assumptions and ways of thinking that develops a new way of looking at the world. Kuhn argues that the paradigms come before theories are developed therefore science can be moulded to fit the paradigms which makes its slightly subjective to the beliefs of the people developing the ideas and so can be seen as a belief system. As science is open to being proved wrong and to other ideas some sociologist would say that science is an open belief system. However other sociologists would argue against this as science has always dismissed...
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