...Marxism grants social and political theorists a most realistic, dynamic, and comprehensive framework that allows the study of the causes of war in its ‘totality’; which crosses the boundaries of each theory of international relations and encompasses the political, social, and economic aspects of the causes of war.<!–[if !supportFootnotes]–>[2]<!–[endif]–> Marxist theory applied in conjunction with the ‘three levels’ of analysis, which are, the individual, the state, and the international system, is relevant and significant to the study of international relations. In particular, Marxism as an analytical tool has been able to evolve within and adapt to the altering environment of international relations, especially with concerns to global conflict. An examination of Marxism, from its rudimentary forms and its progression into its modern day applications proves that Marxism offers an extremely viable basis for analysing the causes of war. Marxism accepts that capitalism, hence, the capitalist mode of production gives birth to two classes in society, the owning bourgeoisie and the working proletariat, which are inherently antagonistic towards each other’s existence and prone to class conflict. Also, the capitalist states represents the interests of the bourgeoisie, and as the ruling class, the bourgeoisie controls the means of production, which is basically the states material power and economic foundations. Marxists embrace the materialist conception of history,...
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...Marxism It’s a political and economic philosophy by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed in the mid-19th century. Originally, it consisted of three related ideas: a philosophical anthropology, a theory of history, and an economic and political programme. It’s about a concept of the class struggle and within it the theory of how people in a society develops and fall into certain categories due to the politics’ pressure. Marxism in Feminism: It talks about the rights of women, which has kept changing over the time, and along with it the Feminist theory and the freedom of women having the control of her own life and desires. Marxist Feminist mainly believes in the moral right or wrong in corruption of wage labour, which is caused by the oppression of women. And to understand the capitalist sources of this, Marxist theory is developed and applied into it. Strengths of Marxism: Marxist theory looks at society as a whole, therefore acknowledging all the social forces involved. It recognises the power interests of different groups. Is good at explaining conflict and change in society. Stresses the role of class struggle (conflict) within society between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (owners). Recognises that society is organised under capitalism, in that the bourgeoisie aim to maximise profit by exploiting the proletariat. Weaknesses of Marxism: Marxist theory finds it difficult to explain the presence of certain phenomena (for example Kerry Katona has...
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...Adrienne Korson Marxism: For and Against Marxism is essentially a critique of Capitalism. In order to understand Marxism, one needs to evaluate the history of Marxism. Heilbroner described Marxism as being “inescapable” (Heilbroner, 15). Marxism is credited with the contribution for uncovering an unsuspected level of reality beneath the surface of capitalism. His mode of inquiry for uncovering the hidden reality of capitalism is through his own invented process of socioanalysis. Because of Marx’s legacy of revealing the reality of capitalism, Heilbroner compares him to Freud and Plato, all whose works are inescapable for the truths they have unveiled. Freud and Plato both unveiled hidden realities. Marx shared a further similarity in the sense that his “combination of insight and method permanently altered the manner in which reality would thereafter be perceived” (Heilbroner, 17). Marx’s works in his book Capital is still more relevant today than Adam Smith’s renowned work Wealth of Nations. Marx‘s book placed importance on technology and crises and social tension, and more importantly, undertakes the task of critiquing the political economy. However, the problem of Marxism is within trying to define it. Heilbroner believes that there exists a set of premises that can assist in defining Marxist thought, “so that any analysis that contains these premises can be properly classified as Marxist” (Heilbroner, 20). There are four main premises as described by Heilbroner; the...
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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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...Assess the sociological explanations for ethnic inequality in contemporary society? (40 mark) Point: Marxism * Minority groups form part of a uniformed working class not against it. They work for the bourgeoisie. * Castles and Kosack argued that ethnic minority groups could also be part of * ‘reserve army of labour’– supporting capitalist system and forced to take lower paid jobs than their white counter parts. * Economic system created by racism (Cox) by creating a divide, the working class less likely to have a revolt as they haven’t developed class consciousness they blamed the ethnic minorities. Ideological state apparatus (Althusser) used by the upper class to force cultural reproduction and protect their income Negative effect on family life, woman becomes ‘psychological outlet’ (Zaretsky, 1976) for the man’s troubles and work Critique: Marxism Durkheim would support ethnic minorities working for bourgeoisie as it ‘functionally fits’ society, they have the workforce that they need and there is a consensus in society regarding how it should operate. When analysing the Marxist views the value attached to the ‘reserve army of labour’ needs to be addressed. * Not always negative they do have a job! * Breadwinner/instrumental role (Parsons, 1955) being fulfilled, this is positive for the functioning of society. It is also unfair to suggest that we live in a ‘racist’ society, laws to protect workers ‘anti discrimination act’ 1975, race relations...
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...examine Marxist perspective on today’s society (33 marks) The Marxist perspective is based on the works of Karl Marx and argues that society is divided into two classes; the upper class, referred to as the bourgeoisie, and the working class, referred to as the proletariat. According to Marxism, the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat by making them work long hours with little rewards, whilst they receive all the benefits – this is what Marx referred to as capitalism. In this capitalist system, the working class experience a false class consciousness; this is where they are not aware of the fact that they are being exploited by the ruling class. Marx claimed that the only way to resolve this conflict between the two classes is by evolving from a capitalist society into a communist society, where everyone is equal. However, many sociologists disagree with Marxism and Marx’s ideas of the capitalist system, this is due to the fact that in today’s society, there has been a massive growth in a third class – the middle class. This was growth of the middle class was not predicted by Marx, therefore leaving many sociologists to question whether other ideas suggested by Marx and elaborated by Marxism are valid and true to today’s society. Therefore the Marxist perspective cannot be applied to today’s society. Marx claimed that the working class within society would realise that they are being exploited by the ruling class and break free from their false class consciousness which they...
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...INTRODUCTION "In the Marxian view, human history is like a river. From any given vantage point, a river looks much the same day after day. But actually it is constantly flowing and changing, crumbling its banks, widening and deepening its channel. The water seen one day is never the same as that seen the next. Some of it is constantly being evaporated and drawn up, to return as rain. From year to year these changes may be scarcely perceptible. But one day, when the banks are thoroughly weakened and the rains long and heavy, the river floods, bursts its banks, and may take a new course. This represents the dialectical part of Marx’s famous theory of dialectical (or historical) materialism." Historical materialism is a methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history first articulated by Karl Marx (1818–1883) as the materialist conception of history. It is a theory of socioeconomic development according to which changes in material conditions (technology and productive capacity) are the primary influence on how society and the economy are organised. Historical materialism looks for the causes of developments and changes in human society in the means by which humans collectively produce the necessities of life. Social classes and the relationship between them, plus the political structures and ways of thinking in society, are founded on and reflect contemporary economic activity. Since Marx's time, the theory has been modified and expanded by thousands...
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...The theory of Marxism, devised by Karl Marx, is based on the conflict of classes in society. The ideas are centred around the injustice created by the division of wealth between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Marxists believe that the middle and upper classes exploit the working class for their labour, and create a false class consciousness that allows the proletariat masses to believe that this is a fair system. This theory also attempts to analyse and explain the family structure, criticising it on the basis that the family is an institution built solely to serve capitalist ideals and the bourgeoisie. There are several factors that support the idea that the family’s main role is to serve capitalism. For example, Marxists believe that the introduction of monogamy to society was caused by the need of men to be sure that their sons are genetically entitled to their assets. This oppression of women was put in place by men who supported capitalism, to allow their children to keep the wealth within their family. Marxists argue that monogamy turned women into ‘a mere instrument to reproduce the next generation’ showing that through the demand of women to create the ideal family, capitalism can thrive on the socialisation of the young into sharing their values and ideals. This shows that the monogamous nuclear family serves as an effective institution to maintain the capitalist values within society. Another factor to support the idea that the family maintains capitalism...
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...Alex Glaser The Republican Party: Marxism Revisited During the interwar period Hendrik de Man said “the future is something which we have to create (Berman 117)” distancing himself from his Orthodox Marxist roots. This belief that people must take action to effect the changes they wish to see in the world is natural, yet Orthodox Marxist resisted this temptation for nearly half a century. In the early 20th century it became clear to many that Karl Marx’s ominous prediction of the downfall of capitalism was not going to occur, as capitalism is a dynamic market instrument that adapts to changing circumstances; the unified “proletariat” was not immerging, a middle class was growing, as were national identities. Europe's changing environment opened the door for new political parties to emerge, however many were afraid to abandon Orthodox Marxism. A cult like following emerged, where Marx became a god-like figure who’s predictions were followed religiously as if the world was predetermined. Malon, Brousse and others who began to split from strict Orthodox Marxism were ridiculed by the POF as “Possibilists” because they believed that the Republic offered alternative possibilities for the future; possibilities that did not involve the natural and inevitable rise of a unified proletariat to create a socialist revolution without the use of political action. In retrospect it seems absurd that people would believe there is a single natural state of the world that will inevitably...
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...fought the war turned to wild and extravagant living to compensate. The Great Gatsby is highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. So, choosing The Great Gatsby and had the characters as its focus in this paper because it covers Marxism where each character’s purpose in life is money, and the essence of desire is wealth. It is clear within the text that the characters feel as if they are totally limited by the amount of money they make, therefore, their view of being satisfied and achieving in life is depicted against their financial status. b. Background of Choosing the Topic Characters is choosed as the focus in this paper because it is the most dominant topic to discuss in marxism approach. According to Lois Tyson, Marxist theory was...
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...To explain the role of education we need to look at education through different theories, a theory is a way of looking at the world. Within Sociology there are a number of theories, these include; Functionalism, Marxism, Interactionism, Feminism and Post-modern theory. Functionalists believe that society is made up of four parts; the Economy, the family, decision making and education. They believe that each part functions for the good of the whole. French Sociologist Emile Durkheim defined the major function of education from a Functionalist view as “the transmission of society’s norms and values”, the role of education is to socialise children into these norms and values which include behaviour, discipline, respect and manners (Haralambo and Holborn, 2008). The functionalist approach argues that education has three functions, it teaches the skills needed in work whether these are general or specific skills, it socialises young people into key cultural values needed to maintain society and it allocates people to the most appropriate jobs using examinations and qualifications. Functionalists put an emphasis on positive aspects of schools such as socialisation and the learning of skills and attitudes. Schools have rules and regulations and a system of reward and punishment such as stickers for good behaviour and detention for mis-behaviour. American sociologist Parson defines education as a system that selects children into the most appropriate roles because it is “Meritocratic”...
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...‘Marxism provides an accurate criticism of Liberal Democracy and Capitalism’. Discuss * ‘The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class’ summarizes Marx his approach in the first line of the chapter one of the ‘Communist Manifesto’. * Karl Marx was a revolutionary socialist thinker and an analyst of capitalism, whose ideas played a significant role in the development of modern communism and socialism. * Marxism is an economic and socio-political worldview that contains in a political ideology for how to change and improve the society by implementing socialism. * It is based upon a materialist interpretation of history, taking upon the idea that social changes occur because of the struggle between the different classes within a society. * Marxist analysis leads to conclusion that capitalism leads to oppression of the proletariat, who not only make up the majority of the world’s populace but spend their endless lives working for the benefit of bourgeoisie or the capitalists who are the wealthy ruling class of a society. * According to Christopher Pierson, for Marx, Capitalism was a social and economic system in which the wealth of the capital-owing bourgeoisie was derived from the exploited labour power of a property less working class of proletariat. * A key reason why the Marxist theory of Liberal Democratic state was defined by a range of other writer’s was that in Marx’s and Engels lifetime there were few if genuine, full-developed...
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...the ultimate purpose of liberation, the tendency to call about violence for change, and the failure to address the new forms of oppression that are created. Throughout his various books, Gustavo Gutierrez addresses these issues and leaves no way for misinterpretation against the orthodoxy of his theology; in reality, his teachings are deeply rooted in Christian doctrine, however they are misinterpreted if not analyzed thoroughly. One of the biggest issues that is compared to Gutierrez’s teachings is the idea that he promotes a Marxist and communist approach/analysis to life. What this implies is that we get rid of the class struggles that exist and that everyone work together through a single class (the working class). Specifically, the idea that we must act (praxis) in order to liberate others around us is one that stems from a similar idea of action that is rooted in the “Marxist analysis”. The difference however is that Marxism promotes an idea that all classes must be brought to a single level of struggle and suffering (the level of the proletariat). Gutierrez’s idea is one that is based on a different foundation. He quotes in his books that the class struggle must “not to be confused with the Marxist interpretation… The class struggle...
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...socialist political movement. During his lifetime Marx wrote and published many articles and books, most notably; The Communist Manifesto and Capital. Admirers of Marx work have drawn from what he wrote, taking his ideas one step further and created grand theoretical viewpoints which are known to us as Marxism. Marxism is a theory of economics and history and the basic explanation for how societies go through the process of change, Marx believed that capitalism was evil and created increasing disproportion so wealth in society, since the worker would become poorer the more wealth he created for their employers, this was because a worker becomes a cheaper commodity the more commodities he produces. The central theme of Marxism is public ownership and control of all means of production. Marxism thus calls for abolition of the capitalist economic system where chief means of production are privately owned. According to Marxism, supporting the development of a classless society would have led to prosperity and freedom for all. Marxist Ideas One of the basic ideas of Marxism is that of Dialectical Materialism. This outlook is referred to as dialectical materialism because its approach to the occurrences of nature, its method of studying and apprehending these occurrences is dialectical. Dialectics is derived from the Greek word, dialego, which means, to disclose, or to debate. Ancient philosophers believed that the disclosure of contradictions in thought and the clash of opposite opinions...
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...examines the polemical issues in the application of literary theories to the field of literature and literary criticism. Out of the several modern approaches to literary criticism as employed by the critics, four literary theories are strategically chosen for analysis in this paper; Formalism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism/Deconstruction and Marxism. This work is objectively carried out by consulting articles, journals and books written on the literary theories. The opportunity of information technology via the internet is also utilized. It is established in the course of writing this paper that literary theories are indispensable tools for literature to achieve its goal of sensitizing its audience towards literary awareness. The application of literary theories to literature, that enhance better and detail insight into text or literary works, would continue to be relevant and make literature more enjoyable and meaningful to its readers and users. Further research and enquiry into the relationship between the two (literature and literary theory) is open and should further be exploited. Keywords: literary theory, literary criticism, Marxism, Formalism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism Introduction Literary criticism is the study, evaluation and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals. Though the two activities are closely related, literary critics are not...
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