...Asses the Marxist View of Society Marxists believe that the ideas that people hold are formed by their position in society, and ideology is therefore seen very clearly as the ideas of particular social groups reflecting their interests. The Marxist view is most associated with the view that there is a dominant ideology in society. This is a set of ideas and beliefs held by the most powerful groups and, in particular, of the ruling class in society. Mannheim (1985 1936) generally associated the dominant ideology with the deliberate obscuring of facts in order to conceal the inequalities of capitalist society and to prevent existing patterns of inequality and the privileged position of the dominant class, and to prevent any social change that might threaten their interests. Althusser (1971) suggested the dominant ideology was spread through a series of ideological state apparatuses – social institutions like the family, the education system, the mass media, the and religion, which justified the power of the dominant social class. Gramsci (1971) further developed the Marxist view of ideology with his development of the concept of hegemony. Hegemony refers to process whereby the ruling class, through the dominant ideology, maintains its power by persuading other social classes, and particularly the working class, to adopt ruling-class ideology as part of their own beliefs and values, and therefore to consent to the rule of the dominant class rather than being forced to obey. An...
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...Assess the Marxist views of society (33 marks) When looking at the Marxists views of society there are three main theorists to look at, Marx, Gramsci and Althusser. All of these theorists focus on how capitalism has been maintained in many societies and how eventually it will be over thrown. Both Gramsci and Althusser’s ideas originate from the works of Karl Marx who, unlike functionalist Emile Durkheim, saw no evolutionary progress of society but a gradual change in which capitalism would increase human misery. Marx suggested that capitalism needed to replaced by ideas such as communism. He looked at historical materialism and suggested that our society is altered by forces of production from the base and the superstructure. He argues that capitalist production forms the economic base and this ultimately shapes our superstructure, like institutions, religion, law and education. However, Althusser criticises this for being too simplistic and suggests a more complex two way causality model. He argues there are three levels; Economic level: comprising all those activities that involve producing something in order to satisfy and need. Political level: comprising all forms of organisation. And the Ideological level: involving the ways that people see themselves and their world. He believes each level can affect each other and impact different choices and beliefs on each level. This approach discourages political action because it is the role of structural forces rather than...
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...and elsewhere, assess the Marxist view that the main role of the family is to serve the interests of capitalism Marxists see all society’s institutions, such as the education system, the media, religion and the state, alone with the family as helping to maintain class inequality and capitalism. Capitalism, also known as Marxism, is a perspective based on the ideas of Karl Marx. It sees society as divided into two opposed classes, capitalist class, who own means of production and the working class, whose labour the capitalists exploit for profit. In a capitalist society, goods and businesses are owned privately for the purpose of profit. For Marxists, the functions of the family are performed purely for the benefit of the capitalist system. This view contrasts sharply with the functionalist view that the family benefits both society as a whole and all the individual members of the family. But however for Marxists, the functions of the family do not meet the needs of society as a whole but meet the needs of capitalism. Marxists have identified several functions that they see in the family fulfilling for capitalism, one of the functions is inheritance of property. Marxists argue that the key factor determining the shape of all social institutions, including the family, is the mode of production. In modern society, it is capitalist class that owns and controls these means of production. As the mode of production evolves, so does the family. Engels view which was promiscuous horde...
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...prepare for their place in society» To what extent would Marxists and Functionalists agree on this? In sociology there are two main structural approaches consensus theory (functionalism) and conflict theory (Marxism). They have different perspectives that see society differently. Education is the action or process of teaching someone especially in a school, college, or university; it is one of the institutions society consists of. Accordingly functionalists’ and Marxists’ view of the role of education in society differs. Both functionalism and Marxism agree that schooling socialises students into their place in society, however they have a conflict view on whether this is a ‘good’ thing or not. Functionalists assume that educational institutions serve the needs of industrial society, by an advanced division of labour. Educational institutions are examined for the positive contribution they make towards maintaining society and it is seen as vital part of socialization. Education also serves the needs of the social system by socializing pupils to shared values, norms and beliefs. This leads to great social solidarity. Emile Durkhiem (1903) identified two main functions of education: creating social solidarity and teaching specialist skills. He argues that society needs to have sense of solidarity, where every individuals should feel themselves to be part of the community. Durkhiem stated that school serves a function in a complex industrial society that the family can't. Children...
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...Assess the view that the nuclear family functions to benefit all its members and society as a whole. A nuclear family can be defined as a unit consisting of a father, mother and their dependant children. There are many views against and for the nuclear family from a consensus perspective, a class perspective and a gender conflict perspective. The consensus sociologists, new right and functionalists, believe that the best and only type of family is the traditional, nuclear family. In contrast, the class and gender conflict sociologists, Marxists and feminists, argue that it meets the need of capitalism, not those of family members or society as a whole and see the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women (feminists view). To evaluate the functions of the family, I will look into the different perspectives before any conclusions are made. The views of the functionalists are positive and see the nuclear family as the dominant family in society that meet the needs of all members of the family. Furthermore, as functionalists see the family as a particularly important sub-system- a basic block of society, functionalist sociologist George peter Murdock (1949) put forward three points that was mentioned in item 1. Item 1 suggests the family providing three basic functions: “stable satisfaction of sexual needs”, “ production and rearing of children” and “provision of a home”. These three points were put forward by Murdock while he put forward the case that the nuclear...
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...knowledge to evaluate Marxists views on how culture has evolved in the UK society. Marxist theory was based on the writings of Karl Marx in 1818-1889. Marxists believe that we are socialized into a traditional gender, working role. This benefits the Bourgeoisie, ruling class who seek to own the means of production and impose a state of false class consciousness on the working class through ruling ideology. They believe certain cultures have negative impacts on society. Marxists believe one type of culture that has a negative impact on society is mass culture. Mass culture creates an unthinking, uncritical working class. This is shown in item A as it says "dumbing down", this suggests a lower quality of products is made as they are massed produced as they look inferior because they will have little value and are short lived compared to high culture products. This makes the working class feel content within their social positions so a lower quality of culture is created. The lower quality offers easy pleasure from its simplified types, therefore it stops people appreciating more complex forms of culture. This is shown in today's society as we have a capitalist system who creates false needs for the working class population where they produce vast profits through advertising and consumerism. However, this can be criticized as it could be what the 'masses' want to watch, dumbed down products that are appealing towards the lower class. Another culture that some Marxists believe that was...
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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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...The Marxist view of the family is that the primary responsibility of its existence is to continue to develop the industrial society due to the fact that, in the eyes of Marxists, its main role is to perpetuate capitalism. The bourgeoisie, or higher class, remain rich whilst the proletariat, otherwise known as the lower class, remain poorer. The proletariat are socialised by the family to not question their role in society and to always remain hard working employees in order to keep society in the order that it is in now. The Marxist views of the nuclear family can be assessed in whether or not they are effective theories as they can be compared to other theorists’ views of the family. Functionalists and Feminists have varying theories on the existence of the family that both coincide with the Marxist view and also contrast with it. Marxists have concluded that one of the sole reasons the nuclear family exists is the inheritance of property. A theorist named Fredrich Engels believes the existence of monogamous marriage – being married to one person in one time – exists exclusively in society so that the inheritance of private property can be easily passed down throughout generations without confusion of which child it should go to. This aims to aid money staying within the family, which therefore means the bourgeoisie can pass down property to their heirs and the rich stay rich, while the poor who have nothing to pass onto their future generations stay poor. However, this theory...
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...households. (24) Functionalists take a consensus view of the role of family. They see it as a universal institution that performs essential functions for society as a whole and all members of the family. According to Murdock, it provides important sub-system that provides stable satisfaction for the sex drive and therefore avoids social disruption. As well as this, Murdock says the family reproduces the next generation and thus ensuring current society to continue. Parsons sees a functional fit with the nuclear family fitting modern society’s needs for a geographically and socially mobile labour force. However critics argue that he is wrong about the relationship between industrialisation and family structure. Moreover Marxists, Liberal, radical and Marxist feminist all view the functions of the family in different ways, this essay will assess the different perspectives in which all these groups view the functions of the family. Functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus- as set of shared norms and values; into which society socialises its members. This enables them to cooperate harmoniously to meet society’s needs and achieve shared goals. They regard society as system made up of different parts or sub-systems that depend on each other, such as the family, the education system and the economy. Factionalists also see the family as a particularly important sub-system- a basic building block of society. For example George Peter Murdock argues that the...
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...Aldous Huxley was a story written about society that was thought to be a utopia, but in actuality this twisted world was anything from perfect. The society Huxley portrayed in his novel was in some ways a Marxists dream and in other ways a Marxists worst nightmare. Aldous Huxley did a brilliant job connecting with the Marxist point of view while also embodying numerous fears of Marxists in his critically acclaimed book A Brave New World. Marxists believed in a totalitarian government somewhat like a dictatorship. The government in Huxley’s novel used tactics such as adolescent brainwashing, drug administration, and the use of technology to keep total control of the public population. Much like Marxist societies the society in Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World chose to alienate their young instead of nurture them like a normal world. Children in this novel were alienated at an early age, they were also trained to hate nature and music or anything that promoted any type of free will. Children were not raised by a mother and father because in the World State there was no such thing as marriage or even love. In Marxist cultures children were separated from their parents and taught to formulate their view of the world based on only Marxist teachings rather than “outdated” views. In a Marxist society the upbringing of children was not handled by parents but rather by the entire community so there were such things as family bonds in Marxism. Marxist leaders and the leaders of the World...
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...Examine Marxist views of the role of the family. (24 marks) Marxist sociologists believe that the family is shaped by the requirements of capitalism and serves to support and maintain this unjust and exploitative system. They believe that the family exists to reproduce labour power, to consume the products of capitalism and to provide emotional support for workers to help them cope with the harsh reality and to accept their inequalities. Engels, a Marxist sociologist, believes that family was only needed when private property emerged and that monogamous families were a means of passing on private property to heirs as they provided proof of paternity. Zaretsky, another Marxist sociologist, supported Engels’ theory but also believed that family helps workers to live with their oppression by giving them a measure of control over their own lives. Functionalism is similar to Marxism as they are both macro-theories which means they look at society as a whole rather than at specifically one aspect. They are also both structural theories which means that they view the family as part of a system and that people are products of this system. However, functionalism differs to Marxism as functionalists believe that the family works harmoniously and that value consensus exists within society whereas Marxists believe that conflicting views are normal. Functionalists also believe that the family benefits everyone in society whilst Marxists believe the family only benefits the bourgeoisie...
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...M Antonio Gramsci One of the most influential figures in the neo-Marxist reassessment of religion is the Italian, Antonio Gramsci. He rejected the traditional Marxist view that the cultural superstructure merely reflected society’s economic base. In his view, the superstructure is more autonomous and independent than Marx acknowledged, and beliefs are no less real or important than economic forces. For Gramsci, if the communist age were to come, it would require working-class action. But this action must be guided by theoretical ideas. And, just as intellectuals of the Roman Catholic Church had shaped the minds of its followers over centuries, so must the industrial working class produce its own intellectuals who can articulate working-class experience and help shape working-class consciousness. Gramsci was well aware of the control over consciousness, which the Catholic Church had traditionally exercised over its members. This control he referred to as hegemony. He was highly critical of what he regarded as the Church’s characteristic subservience to the state and ruling-class interests. Nevertheless, he did not assume that religion must inevitably play such a role. He argued that, at different historical times, popular forms of religion had emerged which expressed and supported the interests of oppressed classes. Thus, he accepted the possibility that religious beliefs and practices could develop and be popularised, particularly by working-class intellectuals, to challenge...
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...What do Marxists say about the education system? Learning targets: • Marxists see that the ruling class or 'bourgeoisie' rule the workers or 'proletariat'. • The bourgeoisie have the wealth and the power to rule. The proletariat are exploited because they are not treated fairly. • Marxists argue that the education system plays a key role in disseminating the ideology of the ruling class. • Education acts as a force of oppression for the children of the working classes Key questions (AO1) What do Marxists believe? (AO1) How do Marxist theories apply to the education system? (AO2) What strengths are there to the Marxist view of education system? (AO2) How have Marxist views been criticised by other writers? Summary of key points Marxists see capitalist society as being ruled by the economy. The minority, the ruling class or 'bourgeoisie' rule the majority, namely the workers or 'proletariat'. The bourgeoisie have the wealth and the power to rule. The proletariat are exploited because they are not treated fairly. This is the basis of class inequality. Institutions such as organised religion, the mass media, the political and the education systems all reinforce the ideology that the rich and powerful should control society. They promote an ideology or belief that our society is fair and just and that the proletariat should quietly accept capitalist society. Marxists argue that...
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...elsewhere, assess the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of families and households (24 marks) According to functionalist sociologists, the family is a key institution of society. It performs vital functions for the maintenance of society as a whole and for the benefit of all its individual members. For example, according to George Peter Murdock, it provides for the stable satisfaction of the sex drive and thus avoids the social disruption and conflict that could be caused by a sexual ‘free for all’. Similarly, the family reproduces the next generation and thereby ensures the continuation of society over time. Functionalists tend to see the nuclear family as the ideal family type for modern society. For example, Talcott Parsons argues that it is the family structure best equipped to meet the need of industrial society for a mobile labour force. Similarly, the nuclear family performs two essential functions for its members and for society as a whole. However, not everyone accepts the functionalist view of the family and its role. Marxists and feminists reject its consensus assumptions about who benefits from the family. Similarly, historians and sociologists have put forward evidence to challenge Parsons’ view that there is a ‘functional fit’ between the type of society and the type of family structure found within it. When considering the question, we need to understand that functionalism has contributed towards our understanding of the family. However...
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...New Right. Functionalism In 1951, Talcott Parsons introduced the Functionalist view and this studies the social structure as a whole of how it functions as well as how each social structure is crucial in the interests of society. Functionalism believes that humans and the society have basic needs, institutions and governments might be responsible to meet the required needs of people also the functionalist may consider that they are different kinds of sources that could limit the individual’s behaviour within the chosen society, meaning that the society will behave appropriately based on one’s behaviour while having the same values, on the other hand the functionalist view does recognise that there may be errors or inequalities within the society but bearing in mind this can be functional for the society. However there have been criticisms against functionalism as some may believe that it is not a realistic way of living and not considering one’s own choices also functionalism may seem to ignore conflict and diversity within individuals in the society. Parsons sees inequalities as a well function to society as it helps in the running of society or community. The main key idea of functionalism is to ensure smooth running of the society and this is done through the structures of households and family. The weakness of functionalism does not clearly address the conflicts that may arise in the society and does not allow for the individual’s free will this is because the individuals...
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