...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 is the socialisation of young...
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...the sense that it maintains the status quo, disagreeing with sociologists such as Weber and Gramsci who say it is a more radical force and prompts change, and even some fundamentalist groups have gotten involved to argue that religion is conservative in the sense that it keeps tradition and the old ways. Even feminists such as De Beauvoir have had a say in this matter. Functionalists and Marxists have the general consensus that religion maintains the status quo within society rather than it causing social change. They believe that religion acts as a conservative force preventing social change. However, if any change happens it is due to the changes in society that shape religion. Religion as a conservative force can be defined in two ways; the first way of defining religion as a conservative force is to refer to religion as preventing change and maintaining the status quo. The functionalist perspective and Marxists perspective both provide arguments to support this definition of religion as a conservative force. Durkheim supports the idea that religion is a conservative force with his idea of a collective conscience, which is the shared morals and beliefs uniting society. Durkheim believed that "religion promotes social solidarity." his example of religion acting as a conservative force came from totemism within the Arunta tribe, who he described as a clan, and discovered that they would worship the totems. He said this was like the clan was worshiping society but they didn’t...
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...Paulo Freire, a Christian-Marxist In this paper, I will be addressing the topic of how Christianity and Marxism cannot be yoked together. Let me first state that the kind of Christianity Paulo Freire says he believes in, is Catholicism. The Catholic Church tends to have beliefs that are not completely true to the Word of God because they take some scripture out of context. I do not claim to be of any certain doctrine of Christianity; however, I do claim that I am a Bible believing Christian. Everything I believe comes directly from the Bible and without distorting its words; I believe exactly what it says. For this reason, I have a problem with Freire’s belief system. I believe Freire must pick either Christianity or Marxism. I think he is “riding the fence” on his choice of beliefs. If he continues to say he practices both, then he will always be questioning himself in more areas than one. When someone hears the combination of a Christian-Marxist, their first reaction will usually be “that’s an oxymoron,” or “that’s impossible.” How can they actually say they are Christian-Marxists, knowing that all they believe in is constantly contradicting itself? Freire will always, in my opinion, be questioning himself if, unless he looks into either one of the beliefs. Perhaps he will change his mind completely. After doing some research on Marxism, I do not believe Freire understands the full extent of it, which is why he believes himself to be Christian as well. In the article...
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...is when capitalists use the power of the industry to produce goods on a much greater scale while making a large profit than was possible in the pre-industrial capitalism time. The main man in the importation of radicalism was a man named Karl Marx. Marx came to societies eye once his book, The Communist Manifesto, was written in 1848, with another German named Friedrich Engels....
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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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...is an agent of primary socialization, socializing children into the culture of society, children learn the norms and values of society in the family becoming a reproduction of society. Parsons studied on white m/c Americans and found that the family is the best place for primary socialization as it shows security and mutual support, also married couples gain emotional support and security from being married being able to encourage one another. However, the functionalist perspectives have been highly criticized as it seems they assume that the family benefits everyone and the views of socialization being a one-way process in which children learning their culture. Furthermore, a Marxist would reject and disapprove the functionalist idea and say that society is based on a conflict of interest. Marxists argue that family is an institution that keeps the imbalance of power in place, keeping the rich, rich and the poor, poor. In addition, they consider that class inequalities are reproduced and are maintained through systems such as inheritance, also the nuclear family is an ideological apparatus...
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...IntroductionMany times since his death in 1883, Karl Marx’s ideas have been dismissed as irrelevant. But, many times since, interest in his ideas has resurfaced as each new generation which challenges the unequal, unjust and exploitative nature of the capitalist system looks for ideas and a method to change the world we live in.Marx’s ideas – a body of work collectively described as Marxism – was added to by his closest collaborator Frederick Engels after Marx’s death and subsequently added to and enriched by the writings and living experience of Lenin and Trotsky who led the 1917 October Russian Revolution.For any person looking to change the world in a socialist direction the ideas of Marxism are a vital, even indispensable, tool and weapon to assist the working class in its struggle to change society.Most people who describe themselves as socialists will have at one stage or another looked at Marxist ideas and, unfortunately, some have chosen to ignore the rich experience and understanding that Marxist ideas add to an understanding of the capitalist world and how to change it.However, Marx’s ideas are once again becoming fashionable; even amongst people Marx would have regarded as his political opponents. Having been voted the thinker of the Millennium in a BBC poll in 2000, Marx has now been taken up by university professors and City analysts alike as offering one of the most modern ways to understand globalised capitalism.But, for socialists who wish to permanently remove...
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...Marxist literary criticism has, as the name indicates, its basis in the theories of Karl Marx and his associates. The main idea of Marxism is that “instead of making abstract affirmations about a whole group of problems such as man, knowledge, matter, and nature, he examines each problem in its dynamic relation to the others and, above all, tries to relate them to historical, social, political, and economic realities” (BO). Marx argued that the real foundation of society was the economic structure, that political and legal superstructures rose from this base, and that “[i]t is not the consciousness of men which determines their existence; it is on the contrary their social existence which determines their consciousness” (BO). The most fundamental argument of Marxist literary and cultural theories is that they do not see art as something that is separate from society – art is, as Eagleton says, “part of the ‘superstructure’ of society” (5) – and the central concern of Marxist literary criticism is the relationship between the economy and the literature. Marxist critics argue that art is social because it is produced and received in concrete contexts, and because the creator is someone with a class, gender and racial identity – the author is, unavoidably, “part of her own context” (Haslett 8). Art, in Marxist readings, “is interpreted as a material practice, perhaps because it relies on ‘technology’… is concretely realised in situations which themselves are material… ...
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...principles of Marxism as an IR theory? Marxist conception of international relations. The first thing to note is that there is not a Marxist conception of international relations. For pedagogical issues we talk about it, but what we will try to analyze is what has been the contribution that the Marxist theory has done in this field. This leads us to the study of the Marxist theorists: Marx, Engels, Lenin, Rosa Luxemburgo... Their methodological contributions to international analysis and the confrontation between the "official" theoretical statements of the Communist Party from the Soviet Union, personified in Stalin and the Trotsky's permanent revolution, that was silenced for years by the Soviet authorities. Finishing this topic with the contributions from authors in the Marxist sector that have given rise up to what is known as the dependency theory. It is important to understand that Marxism as theory and method has created a new paradigm in the study of international relations, since it led to overcome the traditional state-centric conception. For Marxism the state shouldn't be the center, the basic thing is the concept of the class struggle, and they make emphasis on the contradictions and antagonisms of the existing classes, based on the analysis of the production relations (who controls the production means and who don't). This involves considering the world is not divided into states but into antagonistic classes. Marxist defend the idea of historical materialism, as well...
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...Application of Marxism on The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald Marxist literary critics tend to look for tensions and contradictions within literary works. This is appropriate because Marxism was originally formulated to analyze just such tensions and contradictions within society. Marxist literary critics also see literature as intimately linked to social power, and thus their analysis of literature is linked to larger social questions. Since Marxism is a belief system which can be used to analyze society at the grandest or most detailed level, Marxist literary criticism is ultimately part of a much larger effort to uncover the inner workings of society 1. Title of the Book – The Great Gatsby: Gatsby became rich because, most probably Cody – the owner of the yatch, left him money but at the same time he is was committed to earning money at an early stage in his life. And the adjective Great added to the word noun, accounts for Fitzgerald reason why a man could be called a great that is he struggled hard to achieve the love of his life by trying to raise his stature. The word “Great” is added to emphasize the fact that he rose from rags to riches, and this fact should be respected and valued. Nick: “I suppose he'd had the name ready for a long time, even then. His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people--his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception...
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...Item 2B Marxists see all social institutions as serving the interests of capitalism. They argue that institutions such as the family help maintain the system of class inequality and exploitation. One way in which the family does this is by socialising children into accepting hierarchy. The family is also an important market for consumer goods. Alternatively the functionalists argue that the family performs vital functions for society. For example, it benefits family members by offering mutual support and emotional satisfaction. Using the material from Item 2B and elsewhere assess the Marxist view that the main role of the family is to serve the interests of capitalism. (24 Marks) Each group in society has a different idea on what the main role of the family is. Marxists do not believe that society is based on value consensus, and rejects the view that it operates for the benefit of all. Instead, they see a basic conflict of interest between a small powerful ruling class and the mass of the population, the subject class. They therefore believe that the family is one of a number of institutions which serves to maintain the position of the ruling class. Similarly to Item 2B, “they argue that institutions such as the family help maintain the system of class inequality and exploitation”. For example, both Functionalists and Marxists see the family as a unit which reproduces and socialises children. However, Marxists also see the family as a means for reproducing ‘labour power’...
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...Pride and Prejudice: Marxist Theory 27 January 2014 Pride and Prejudice: Marxist Theory Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen illustrates how money shapes the attitude and the behavior of people. The main idea that Jane Austen presents is the Marxist Theory. This theory states that the underlying reason for . Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the story, faces many characters who believe that money is the underlying factor to which someone should marry. A main example of this is Elizabeth’s mother Mrs. Bennet, who in fact believes that all of her daughters should get married, however marriage is not entirely about true love; Mrs. Bennet’s view on marriage is that her daughters should chase after a man who have great wealth. Throughout the book, Jane Austen consistently shows the upper class looking down toward the middle class, which is fairly ironic for the fact that they are not that poor if they are considered to be middle class. To continue, Jane Austen’s portrayal of, not all but quite a few, wealthy characters summarize the main theme of the novel, which is the power of societal reputation and money. In Pride and Prejudice nothing was further stressed than having economic power, money, and marriage. The first quote, “It is truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” (Austen 1) establishes what type of book this is going to be. Right out of the gate this quotation introduces the importance of economic...
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...Evaluate Marxist views on the role of religion today (33 marks) Marxism is a macro theory meaning it looks at the effect of religion on society rather than separate individuals. Being a conflict theory it views the institutions in society to maintain inequality and uphold ruling class dominance- religion is no exception. Religion is considered a tool of social control as it uses hegemony to control the masses and legitimize ruling class superiority- simply used to keep the current status quo existing. Marxists believe that religion acts as the opium of the masses; this refers to the fact that it distracts and dulls the pain of oppression for the disadvantaged and those who feel like second class citizens, such as women or the working class. One example of this is that in the bible, it orchestrates that the meek shall inherit the earth”; this allows people to believe that although they are suffering now they will be rewarded in the afterlife and thus they accept their situation. Another example is that the bible says, “Rich man at his castle, poor man at his gate, god placed them high and low, their state he bestowed.” These examples are used by the ruling class as a theodicy of disprivilege to justify their position to themselves as well as to the masses’ -It acts as a smokescreen and dampens revolutionary spirit, preventing any chances of a revolution. Traditional Marxists argue that the ruling class have complete control of the infrastructure, meaning they control the superstructure...
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...Assess the contribution of feminist sociologists to an understanding of family roles and relationships. In this essay I will explore the different schools of feminism such as Marxist, liberal and radical feminism, who share the view that women are oppressed in a patriarchal society but differ in opinion on who benefits from the inequalities. Each school of feminism has their own understanding of family roles and relationships which I will assess through this essay. Firstly one must look at the division of domestic labour and conjugal roles. Conjugal roles refer to the roles performed by men and women in relation to housework, childcare and paid work. Traditionally men had the instrumental ‘bread-winning’ role which the women had the expressive role (childcare and primary socialisation). Feminists say that the traditional division of labour is neither natural nor beneficial to women as their expressive role is unpaid and taken for granted. However different feminist views disagree on who benefits from this unpaid labour. Marxist feminists would argue it is capitalism that benefits most as wives keep their husbands happy and therefore they are left with a content workforce. On the other hand, radical feminists would argue that men are the main people to gain from women’s oppression as we live in a patriarchal society. A functionalist view from Wilmott and Young says that there has been a ‘march of progress’ in which the family has become more symmetrical with more joint conjugal...
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...27 January 2014 Pride and Prejudice: Marxist Theory Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen illustrates how money shapes the attitude and the behavior of people. The main idea that Jane Austen presents is the Marxist Theory. This theory states that the underlying reason for . Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the story, faces many characters who believe that money is the underlying factor to which someone should marry. A main example of this is Elizabeth’s mother Mrs. Bennet, who in fact believes that all of her daughters should get married, however marriage is not entirely about true love; Mrs. Bennet’s view on marriage is that her daughters should chase after a man who have great wealth. Throughout the book, Jane Austen consistently shows the upper class looking down toward the middle class, which is fairly ironic for the fact that they are not that poor if they are considered to be middle class. To continue, Jane Austen’s portrayal of, not all but quite a few, wealthy characters summarize the main theme of the novel, which is the power of societal reputation and money. In Pride and Prejudice nothing was further stressed than having economic power, money, and marriage. The first quote, “It is truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” (Austen 1) establishes what type of book this is going to be. Right out of the gate this quotation introduces the importance of economic power; this also shows the reader(s)...
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