Apply material from Item A and your own knowledge,
evaluate the contribution of different Marxist theorists to
our understanding of society (20 marks)
According to the item, “the capitalist class maintain their dominance partly by force”.
Gramsci, a marxist sociologist, would strongly agree with this view as they argue that
the ruling class uses ‘coercion’ to control the working class. This is the use of
institutions such as the army and the police force to ‘scare’ members of the
proletariat from rebelling and revolting against the bourgeoisie. The item also says
that the ruling class maintains control of society “by ideological control through the
media, the education system and so on”. Gramsci also argued that the bourgeoisie
used ‘consent’ to gain and maintain control of the proletariat. This is a method of
control that subconsciously teaches the working classes that the social norms and
values that serve the ruling class are those that should be followed. An example of
this is to go to work and be grateful for anything more than minimum wage, despite
the ruling class pocketing as much of the profits for themselves as possible. The
ruling class creates these ideas to be accepted as common sense, causing the
workers to never realise that anything is wrong, therefore not revolting. However, this
argument can be criticised as it is very deteministic. There is no account for free will
or any possibility for the working class to realise their exploitation and remove
themselves from the situation. Therefore, the capitalist class does “maintain their
dominance partly by force and partly by ideological control”, as suggested by the
item, but it is not guaranteed to work.
However, as further stated by the item, “other sociologists argue that class is not the
only basis for inequality”. Delphy and Leonard, feminist sociologists, would argue
that gender is also a basis for inequality and possibly the most significant one. They
argue that women are exploited, regardless of social class, to perform a triple shift:
paid work, unpaid domestic work, and emotional work to regulate the family and their
behaviours. This causes inequality between men and women as women are forces
to be subservient to men as they are likely to have control over finances and
decision making in the home. Despite this, another argument can be introduced to
suggest that ethnicity is actually the basis on inequality on society. Although Asian
students achieve the highest in education, they are commonly prejudiced and
discriminated against in mainstream society. These concepts both disprove that
social class is not the primary basis for inequality in society.
To conclude, it is clear that, while marxism has merit in its’ explanations of
inequalities being maintained, there is no true evidence of these concepts and
Marx’s dream of a worker’s revolution is yet to happen with no signs that it is close.
Therefore, marxism does not truly understand society and it’s conflicts.
evaluate the contribution of different Marxist theorists to
our understanding of society (20 marks)
According to the item, “the capitalist class maintain their dominance partly by force”.
Gramsci, a marxist sociologist, would strongly agree with this view as they argue that
the ruling class uses ‘coercion’ to control the working class. This is the use of
institutions such as the army and the police force to ‘scare’ members of the
proletariat from rebelling and revolting against the bourgeoisie. The item also says
that the ruling class maintains control of society “by ideological control through the
media, the education system and so on”. Gramsci also argued that the bourgeoisie
used ‘consent’ to gain and maintain control of the proletariat. This is a method of
control that subconsciously teaches the working classes that the social norms and
values that serve the ruling class are those that should be followed. An example of
this is to go to work and be grateful for anything more than minimum wage, despite
the ruling class pocketing as much of the profits for themselves as possible. The
ruling class creates these ideas to be accepted as common sense, causing the
workers to never realise that anything is wrong, therefore not revolting. However, this
argument can be criticised as it is very deteministic. There is no account for free will
or any possibility for the working class to realise their exploitation and remove
themselves from the situation. Therefore, the capitalist class does “maintain their
dominance partly by force and partly by ideological control”, as suggested by the
item, but it is not guaranteed to work.
However, as further stated by the item, “other sociologists argue that class is not the
only basis for inequality”. Delphy and Leonard, feminist sociologists, would argue
that gender is also a basis for inequality and possibly the most significant one. They
argue that women are exploited, regardless of social class, to perform a triple shift:
paid work, unpaid domestic work, and emotional work to regulate the family and their
behaviours. This causes inequality between men and women as women are forces
to be subservient to men as they are likely to have control over finances and
decision making in the home. Despite this, another argument can be introduced to
suggest that ethnicity is actually the basis on inequality on society. Although Asian
students achieve the highest in education, they are commonly prejudiced and
discriminated against in mainstream society. These concepts both disprove that
social class is not the primary basis for inequality in society.
To conclude, it is clear that, while marxism has merit in its’ explanations of
inequalities being maintained, there is no true evidence of these concepts and
Marx’s dream of a worker’s revolution is yet to happen with no signs that it is close.
Therefore, marxism does not truly understand society and it’s conflicts.
