Marxist views on social inequality:
Intro:
Marxists believe that inequality is caused by the unequal ownership
of the means of production, so the bourgeoisie own factories and
the proletariat sell labour to the factory owners
Profit/surplus value is created by workers who manufacture goods
for the owners to sell. The primary concern of owners is to create
wealth through profit. To maximise profit, wages must be kept low,
meaning the workers are exploited
Ideology refers to the control of ideas about society that influence
how people think. Marxists believe that people rarely challenge the
ideas of the ruling classes
Point 1: Class polarisation
AO2:
Marx believed that a gap would continue to widen between the two
main classes. As a result, the Proletariat would become even poorer
in relation to the bourgeoisie
Marx foresaw a workers’ revolution. As the rich grew richer, Marx
hypothesised that workers would develop a true class
consciousness, or a sense of shared identity based on their common
experience of exploitation by the bourgeoisie and recognise such
obvious inequalities
The workers would unite and rise up in a global revolution
As societies modernised and grew larger, the working classes
became more educated, acquiring specific job skills and achieving
the kind of financial well-being that Marx never thought possible
Instead of increased exploitation, they came under the protection of
unions and labour laws
Skilled factory workers and tradespeople eventually began to earn
salaries that were similar to, or in some instances greater than, their
middle-class counterparts
Traditional Marxists would argue that economically the middle
classes are wage slaves, who sell their labour to the bourgeoisie
capitalist class; these are no different from any other member of the
proletariat
AO3:
The greatest flaw in his analysis is a failure to foresee the growth of
a middle class - Marx’s vision did not come true
Wright challenged this prediction by empirically examining class
structures in advanced capitalist societies
He argued that rather than disappearing, intermediate or
contradictory class locations (e.g. managers, supervisors)
have persisted and even grown in many capitalist economies
These positions are “contradictory” because they share
characteristics with both the proletariat (e.g. lack of full ownership)
and the bourgeoisie (e.g. control over others’ labour)
Intro:
Marxists believe that inequality is caused by the unequal ownership
of the means of production, so the bourgeoisie own factories and
the proletariat sell labour to the factory owners
Profit/surplus value is created by workers who manufacture goods
for the owners to sell. The primary concern of owners is to create
wealth through profit. To maximise profit, wages must be kept low,
meaning the workers are exploited
Ideology refers to the control of ideas about society that influence
how people think. Marxists believe that people rarely challenge the
ideas of the ruling classes
Point 1: Class polarisation
AO2:
Marx believed that a gap would continue to widen between the two
main classes. As a result, the Proletariat would become even poorer
in relation to the bourgeoisie
Marx foresaw a workers’ revolution. As the rich grew richer, Marx
hypothesised that workers would develop a true class
consciousness, or a sense of shared identity based on their common
experience of exploitation by the bourgeoisie and recognise such
obvious inequalities
The workers would unite and rise up in a global revolution
As societies modernised and grew larger, the working classes
became more educated, acquiring specific job skills and achieving
the kind of financial well-being that Marx never thought possible
Instead of increased exploitation, they came under the protection of
unions and labour laws
Skilled factory workers and tradespeople eventually began to earn
salaries that were similar to, or in some instances greater than, their
middle-class counterparts
Traditional Marxists would argue that economically the middle
classes are wage slaves, who sell their labour to the bourgeoisie
capitalist class; these are no different from any other member of the
proletariat
AO3:
The greatest flaw in his analysis is a failure to foresee the growth of
a middle class - Marx’s vision did not come true
Wright challenged this prediction by empirically examining class
structures in advanced capitalist societies
He argued that rather than disappearing, intermediate or
contradictory class locations (e.g. managers, supervisors)
have persisted and even grown in many capitalist economies
These positions are “contradictory” because they share
characteristics with both the proletariat (e.g. lack of full ownership)
and the bourgeoisie (e.g. control over others’ labour)
