Research Schools and Pluralism

Moreover, it argues that economic exploitation causes political oppression and the powerful will then use their power to turn the state into a “servant of bourgeois economic” (Marx). For that reason, the only way to breakout of this conflict is through revolution, in which the working class people overthrows the owner of the capitalist system. Conflict theorists might argue, for instance, religion fulfills the bourgeois interests by appeasing the population by pacifying them. In essence, under this theory there will always be conflicts for scarce resources, and whenever one group gains control of the resources there will be an oppressed group. And according to Marx, this can be broken if we have a classless society where resources are allocated equally.

This essay will evaluate the Marxist theory that the ruling class in society decides the law and enforces it, to reflect their own interests.

Marxism was founded on the principle of there being two sides to everything in life. From a socioeconomic standpoint, the masses were categorized into two main categories, the bourgeoisie, the wealthy business owners, and the proletariat, the poor workers. Moreover, to those whom were in positions of power, there were those to whom were weak. To truly understand this concept, one must look back to the early nineteen hundreds, the Russian Revolution, and the subsequent formation of the Soviet Union.

Designed over two hundred years ago, Karl Marx’s philosophy defines specific characteristics known today as the Marxist approach. In this critical approach, whomever holds the power and controls the factories or means of production, consequently controls the whole society. Marx’s opinion states that the laborers running the factories and thus holding the means of production should be the ones holding the power. However, this idea rarely holds true in practical society. Frequently, Marx notes, powerful people hire others to carry out the labor. This division of power reflects current culture. Two main classes or categories of people exist, the bourgeoisie and proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the powerful, or those who are in charge of

Canada’s economy is one that exhibits a multitude of characteristics that adhere to the capitalist and socialist constructs of a mixed system. In order to clearly define and analyze the current economic system of the country, one would have to establish a relationship between its economy as well as the ideas, theories, and models of prominent economists from the past. Both Adam Smith and Karl Marx conceptualized contrasting schools of thought regarding the methods in which an economy should be run — Smith emphasized the independence of businesses whereas Marx strived to eliminate class conflict. However, the principles of Marxism certainly satisfy the criteria of Canada’s economy through its regulations, public sector, and market intervention. This widespread manifestation of Marxism within the Canadian economy accurately represents the country’s economic position.

Marxist Theory focuses on the idea that whoever controls the means of production in a

At its core, Marxism critically analyses HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critique_of_capitalism" \o "Critique of capitalism"capitalism and the theory of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_change" \o "Social change"social change. They aim for a

AQA AS/A SOCIOLOGY ESSAY: CRITICALLY EXAMINE MARXIST PERSPECTIVES ON TODAY’S SOCIETY Classical Marxism is a conflict structural theory which argues that, rather than society being based on value consensus as functionalists would contend, there is a conflict of interest between different groups (social classes) because of the unequal distribution of power and wealth. Marxists are also interested in the way in which social change can occur, particularly in sudden and revolutionary ways. However, there are differences between Marxists especially over the way which social change can come about. For example, humanistic Marxists like Gramsci give a greater role to the conscious decisions and actions of human beings than do structural Marxists

Marx’s view on social change is due to the struggle between different classes within society who are constantly competing with each other to improve their way of life and the condition that they are in. Marxists analysis leads to the conclusion that capitalism; the currently dominant form of economic management, leads to the oppression of the proletariat; who not only make up the majority of the world 's population, but who also spend their lives working for the benefit of the bourgeoisie or the wealthy ruling class in society. Since the death of Karl Marx in 1883 his viewpoints have not been viewed not to be relevant. Many times since his death his viewpoints have come up as every new generation challenges the unequal, unjust and the people who support every capitalism system and each new generation looks for ideas and a method to change the world we live in. People who are classed as

Marxism is a conflict theory between a marginalized, exploited group, the proletariat, and a controlling class, the bourgeois. The bourgeoisies are made up of an elite middle class that controls most of societies production. The proletariat is made up of a lower-class labor force. The proletariat has labor-power that they sell for a salary. This is on the basis that the laborer freely chooses the contract they enter with an employer. The bourgeois are those who hire the labor power. After the proletariat is hired, the bourgeois then owns any goods produced by that worker.

The Marxist's perspective is dominantly based on economic factors and over emphasizes them; money is assumed to be everything within society and social life. In my view, something is clearly missing here such as values and other social factors. Assuming that money is everything within society leads to assumptions that those owning the productive and therefore economic resources are given the power and use it to control those without to maintain their hegemony. Further factors that can form and shape society like gender, ethnicity, age, culture etc. are not taken into consideration and neglected. Hence the Marxist perspective focuses on having versus not having, earning versus not earning and powerful versus powerless.

Marx conceived the base and superstructure approach that defines capitalist society. The base relates to all that is a function of production in society and conversely, the superstructure, which can be said to be derived from the base, relates to the values, culture, ideology and the governing bodies of society. The former creates and supports the latter by a process of legitimisation of the economic activities, and in turn, the superstructure ensures the processes remain in place. Class domination plays a large part in this process of organisation; for example, private education providing better opportunities for advancement and primary socialisation into the higher echelons of society. However, a counter argument claims that the state is just as involved in the stresses and “struggles of civil society’’ as opposed to being a mere extension of it for the pure benefit of a particular class interest (Held 2001, in Hall and Gieben 2001, p 113).

Unfortunately you could see that the totalitarian nature of the Marxist view on state wasn’t so easily discerned. But after a glance at Marxist theory the practice put Marxist organisations into reveal what appeared to be a paradox. Marx and Engels claimed to be opponents of state but this insist that a fundamental goal to abolish the institution. But in, the vast majority of Marxist organisations has been advocates of the drastic extension of the role of the state in society. The Marxist movement has no longer aimed to revolved in the social-democratic which can promotes the systemic expansion to the role of state in capitalist society.

Marxism is the theory of Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels, it’s based on the economical and social system. Marxism emphasizes on the importance of class struggle in society. They thought that economic processes and class struggles laid the groundwork for every important era and movement in history, and would lead to the downfall of the upper class and the rise of an egalitarian communist society. Under capitalism, the working class or “the people,” own only their capacity to work; they have the ability only to sell their own labor. According to Marx a class is defined by the relations of its members to the means of production. The worker is alienated because he has no control over the labor or product which he produces. The

In the chapter, “Manifesto of the Communist Party” in The Marx-Engels Reader book, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had broken up the topic of the Communist Party up to four parts: 1. “Bourgeois and Proletarians”, 2. “Proletarians and Communists”, 3. “Socialist and Communist Literature”, and 4. “Position of the Communists in Relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties.” In this essay, I’ll be focusing on the first two parts of the “Manifesto” since there are so much information to cover within three to four pages. To begin I would like to summarize, “Bourgeois and Proletarians” was about the vicious cycle of the proletariats having to constantly fight the socioeconomic classes above them considering that they are always exploited, yet they have no norms (“appropriation”) of their own to secure or embrace. “Proletarians and Communists” was where Marx and Engels define what Communism is, how it relates to the Proletarians, and how Communism works (or would work). History can be trace back to the class/political struggles; the oppressed fighting against their oppressors; the “subordinate gradations”. Subordinate gradation was defined as a social rank, where the highest power is at the top and the weakest is at the bottom. However, when old subordinate gradation falls another one would rise, that was the cycle. Marx and Engels went on to make a statement that the current class antagonisms are between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The proletariat is defined as the