One way the family serves capitalism is the socialisation of the young into the ruling class ideology. They see the family as an institution which serves and maintains the position of the ruling class. Marxists point out is that families socialise children in to an idea of hierarchy and inequality. An example of this is when parent’s power over children making them accustom to the idea that there is always someone above or better than them and they will have to obey there orders. This leads them to the working life where you work under capitalists and accept orders from superior employers.
Marxist believe the conventional families are the foundations of capitalism it does this in many way; Private property inheritance, Marxists believe that all functions of the family are performed purely for the benefit of the capitalist system. One of the key factors determining how our society plays in to the hands of capitalism is was who inherits Private property. Engles, Marx friend and supporter, argues that a monogamous nuclear family has become essential in society as men had to be certain of the parentage of their offspring to guarantee that their legitimate heir inherit from them. In Engels eyes this made for a ‘historical defeat for the female sex’ suggesting that woman were now under men’s control and just mere of object to provide offspring to become a heir to the inheritance. Marxist altercate that woman will never receive liberation from patriarchal control with the means of capitalism and private ownership nearby.
In what ways can Fight Club be read as a Marxist critique of corporate capitalism and consumer culture? Fight Club has been argued to be a Marxist critique of the exploitation received by the proletariat from the bourgeoisie in terms of corporate capitalism and consumer culture in a capitalist society. It highlights the methods of control used by those in power in order to maintain a passive working class who, instead of resenting the bourgeoisie, rebels against there own class, creating a divided working class who are alienated from each other, which preserves the status quo. During the film, those in a position of power, for example, the narrator’s boss, are symbolically representative of the media, government and business corporations. In one shot, the narrator’s boss is only shown from the neck down, signifying that all people in positions of power share the same values and highlights that a capitalist society is not personal, instead only interested in money and profit.
The class struggle’s which Marx refers to above is that of the Bourgeoisie, who own the means of production and the proletariat, who sell their labour. Marx believed that the two classes are based on a contradiction, this ascends from the fact that the workers who make the commodities do not get the profit that is made. Instead the profit goes to the Bourgeoisie, over time
It wasn’t until shortly after his death that Karl Marx’s ideology began to significantly influence socialist movements. Although relatively unknown during his lifetime he has become one of the fundamental economic and sociological figures of the modern era. Many of his theories and insights into the way society functions are still relevant in the expanding capitalist society that exists today. Marx was very critical of capitalism and the division in society between the bourgeoisie and proletariat classes, attempting to highlight the injustice and exploitation of the working class by the wealthy upper and middle class. Marx predicted that capitalism within a socioeconomic system would inevitably create internal tensions between social classes leading to its demise and replacement by a new system, communism.
Karl Marx was one of the founders of sociology. He focused on the effects of capitalism. He thought that the economic system of the society determined the beliefs and values of that society. Marxists believe that the most important force in society is class conflict. In capitalist societies, workers are employed to produce goods which are sold by their employers at a profit.
Assess the extent to which Marxist and Feminist theories help our understanding of religion in society today (33marks) The Marxist perspective of society is a structural conflict theory based on the conflict between the ruling/capitalist class and the working class. The ruling class also known as the bourgeoisie; who own most of society’s wealth and the means of production. The Working class is also commonly known as the proletariat who are, according to Marxist theorists, being exploited in the working industry by the bourgeoisie to gain profit. They use the Economic Determinism model to show how the economic base, which shows the means of production being owned by the ruling classes, determines the ISAs and argue that we are being controlled by the ruling class through the use of the ISAs which teach the DVS to us. Through this we have learned that as working class, we expect and accept that we will be exploited by the ruling class in terms of our surplus value.
Many Marxists also argue that a capitalist economic system generates crime, as economic self-interest and personal gain rather than collective well-being is encouraged. Chambliss (1976) argued; "the greed, self-interest and hostility generated by the capitalist system motivate many crimes at all levels within society." The Marxist view that the laws made by the state represent the interests of the ruling class is perhaps a little narrow as the vast majority of laws actually protect the lives of all members of society, not just the ruling classes. For example; laws against 'breaking and entering' protect all stratas in society. Marxist views also appear to be arguing that as laws
Synopsis Consumerist culture is understood to be both a driver and resultant of capitalist ideology. Society’s continual desire to acquire commodities that satisfy their marginal utilities fuels the capitalist system of production. This essay considers arguments in support of the idea that consumerism is a vital aspect of capitalist economic process. It proves that in a post-scarcity society avarice has become a social norm, market institutions manipulate consumer preference, by propagating that identities are forged through conspicuous consumption, and thus persuade individuals that they will maximise their utility by continually purchasing the excess of output generated by the economic system. Thus demonstrating interdependency between the affluenza of consumerism culture and capitalistic economic growth.
His theory on education is described as a two-class system: the capitalist class and the working class. The capitalist class, named after the bourgeoisie, are the minority class and work as employees who own the means of production such as the land, factories, machinery, etc. They make profit by treating the working class, named after the proletariat, people as slaves and by exploiting them. The working class, who are controlled by the bourgeoisie, are forced to work and use all their labour/ working power to serve the capitalist. As a result, they have no option to not work as they have a poor status in society and work under capitalism is poorly paid, alienating, unsatisfying and something workers have no control of.