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.
The poor were treated with contempt and marginalized. The religion was distorted to amass wealth endangering the society as a whole. Jesus saw it and was determined to redeem men from the clutches of this unfair system. Viewed against this background, it is fair enough to assert that He advocated a change of the existing order of things. Within the meaning of this interpretation, Jesus was a rebel, yet He did not campaign for the achievement of the aim through violence.
A particular Marxist view of the relationship between crime and social class is known as criminogenic capitalism. For Marxists, crime is inevitable in capitalism because capitalism is criminogenic. Capitalism is based on the exploitation of the working class – that is, on using them as a means to and end (profit), whatever the human cost of doing so. It is therefore particularly damaging to the working class and this may give rise to crime. Firstly Marxists believe that poverty may mean that crime is the only way the working class can survive therefore this results in the form of a relationship between crime and social class.
The Marxist approach as an explanation of crime and deviance concentrates on the unfair nature of the capitalist society in which we live and how it drives individuals into a life of crime. Marxism is criticised by other theories that do not share their opinion on capitalism – this therefore means they do not share their opinion on crime and deviance. The traditional Marxist view on crime and deviance is that capitalism is a system based on greed, competition, and consumerism and that this creates the ideal conditions and need for crime. They say that capitalism drives people to commit criminal activities, crime is motivated by financial gain which is logical in a capitalist system, they can also explain non-utilitarian crimes by saying they can be caused by frustration with the unjust system we live in in todays society. Marxists also believe that the capitalist system creates laws that are seen to favour the working class and make them think the system is fair and just, however, these are only put in place to appease the subject class and give the appearance of fairness.
He uses Arthur Birling as a voice for capitalism, who is ridiculed by the inspector, a representative of socialism. The dialogue between them shows this, as the inspector twists what birling says. For example, when the inspector says “I’m sorry but you asked me a question”, and Birling says the inspector previously asked him an unnecessary question, the Inspector replies “It’s my duty to ask questions”. Priestly uses this symbolism as framework for the political ideology battle each character has with the inspector. As the political Ida of capitalism has corrupted the Birling family, Priestly shows the audience how the inspector, the voice of socialism, constantly out-wits the birling’s.
In comparison to this view Marxists see society as promoting the interests of the ruling class and legitimating suffering and therefore preventing social change. In Marx’s words religion is the “opiate of the people” which makes their working class life more bearable. Feminists also agree that religion serves the interest of the powerful, however they believe this supports the social structure of patriarchy and legitimates women’s subordinate position. For example this is seen through Hinduisms support of arranged marriages and the Catholic Church’s banishment of abortion. In contrast Weber’s views suggest that religion has acted as a powerful force of social change.
In capitalist societies, workers are employed to produce goods which are sold by their employers at a profit. Only a bit of the profit ends up in the workers wage, most of its kept by the employer. Marx said that if workers were allowed to notice the unfairness of this, they’d revolt. So, to avoid revolution the capitalist system shapes the superstructure to make sure that the workers accept their lot in life. Institutions like the family, education and religion lead individuals into accepting the inequalities or capitalism.
Crime is often the result of offering society-demeaning work with little sense of creativity. Laws that are passed on reflect the wishes and ideologies of the ruling classes. Thus for Marxists punishment for a crime may depend and vary according to the social class of the perpetrator. Modern Marxists point to education and the media as socialising agencies, which delude the working class into conforming to a social order, which works against its real interests. From a Marxist point of view laws are made by the state, which represent the interests of the ruling class.
Marxism is a structuarlist ideology which means that they paying attention to social institutions and structures over individuals, and it was Karl Marxs (1945) who came up with it. The belief that society is divided into the bourgeoisie, who own the "means of production", and the proletariat, who do the work, also known as upper class and working class. The bourgeoisie or capitalist class exploit the workers, and arrange society to keep the workers down. Most of the profit from the work that the working class do is kept by the bourgeoisie. Now, when we know the definitions, we can look at the Marxism view of education.
Examine Marxists theories of the role of education Marxists theory of the role of education is seen as the opposite of functionalists where they see education as based on value consensus. Marxist approaches offer a more critical view of the role of education and see it as based on class division and capitalist exploitation. Some of the people who are believed to be Marxists include: Karl Marx, Louis Althusser, Samuel Bowles and Herbet Gintis and Paul Willis. Karl Marx was one of the main Marxists who had a strong belief in Marxism. His theory on education is described as a two-class system: the capitalist class and the working class.