marxism

• What is Marxism based on?

  The ideas of Karl Marx
• How does Marxism view society compared to functionalism?

  Marxism sees society as a conflict of interests
• What did Marx believe about historical change?

  It is a contradictory process, not gradual
• What term did Marx use to describe his theory?

  Scientific socialism
• What did Marx mean by 'Philosophers have merely interpreted the world'?

  Change the world through conscious action
• What is historical materialism?

  Humans meet material needs through production
• What are the forces of production?

  Tools, machines, and human labor
• What does the mode of production consist of?

  Forces and relations of production
• What are the two classes identified by Marx?

  Owners and laborers
• How does capitalism exploit laborers?

  By paying less than the value produced
• What is surplus value?

  Profit made by capitalists from labor
• What happens to ownership in capitalism?

  It becomes concentrated in fewer hands
• What is class polarization in capitalism?

  Division into capitalist and working classes
• What does class consciousness mean?

  Aware of economic and political interests
• How does ideology function in society according to Marx?

  It legitimizes the existing social order
• What is alienation in Marx's theory?

  Loss of control over labor and products
• How does Marx define the state?

  As armed bodies of men protecting owners
• What is the goal of the proletarian revolution?

  Abolish the state and create communism
• What are the three successive class societies identified by Marx?

  Ancient, feudal, and capitalist societies
• What is a criticism of Marx's view of class?

  It is simplistic and overlooks other inequalities
• What is economic determinism?

  Belief that economic factors cause all change
• What is the 'two Marxisms' concept?

  Humanistic and scientific approaches to Marxism
• What are the key differences between humanistic and scientific Marxism?

  • Humanistic Marxism:
  • Focuses on alienation and subjective experience
  • Emphasizes human agency and consciousness
  • Encourages political action for change

  
  

  • Scientific Marxism:
  • Focuses on laws of capitalist development
  • Views individuals as passive in history
  • Predicts socialism will arise from capitalism's collapse
• What concept did Gramsci introduce?

  Hegemony
• What is central to changing the world according to the text?

  Consciousness and ideas
• When will socialism come about according to the text?

  When people become conscious of capitalism's need to be overthrown
• What does scientific or structuralist Marxism emphasize?

  Structural factors determine the course of history
• What does Marx's later work discuss according to Althusser?

  The laws of capitalist development
• How does Marxism view itself?

  As a science discovering capitalism's governing laws
• What does determinism imply in the context of Marxism?

  Structural factors determine historical outcomes
• What does the text suggest about the role of individuals in history?

  Individuals are passive victims of ideology
• When will socialism come about according to the text?

  When capitalism's contradictions lead to collapse
• What concept does Gramsci introduce to explain ruling class dominance?

  Hegemony
• What must the proletariat develop according to Gramsci?

  A counter-hegemony
• What role did Gramsci have in the Italian Communist Party?

  First leader
• What does Gramsci reject as an explanation of change?

  Economic determinism
• What factors create preconditions for revolution according to Gramsci?

  Mass unemployment and falling wages
• How does Gramsci view the role of ideas in societal change?

  Ideas play a central role in change
• How does the ruling class maintain dominance according to Gramsci?

  Through coercion and consent
• What does coercion involve in maintaining ruling class dominance?

  Using state forces like army and police