Marxist ethnic inequality

• Castles and Kossack- Marxist


  • Immigrant workers are used as a reserve army of labour to prevent white workers demanding higher wages and lower their bargaining position.
  • Media is used to scapegoat ethnic minorities in the divide and rule strategy that stops the proletariat uprising.
• Postmodernists reject Castles and Kossack's idea as not all ethnic minorities are disadvantaged; Chinese and Indian communities do better in employment and salary than whites.
• Cox- Marxist


  • Racism did not emerge until the 14th century as nobody was seen as inferior or superior, just different.
  • Capitalism and colonialism assumed that European culture was superior and led to them exploiting ethnic minorities.
  • English language, law, and farming were imposed and the people were not paid well or given power.
  • Racism was encouraged to justify this systemic exploitation.
• CCCS argued that Cox was wrong to assume racism emerged due to colonialism as there is evidence of it before and since. Early Christianity used white to denote and purity and black as satanic.
• Castles and Kossack- Marxist


  • Racism helps justify low pay and poor working conditions because black workers are seen as second-class citizens, capitalist employers benefit from the cheap labour of ethnic minorities.
  • White people use black people as scapegoats and blame them for unemployment and housing shortages.
• Hall et al 


  • Young black men in 1970s scapegoated by media and police during the mugging crisis.
• Young disagrees with Hall and Castles & Kossack as ethnic inequality isn't explained best through scapegoating but rather meritocracy. If ethnic minorities have less rewards then they haven't worked hard enough to achieve this.
• Bourdieu- Marxist


  • The dominant ethnic group possess cultural capital which ethnic minorities are less likely to have.
  • Inequality is caused through a lack of cultural capital
• Baudriad, postmodernist, disagrees with Bourdieu as society is more complex and diverse than this. We cannot distinguish distinct values and norms of specific groups because everyone is different.