Marxism

• Althusser

  He argues that the W/C are controlled by the R/C through 2 types of ‘apparatus’:

  •Repressive state apparatus•Ideological state apparatus
• Repressive State Apparatus

  Institutions such as the justice system & the military. The state uses these to keep physical control over its citizens.
• Ideological State Apparatus

  The state use this to control over the way people think. This apparatus passes on ruling class ideology (no physical force is used) through institutions such as the family, religion & media.

  •
• The more effective ideological state apparatus is, the less the repressive state apparatus is needed (people don’t fight back against injustice!).
• The Purpose Of Education

  •Althusser believes that education is the most important ideological state apparatus•It reproduces class inequality – as generations of working class pupils are failed by the system and remain as low paid workers.•It also legitimises class inequality (makes it seem fair) by making it seem inevitable – i.e. ‘I’m poor because I wasn’t clever/hard working enough at school’ rather than ‘I’m poor because I’m exploited by the ruling class’•
• Eval Althusser


  •(AO3) Althusser is an armchair theorist – ie he doesn’t use empirical evidence to support his ideas. His work is therefore highly subjective – positivists would say it is just opinion.•