Topic Summaries

Marxism

A-Level > Sociology > AQA > A Level Sociology Topic Summaries > Sociological perspectives > Marxism
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Exam overview
  • Marxism: sees society as based on conflict between the ruling class (bourgeoisie) and working class (proletariat) under capitalism.
  • Marxists see social mobility as limited under capitalism because inequality is structural.
    • 👤 Althusser (1970): institutions (e.g. media, education) are ideological state apparatuses that reproduce ruling-class ideology.
    • 👤 Hall (1978): moral panics about crime, like the ‘black mugger’, are used to divert attention from crises in capitalism and to divide the working class.
    • 👥 Castles and Kosack (1973): ethnic minorities are used as a reserve army of labour to keep wages low and divide workers.
      • Overemphasises class
      • Underplays gender, ethnicity, and agency

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