2 weeks until your exam!Tuesday 26th January

9am Sports Hall

Structural theoriesMarxism

Recap of functionalism - starter

Blockbusters Try to write a paragraph summarising

the key aspects of the functionalist theory from last lesson.

Marxism Vs FunctionalismWHAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON DIFFERENCES

Both view society as a structure

Society shapes the behaviour and ideas of individuals

Conflict of interests – Marxists reject the view that society if harmonious – see it as based on conflict of interests between social classes

Marxists don’t see society as stable and stress the possibility of sudden, revolutionary change.

Marx’s ideas 1818-83 Like Durkheim, he saw the harm

being done by industrial society and the promise of progress to a better world that is held.

Thought it was possible to understand society scientifically – scientific socialism

Not just a theorist Marx was not just a theorist, he was

also a revolutionary socialist. “Philosophers have merely

interpreted the world; the point, however, is to change it.”

After his death , Marx’s ideas came to form the basis of communism – a political movement that was influential in shaping the modern world.

Marx’s ideas Read through the section of text you are

allocated Write a twitter summary of that section1) Historical materialism2) Class society & exploitation3) Capitalism4) Class consciousness5) Ideology6) Alienation7) The state, revolution & communism

Criticisms of MarxClass Simplistic view of inequality – only sees

class as important Feminists would argue gender more

important source of inequality

Economic determinism The view that economic factors are the sole

cause of everything in society – including social change

Fails to recognise that people have free will

The two Marxisms The absence of revolutions in the

West has led many Marxists to reject the economic determinism of the base-superstructure model.

Instead, they have tried to answer 2 questions:• Why capitalism has persisted• How it might be overthrown.

2 broad approaches to these questions

Humanistic or critical Marxism• This has some similarities with action

theories and interpretive sociology

Scientific or structuralist Marxism• A structural approach, has similarities with

positivist sociology.

Humanistic or critical Marxism

Scientific or structuralist marxism

Example: Antonio Gramsci Example: Louis Althusser

Draws on Marx’s early writings, where he focuses on alienation and people’s subjective experience of the world

Draws on Marx’s later work, where he writes about the laws of capitalist development working with iron necessity towards inevitable results.

Humanistic or critical Marxism

Scientific or structuralist marxism

Example: Antonio Gramsci Example: Louis Althusser

Marxism is a political critique of capitalism as alienating and inhuman, and a call to overthrow it.

Marxism is a science. It discovers the laws that govern the workings of capitalism.

Humanistic or critical Marxism

Scientific or structuralist marxism

Example: Antonio Gramsci Example: Louis Althusser

Voluntarism: humans have free will. They are active agents who make their own history. Their consciousness and ideas are central in changing the world

Determinism: structural factors determine the course of history. Individuals are passive puppets – victims of ideology manipulated by forces beyond their control.

Humanistic or critical Marxism

Scientific or structuralist marxism

Example: Antonio Gramsci Example: Louis Althusser

Socialism will come about when people become conscious of the need to overthrow capitalism. Encourages political action, believing the time is always ripe for revolution.

Socialism will come about only when the contradictions of capitalism ultimately bring about the system’s inevitable collapse. Tends to discourage political action.

Task Read through the pages on Gramsci

and those on Althusser.

Then prepare for the essay:• Critically examine Marxist perspectives on

today’s society. 33 marks

Advice for the essay The question carries 15 AO1 marks (knowledge

and understanding) and 18 AO2 marks (interpretation, application, analysis and evaluation).

Begin your answer with an account of Marx’s key ideas. Make sure you include materialism, class conflict, alienation, exploitation, false consciousness, ideology, the state and revolution.

A good focus would be Marx’s theory of change, so explain how Marx sees capitalism being replaced by communism

More advice The question asks about Marxist

perspectives Look at developments since Marx. Examine the 2 Marxisms – humanist and

structuralist. Outline their key concepts You can contrast them in terms of their view

of how change occurs. You should also evaluate by assessing the

strength of some of the criticisms of Marxism.

Plenary Write the introduction/conclusion for

this essay (5 mins)

Homework

From Revision Pack Suicide 21 mark essay question – due

Thursday Power & control 21 mark essay

question – due Friday

Use the examiners advice from your text books to help you

Sociology Revision Workshops

Tuesday 12-1- Study Centre

Thursday lunch times – F5

Come and see me to make an appointment if you are not free at these times