Marxist theory

Question	Answer
Historical Materialism	Looking at how humans have provided for themselves throughout History
'The haves'	Those that own the means of production e.g. bourgeoisie
'The have nots'	Those who don't own the means of production e.g. proletariat
Epoch	A phase in society
Class polarisation	Society divides into two classes - a minority bourgeoisie, and a majority proletariat
Alienation	People feel separate from the products they make, and their human nature
Division of labour	When a products creation is broken into different tasks, to make production quicker but the worker feels no attachment to the product
Immersion theory	As workers are made increasingly poor, they will eventually see through capitalist ideologies
Class consciousness	Workers develop an awareness of their exploitation and an understanding of how to end it. They will unite and overthrow the bourgeoisie
Mental means of production	The institutions that produce society's dominant ideas and values e.g. media
Ideological state apparatus	Institutions which pass on ruling class ideology e.g. schools and meritocracy
Repressive state apparatus	Using force to ensure social control e.g. the police and the army
Dual consciousness (Gramsci)	Workers ideas are partly controlled by the bourgeoisie but partly see through capitalism, we need a counter-hegemony
Counter-hegemony	We need organic intellectuals within the proletariat who offer an alternative set of ideas which offer a realistic idea of how society runs

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	Created by eharveyhudl over 9 years ago