ISS 215: Social Differentiation and InequalityLecture 3: Conflict PerspectiveIn-Class NotesMain Features- People in Marxist class use brutal force to control their people- Change that comes of evolution is not real change- Believed by Marxist- Real change comes through revolution- Whenever you look at an institution, you must analyze who’s the benefactor by the way the system runsKarl Marx and Conflict Perspective- Evolution of society- Preclass Society- Otherwise known as “State of Natural Socialism”- No property, exploitation, inequality- People lived in/with nature- Asiatic Society- Early farming communities- Property and areas come into play- Ownership; inequality begun- Ancient Society- Royal families (pharaohs, kings, emperors, etc.)- Slaves became introduced- Roman Empire was the last ancient society to fail- Feudal Society- Private prisons, private military, etc.- Empires- Rich feudal lords; Poor farmers- Capitalist Society - Rich factory owners; Poor factory workers- Capitalism- People can own property- Inequality- Cooperative capitalism at first everybody owned the property- Not just one individual- Modern capitalism owners and workers are different people; you don’t/can’t decide what/when you make it- Forces of production- Labor People available to work and know how to manufacture the specific item- Raw material Can’t manufacture the item without the material- Means of production money (capital), machinery, infrastructure, technological knowledge (how to)- Mode of production- How do we make things- Over time we change how we produce things- Changes in mode of production leads to changes in society; vice versa - Classes in society- Marx says over time the rich become richer, the poor become poorer- Gap between bourgeoisie and proletariat keeps growing- As one goes up, one goes down- Eventually it won’t be able to grow anymore and it will snap- Marx doesn’t believe middle class actually exists- Bourgeoisie believe people made God out of need, in order to rule over others; exploit poor people- Class conflict- Entire societal structure will collapse- Evolution of society begins again- Alienation- Work Jobs aren’t guaranteed- Product You don’t control what you make- Workers Different statuses (CEO vs. worker)- Self Work because you have toCriticism- Everything focuses on money- Power is not always the cause of money- Social change will lead to
View Full Document