Assess the usefulness of Marxism and other theories on society

Assess the usefulness of Marxism and other conflict theories of our understanding of society.

Although social conflict theories such as Marxism and feminism clearly have their weaknesses, as all sociological theories do, it is unreasonable to say that they are ‘irrelevant’ to an understanding of modern society, as a large amount of contemporary sociological research has its roots in conflict theory in some way.

Marxism is a useful conflict theory in helping us to understand why there was obedience, particularly in the past in society. Marx saw negativity within the economy; he believed that the functioning and running of society was based upon the economy. Because of this, Marx states why there is a divide between the proletariat (working class who have only their skills to sell) and the bourgeoisie (the ruling class who own the means of production). The bourgeoisie cannot operate without the proletariat, as they cannot produce products, and similarly the proletariat cannot operate without the bourgeoisie, as they need them so they can be paid a wage and feed their families. On the other hand, this can be viewed from a different perspective. However it can be argued that these people may have not left their jobs is because they could have been in a state of false consciousness, whereby they were unaware of their exploitation by the bourgeoisie. This helps us to understand society as the Marxism theory provides reasoning on how the bourgeoisie were able to exploit the proletariat, which in turn powered capitalism and allowed the ruling elite to maintain their profits. It is also relevant to today’s society, as it helps to explain why many people who are in a low paid job (e.g. Factory workers) do not leave, despite hating their job, and this is because they need the money to survive. On the other hand radical social change would be inevitable according to Marx, society would enter a final period- communism. However this can be criticized as capitalism has only become stronger due to globalization. The rich have become richer and the poor have become poorer.
Many contemporary Marxists (or ‘neo-Marxists’) have attempted to refine Marx’s basic theory however, in order to correct where he went wrong. Gramsci for example, moves away from Marx’s economically deterministic accounts of social change, and instead proposes that the subject class is actually aware of their unfair position in society. His theory is renowned for cultural hegemony. This is achieved through institutions such as the media, education system and the family, which transmit capitalist values to the subject class, in order to prevent them from rebelling. Gramsci therefore draws more on cultural factors in explaining society, rather than economic ones. He suggested that the bourgeoisie could not rely on the false class-consciousness, and argued that all members of the proletariat had some awareness of their exploitation. For the bourgeoisie to maintain their leadership, they would need help from other members of the society. However, this does not show the understanding of society as it ignores other uses of power from different social groups.

The other main conflict theory is feminism. Marxism bases heavily on social class differences, whereas feminism is based on gender inequality. Feminism was a driving force in the 20Th century giving women the vote, the right to control their own reproduction equal pay and apparently we are now equal with men within society. Feminism is the desire to have equality for both the sexes in social, economic, political arenas and is not limited to just women. Feminism is useful to understanding the place of women in society today and how far we’ve come and also how much work there is left to do to create an equal society. One way in which feminism isn’t at all useful is in showing that despite their best efforts we are still not totally equal. E.G women only make up 20% of the high paid jobs Anne Oakley. Official statistics claim that girls get better grades during their school time; therefore many feminists still fail to consider how girls are still outperforming boys at school.

Structural conflict theories, like all other sociological theories, have their limitations however, and although it is not fair to say that they are irrelevant for understanding society, they are by no means comprehensive. From an interactionist perspective, conflict theories are too deterministic. By studying society is its whole, and ignoring the agency of individual social actors, they overlook the importance of individual meanings and interpretations in constructing social reality. Postmodernists are particularly critical of Marxist theory, arguing that it is merely a ‘metanarrative’ (a “grand theory” that attempts to explain everything in society) that is neither believable nor secure. However, in modern society, many of the basic principles of conflict theories have been combined with macro forms of analysis.
We can see quite clearly therefore, that conflict theories are still useful for understanding the society we live in today. Although they are often seen as ‘outdated’, their basic principles are still utilized in many areas of sociology, from studies of education, to the media. In order to fully understand the world we live in, we must draw on a number of different sociological theories in order to gain a complete insight into the social world.