FIND MUSIC WEB VIDEOS: DOWNLOAD

tagtag.com/sociologydegree

The State  

Marx and Marxists  

Class Domination  

The state is a distinct set of institutions that has the authority to make rules which govern society.
?a monopoly on violence?(Max Weber)
For Karl Marx the state takes precedence over bureaucracy as an object of study and analysis.
According to Anthony Giddens, Karl Marx?s writings on the state can be " construed in two ways".
The state as representing the ruling class. In this view the state is merely a weapon or instrument of the bourgeoisie.  

The second interpretation is that the state functions to ensure the continuity of Capitalism. The officials do not necessarily represent the interests of a particular minority of Capitalists, but the interests of Capital production in general.  

Poulantzas argues that states rule in the long term interests of Capital, so how does the self interests of capitalists become translated into action.
Miliband argues that the state is dominated by an elite that comes from the same social background as the capitalist class.
Poulantzas replies that it is the structure of the state apparatus that ensures that the state acts in the interests of capital.
Structuralist Marxism - Louis Althusser
Repressive State Apparatus - judiciary, police, military, prisons and the administrative machinery of the state.  

Ideological State Apparatus - family, schools, trade unions, the arts and culture.  

The RSA and the ISA reinforce social and political order, which has been determined by the infrastructure.  

The infrastructure(BASE) or the ownership of the means of production shapes the superstructure, shaping the IDEOLOGY.  

 

Lukes claims that real power lies in being able to control the minds and thoughts of others, Althusser?s ISA, and Gramsci?s idea of Hegemony whereby the bourgeoisie do not rule by force alone but through engineered consent of the masses.
Marxists analysis of the state are said to be society centred. The state is said to react to pressure from activities of groups from within society.
However, works by Nordlinger and Skocpol argue that state actors are to a degree autonomous. They have interests of their own.
Autonomous State  

The people who control the state have interests of their own, which they can pursue independently of civil society.
A simple definition of civil society - is that it is public life as opposed to family life and the state, the bit in between. Althusser?s ISA.
The state controls the violence and groups within civil society are dependent on the state in order to achieve their goals - so state personnel can and do impose their own will.
The notion of short term versus long term objectives takes us back to the Poulantzas/ Miliband debate.
What is Ideology? Terry Eagleton  

The State cont..

Home Site Map my.TagTag

Terms of Use
TagTag.com