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Sociology- Marxism

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‘Social Order exists because people are afraid to disobey the rules of society.’ Explain and assess this claim. [25] Social order is the rules and regulations that are in place to steer human behaviour. It is the tool that prevents continuous conflict, violence and instability. A society that has succeeded in creating social order is one in which each member of society has the ability to live, to a degree, a stable life. There are two ways in which the States enforce social order: informal and formal social control. Informal control is the process of socialization from a young age. It is based on learning what is acceptable and what isn’t from those around you. Functionalists say that informal social order is produced through the …show more content…

The bourgeoisie maintain this by being the creators of dominant ideas of each era and so remain in control of the economy and in power. Marxist criticizes the functionalist’s explanation of ‘value consensus’ because they don’t believe that there is one set of values in society. Marxists say that people in the working class live in a state of ‘false consciousness’ because they are so influenced by the dominant class that they don’t see the extent to which they are being exploited. Marx says that there are two ways that the Bourgeoisie control society: Repressive State Apparatus and Ideological state apparatus. Repressive State apparatus is ruling by force through the use of the Army, Police, Courts and Jail. On a deeper level the Territorial Army and Death. An example of this is the case of Ian Tomlinson who collapsed and died during the G-20 summit protests. Tomlinson was not a protestor nor was he giving any grief or disrespect to the police. So when video footage was released showing Tomlinson being struck by a policeman with a baton it became clear that this was now a criminal investigation. When Tomlinson was struck he had been walking away from the police with his hands in his pockets. Harwood, the policeman in question, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and was acquitted a year after the

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