Marxist explanations for ethnic inequality
- Created by: MelMel
- Created on: 18-10-19 11:38
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- Marxist explanations for ethnic inequality
- Reserve army of labour (Castles and Kosack)
- Racism and racial inequality are deliberately encouraged by the capitalist ideas
- Immigrant workers are used as reserve army of labour
- This prevents white workers from demanding higher wages
- The bourgeoisie encourage competition between ethnic groups and use their media control to stimulate racism
- This divides the proletariat so they are less likely to rebel (divide and rule)
- Criticisms
- Postmodernists- position of ethnic minorities and their incomes differs enormously; over 5000 Muslim millionaires in Britain
- Racism underpins Capitalism (Cox)
- Capitalism went hand in hand with colonialism
- Colonial systems assumed that European culture was superior and was imposed onto colony
- People living in colonies were exploited (English was imposed, people not paid or given power
- Racism was encouraged so it was claimed that white Europeans were superior to other races
- Criticisms
- Racial divisions are found in even the most primitive societies
- CCCS- found evidence of racism before colonialism; early Christianity used white to denote purity and black as satanic
- Capitalism went hand in hand with colonialism
- Scapegoating (Castles and Kosack/ Hall et al)
- Castles and Kosack- when society is troubled by severe social and economic problems,frustration and anger arise
- Whites direct this anger at vulnerable groups instead of the capitalist class
- They use black people as scapegoats and blame them for housing shortages and unemployment
- Scapegoating protects more powerful groups from criticism
- Racism helps justify low pay and poor working conditions because black workers are seen as second class citizens
- Whites direct this anger at vulnerable groups instead of the capitalist class
- Hall et al- bourgeoisie control police and media; young black men scapegoated in the mugging crisis to divert attention
- Criticims
- Young (Functionalist)- inequality exists because our society is meritocratic and ethnic minorities have less rewards
- Castles and Kosack- when society is troubled by severe social and economic problems,frustration and anger arise
- Cultural capital (Bourdieu)
- The dominant ethnic group may posses cultural capital which ethnic minorities are less likely to have or it may not be of the best fit
- E.g. job employers will look for people like current employees; if most are white, ethnic minorities are less likely to be offered the job
- Wearing clothes such as headscarves or turbans may disadvantage them further
- This might explain the high levels of self-employment and low wages for some ethnic minority groups
- Criticisms
- Postmodernists- we cannot distinguish distinct values and norms of specific groups because each and every person is different
- Reserve army of labour (Castles and Kosack)
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