Social Theories: Marxism and Radical Feminism

This essay reflects on the major discussions of the Marxism and Radical feminism theorists and how the study of the theories is useful. It advocates for the rights of women and ignores the facts that in the process of championing, men are discriminated in the process.

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Social theories
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Social science is a very broad school of knowledge and that has caused many researchers to
invest a lot of time and resources in the field. Various theories have been advocated by various
scholars. The theories include Marxism theory, feminism theory, structuralism theory, radical
feminism theory, post structuralism and post colonism theories. I agree with some theorists to
some extent. This reflection essay is written to reflect on the major discussions of the Marxism
and Radical feminism theorists and how the study of the theories is useful.
Marxist theory advocated that economics was the main reason for having social classes in the
society. The theory proposes that society has three social classes which are upper, middle and
lower classes. The upper class oppresses the lower class because the lower class works for the
upper class (Fuchs, 2012, p.712). Lower class provide labor while upper class provides capital
and resources need for production. Upper class own the wealth and factors of production and I
totally agree with the theorist perspectives. The wealth do not oppress the poor according to my
understanding of the theory because there is no forced labor. In todays’ world, that is can be
termed as contract between two people as there is offer acceptance and also considerations. The
theory depicts the practicality of modern world.
In modern world, a lot have changed especially trade unions have emerged to fight for the rights
of workers. The theory assumes that workers are forced to work but this is not the case because
that only happened during colonial times when slavery was rampant (Fuchs, 2012, p.712).
Slavery is illegal nowadays and that gives the wealthy people no room to oppress the poor in the
society. Minimum wages have also been set by government so as to avoid labor exploitation.
Basing on my knowledge about social theories, the theory does not have a lot of drawbacks like
other theories.

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Radical feminism theory advocates for radical measures that should be taken to eliminate male
supremacy in the society so as to make the society fair. The theorists believe that female gender
is oppressed in the society and that should change immediately. The theory raises voice about
sexual objectification of women, violence against women and creating awareness about issues
such as sex (Butler, 2013, p.27). I agree with the theory to some extend because in the process of
fighting for female rights, male rights are ignored. Many groups have been formed around the
world to fight for the rights of women. The theory assumes that women are oppressed in the
society and that is not the case in modern society.
The theory advocates for the rights of women and ignores the facts that in the process of
championing, men are discriminated in the process. Affirmative action gives minority group and
in this case it is women a priority over the men. Even with less qualifications, the lady will be
selected in expense of the qualified man and that is discrimination. The theory according to my
understanding has played a critical role in ensuring that women and men are treated equally
(Comaroff, and Comaroff, 2012, p.123). Apart from male gender discrimination well advocating
for the rights of women, I can say that the theory has similar sentiments as feminism theory. I
would like to pursue Radical feminism theory further because the theory has played role in
elevating the status of women in the society and such measures may also be needed for the male
gender in future.
In conclusion, the social theories are very important as they help us to learn and gain knowledge
about various factors such as need for gender equality. The theories help us understand why
societies have social classes and why people social and interact in a certain manner.

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References
Butler, J., 2013. Contingent foundations: feminism and the question of" postmodernism". In
Feminists theorize the political (pp. 21-39). Routledge.
Comaroff, J. and Comaroff, J.L., 2012, July. Theory from the South: Or, how Euro-America is
evolving toward Africa. In Anthropological Forum (Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 113-131). Routledge.
Fuchs, C., 2012. Dallas Smythe Today-The Audience Commodity, the Digital Labour Debate,
Marxist Political Economy and Critical Theory. Prolegomena to a Digital Labour Theory of
Value. tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global
Sustainable Information Society, 10(2), pp.692-740.
colonized people

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References