POL 315 MODULE 2
UNIT 3
BASE AND SUPERSTRUCTURE
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Base and Superstructure
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Marx saw all societies as composed of two basic parts- the foundation
and the superstructure. The foundation of any society, according to this
theory, is material which is the substructure upon which rest the
superstructure (legal, art, religion, education, government, etc). There
are two major social groups- bourgeoisie and the proletariat (a ruling
class and a subject class) with their mutually antagonistic interests in a
capitalistic society. The substructure produces the material base while
the superstructure provides the maintenance imperatives for the society.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• explain how societies are (by their nature) stratified
• Justify the claim that the power of the ruling class comes from
their ownership and control of the means of production.
30