Last Updated on November 7, 2025 by Karl Thompson
This post aims to simplify some Marxist concepts by representing them as pictures and providing some brief definitions…
Capitalism and Class Structure
Society is structured like a pyramid, those with capital at the top
Society’s Structure is made up of institutions
Bourgeoisie and Proletariat
Exploitation
Lies at the heart of the capitalist system according to Marx
Surplus Value
Alienation
Where workers feel detached from their work, not at home in the work place, not in control, thus ‘alienated’
Ideological Control
Institutions such as the media teach the masses to be passive and not criticize the injustices of the capitalist system
Communism
An economic system based on shared ownership of the means of production
Revolution
Necessary to achieve Communism according to Marx
Repressive state apparatus
State institutions which perform ‘obvious’ social control – such as the police and the army
Ideological state apparatus
Institutions of the state which achieve social control through controlling people’s minds – namely schools
Organic Intellectuals
Middle class individuals who will emerge to educate the masses to be more critical of capitalism, according to Gramsci
Commodity Fetishism
Where we value material objects (and money) more than people and social relations
False Needs
The desire for unnecessary products created by advertising. False needs are necessary to keep capitalism going
Correspondence Principle
Where norms learnt in school prepare children for their future exploitation in work
Neo-colonialism
Where western global institutions make developing countries economically dependent on western countries
The reproduction of class inequality
Where inequalities between classes are carried on across the generations, as wealth and poverty get passed down
The Transnational Capitalist Class
The new global capitalist class – world political leaders, billionaire and heads of large companies etc.
Marxism in pictures final thoughts
Marxism is a pretty complex theory, and this post does ‘simplify to the extreme. For more in depth posts on Marxism, please follow the links on my Theory and Methods page!