Question

Which of the following is not true about Karl Marx's view on violent collective action?

• A. 'Crowds' and 'mobs' were not made up of anarchic hooligans out to destroy society.
• B. Poor people in urban areas had a good reason for protesting.
• C. They often resorted to public protest because they had no other way of expressing their anger against deprivation.
• D. 'Crowds' and 'mobs' have no shared understanding of right and wrong.

Hint:

In Marxist theory, collective protests are seen as early stages of class consciousness, where workers transition from being a "class in itself" (sharing a common economic position) to a "class for itself" (actively organizing to fight for their class interests).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding conflict/Marxist views on Collective Action:
Traditional conservative perspectives (such as Gustave Le Bon's "crowd psychology") often viewed crowds as irrational, violent, and easily manipulated mobs devoid of intelligence. However, Karl Marx and subsequent conflict sociologists (including E.P. Thompson in his work on the "moral economy" of the crowd) completely rejected this view.

Step 2: Analyzing the Marxist and Sociological perspective:
From a Marxist perspective:
• Collective action is seen as a rational response to systemic class exploitation and material deprivation.
• Protesting crowds are not random collections of anarchic hooligans out to destroy society; rather, they are marginalized workers fighting for their rights (making Option A true).
• The urban poor have valid, structural reasons for protesting against their class oppressors (making Option B true).
• Because the working class is systematically excluded from formal political power and media control, they must resort to street protests and collective action as their only means of expressing their anger against exploitation (making Option C true).
• Crowds and working-class mobs possess a deeply shared understanding of right and wrong, often driven by a sense of fairness and a "moral economy" against economic exploitation. Therefore, saying they have "no shared understanding of right and wrong" is fundamentally incorrect under this view.

Step 3: Selecting the Incorrect Statement:
Because option (D) directly contradicts the Marxist and sociological view that collective actions are rational and guided by shared moral grievances, it is the "not true" statement and thus our correct answer.