Social Construction Of Illness: A Marxist Analysis

“Social control is a perception that relates to the ways in which people’s thoughts, feelings, appearance, and behaviour are regulated in social systems”. (Crossman, 2014) “It is the enforcement of conformity by society upon its members, either by law or by social pressure”. (Werner, 2011)

The social construction of illness is a major research perspective in medical sociology and explains how illnesses have consequences separate from any biological factors.

Functionalists support social control as a positive thing. They say that it is required in order to keep society functioning properly. Although the Marxist perspectives does not disagree with social control it takes the stand that medicine is a form of social control that only benefits

The NHS is an example of how medicine is used to support the ruling class. Medical professionals treat patients, to make them better, and keep them well, in order that they are fit to work and continue earning money to benefit the bosses. Workers may regard this as fair even if they accept and understand the inequalities. This is due to false consciousness. This is a term used by some Marxists for the way in which processes in capitalist society mislead members of the proletariat. It is the Marxism view that the Medical Profession serves the needs of capitalism by maintaining a healthy workforce. This results in an increase in productivity and profit and so they decide who can be acknowledged as being officially unwell. However, Marxism does view free NHS health care as a victory for the proletariat

Feminists argue that social control in medicine is used by a patriarchal society to disregard females. Feminists are very critical of the medicalisation of pregnancy and childbirth. They are disapproving of the way in which it has become a medical problem, and is viewed as an illness or medical procedure. Until the 17th century, birth was firmly in the exclusively female domestic arena, and hospital births were few and far between before the 20th century. It was suggested by feminist Ann Oakley that childbirth has been taking completely of the women’s control. Pregnancy is now associated with medical check-up, ultrasounds and internal examinations. Childbirth is also controlled by the use of drugs to sometime induce labour or surgical intervention in the form of caesarian sections. These medical interventions are often at times that are convenient to the working hours of the medical professionals. The feminist perspective argues that modern day maternity services are more to do with control over the women, than caring for