Discuss the relevance of Neo-Marxist theories in appraising the function of planning in a capitalist society.

To be able to fully understand how relevant Neo-Marxist theories are to urban planning, it is important to look first at the background of Marxist thought. Karl Marx developed his economic and political theories after he moved to London in 1849. One of Marxs key suggestions was that ideologies would perform an important function in modern societies. He believed that this was to maintain the capitalist form, economic production and capitalist society. The view of Marx is that the state in modern societies is a capitalist state due to the fact that its main function is to maintain the capitalist economy in existence….(short extract)