SOC223 Unit 3: Karl Marx PDF

Unit III - Karl Marx : class theory, alienation, social change Source: Google image  Contds Karl Marx was German, Philosopher, social thinker and economist who gave a theory of social class on the basis of which we derive social stratification or ine...

Unit III - Karl Marx : class theory, alienation, social change Source: Google image  Contds Karl Marx was German, Philosopher, social thinker and economist who gave a theory of social class on the basis of which we derive social stratification or inequality in society.  Biographical Sketch Karl Marx was born in Trier, Prussia, on May 5, 1818 In 1841, received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Berlin, a school heavily influenced by Hegel and the Young Hegelians, supportive, yet critical, of their master. Marx married in 1843 and soon thereafter was forced to leave Germany for the more liberal atmosphere of Paris. There he continued to grapple with the ideas of Hegel and his supporters, but he also encountered two new sets of ideas—French socialism and English political economy.  Karl Marx It was the unique way in which he combined Hegelianism, socialism, and political economy that shaped his intellectual orientation Great importance at this point was his meeting the man who was to become his lifelong friend, Friedrich Engels Differences: 1. Capitalism 2. Communism 3. Socialism  Capitalism Believes in individual ownership and competition Freedom to succeed and freedom to fail Private ownership of capital (means of production) Profit is the motivator, competition is the regulator (not government) Under pure capitalism, almost all goods would be provided by the private sector “Survival of the fittest” --- only the strong survive in capitalism!  Communism Believes in collective (group) ownership and a planned economy (government makes decisions). Theory: Everyone pools their resources and labor to evenly distribute everything. Everyone gets an equal amount of everything, regardless of how hard you work or don’t work! “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”  Socialism It is the stage between Capitalism and Communism. Nationalizes the means of production (i.e. corporations, banks, raw materials, etc.) = gives control of them to the government BUT: not all are equal! People are paid wages based on several factors (social need, difficulty of job, amount of schooling required, etc.), so not everyone will make the same wage. Redistribution of income – high taxes on the rich to provide lots of government services Capitalism Communism Socialism Maximisation of profit. From each according to From each according to Believes in Laissez-Faire his ability, to each his ability, to each philosophy. according to his needs according to his Less or no external contribution intervention the economy is planned The economy is planned The economy is planned as per the functioning of by the Central by the Central the free-markets Government Government Private ownership of All economic resources Individuals can own economic resources and are publicly owned and personal property but all property is actively controlled by the industrial and production encouraged with little to government. capacity is communally no government Individuals hold no owned and managed by intervention personal property or a democratically elected assets. government  Capitalism Communism Socialism Exists a distinct class in Class is abolished. Classes exist but the society - measured by The chances of one differences between the material wealth in worker earning more them are greatly their possession than the other are reduced. nonexistent It is possible for some people to earn more than others. As per the ideology, it is Religion is effectively Freedom of religion is indifferent towards abolished allowed religion, but bias thus exist towards religious groups who are well-off or as rich as another religious group Capitalism Communism Socialism The welfare system is Supports widespread The state will be for the available only to those universal social welfare welfare of everyone in who have the wealth to with an emphasis on the society without any pay for their services. public health and discrimination education The modern form of Although the concept of The economy of the 3rd capitalism can be traced egalitarian societies century BC Mauryan to the early Renaissance existed since the time of Empire was described by period in the 15th -16th Ancient Greece, the economists as “a Centuries. The wealthy foundations of modern- socialized monarchy” merchants of Italian city- day communism were and “a sort of state states engaged in small established in 1848 by socialism”. industry and wage- the German Philosopher, It became more labour practices at the Karl Marx. prominent towards the time end of the 18th century and after 1848 Karl Marx- Theory of class Marx witnessed the growth of factories and industrial production, as well as the resulting inequalities. Most of his work concentrated on economic issues Capitalism and class struggle- Marx concentrated primarily on change in modern times. For him, the most important changes were bound up with the development of capitalism.  Capital - any asset, including money, machines or even factories, that can be used or invested to make future assets Marx argued that those who own capital - capitalists - form a ruling class, while the mass of the population make up a class of waged workers - a working class. In the capitalist society, there could be only two social classes: – Capitalist who owns the means of production and distribution – Working classes who owns nothing but their own labour Marx… War/conflict between classes A particular class owns and controls the means of production and exploits the rest of the people The capitalist class makes use of the state as an instrument of oppression and exploitation So, at every stage- there are broadly two classes: – exploiter (who owns the means of production) – The exploited Capital is gained from the exploitation of the masses of population of the working class Marx… Bourgeoisie and proletariat- dependent on the other - the capitalists need labour and the workers need wages Intermediate class- ‘the petty bourgeoisie’, and ‘lumpen- proletariat’ (the unorganized lower levels of the proletariat who are not interested in revolutionary advancement) The two classes have dependency but it is highly unbalanced Marx… The relationship between classes is an exploitative one, since workers have little or no control over their labour and employers are able to generate profit by appropriating the product of workers' labour. Marx's viewpoint was grounded in what he called the materialist conception of history. According to this view, it is not the ideas or values which human beings hold that are the main sources of social change; Rather, social change is prompted primarily by economic influences Marx… Conflicts between classes provide the motivation for historical development ‘The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles‘ Historical stage- began with primitive communist societies of hunters and gatherers and passed through ancient slave-owning systems and feudal systems based on the division between landowners and serfs. The emergence of merchants and craftspeople marked the beginning of a commercial or capitalist class that came to displace the landed nobility. Marx… Marx argued that, just as the capitalists had overthrow the feudal order, so too capitalists would be replaced by Communism. A new society- which there would be no classes in the society no large-scale divisions between rich and poor He did not mean that all inequalities between individuals would disappear Rather, society would no longer be split into a small class that monopolizes economic and political power and the large mass of people who benefit little from the wealth their work creates  Contds According to Marx, Class is a historical category. It is connected with a certain stage in the development of production, and with certain type of production relation. Classes arise for reasons of historical necessity connected with appearance of exploitative modes of production.  All the stratified society there are two major classes Ruling class Subject class The Power of ruling class derives from its ownership and control of the forces and means of production.  The Ruling class exploit, oppresses and dehumanized the subject class. The subject class always tried to challenge the status of ruling class and change their oppressive social status. As a result there is basic conflict interests between two classes  Marx believed that western societies had developed through the following period: Primitive Communism Ancient Society Feudal Society Capitalist Society  Marx believed that western societies had developed through the following period: Primitive Communism Ancient Society Feudal Society Capitalist Society  Marx believed that western societies had developed through the following period: Primitive Communism Ancient Society Feudal Society Capitalist Society  Contds During each period labour power required for production was supplied by the subject class: Slaves, Serfs, Proletariat The subject class is made up of the majority of the population whereas, the ruling class forms a minority. The relationship between the major social classes is one of mutual dependence and conflict.  However, the mutual dependency of the two classes is not a relationship of equal or symmetrical reciprocity. Rather than it is a relationship of exploiter and exploited, and relationship of oppressor and oppressed. Marx… Mode of production, Means of production & Relations of production For Marx, what distinguishes one type of society from another is its mode of production (i.e., the nature of its technology and division of labour). each mode of production cause a distinctive class system in which one class controls and directs the process of production while another class is, or other classes are, the direct producers and providers of services to the dominant class Marx… Antagonistic relations between the classes Marx used the term mode of production to refer to the specific organization of economic production in a given society. It includes the means of production used by a given society, such as factories and other facilities, machines, and raw materials. It also includes labor and the organization of the labor force. Marx… Relations of production refers to the relationship between those who own the means of production (the capitalists or bourgeoisie) and those who do not (the workers or the proletariat). According to Marx, history evolves through the interaction between the mode of production and the relations of production. Marx… To marx, capitalism is a mode of production based on private ownership of the means of production. Capitalists produce commodities for the exchange market and to stay competitive must extract as much labor from the workers as possible at the lowest possible cost. The economic interest of the capitalist is to pay the worker as little as possible, in fact just enough to keep him alive and productive. Marx… The workers, in turn, come to understand that their economic interest lies in preventing the capitalist from exploiting them in this way. Thus, the social relations of production are inherently antagonistic, giving rise to a class struggle Marx believes this will lead to the overthrow of capitalism by the proletariat The proletariat will replace the capitalist mode of production with a mode of production based on the collective ownership of the means of production, which is called Communism. Marx… Marx regards classes and class struggle as a historical phenomena – took place at a given stage of historical development Idea of class conflict is central to Marxian thought The idea of class war emerges from the theories of: - dialectic materialism - materialistic interpretation of history - surplus values Marx… Dialectics – basic idea is the centrality of contradictions Most philosophers, indeed common sense, treat contradiction as mistakes. But a dialectical philosophy believes that contradiction exist in reality and that the most important way to understand reality is to study the development of those contradictions. German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel and its dialectics- based on understanding/idealism For Marx –they are real, existing contradictions