Marx

First things first• 1) There are political systems:

• This deals with the people’s relationship with their government

• Examples: Democracy, Aristocracy, Totalitarianism

• 2) Then there are economic systems:• This deals with how products and services are

distributed• Examples: Capitalism, Socialism, Communism

First things first

• In America, these two have mysteriously merged• We think that to question Capitalism is un-

American• Or that to spread democracy throughout the

world also means to spread Capitalism (McDonalds, Walmart, Coke, etc).

• A culture can be democratic & socialistic/communistic!

Bio Stuff• Jewish born a Germany in 1818• Educated at U of Bonn & U of Berlin• Anti-Religious beliefs kept him out of

academics• Moved to Paris and met Engels in 1844

• Marx’s Sugar Daddy & Collaborator• Engels’ Ethnography Inspired Marx

• “Condition of the Working Class in England”

Bio Stuff

• Lived in London Most of his Life (Died at 63)• But Marx was the Genius

• Great Works: German Ideology, Manifesto, Capital

Child of Hegel (1770-1831)

• 1) Reality is an ongoing historical process of change• Very radical idea

• 2) Change is not random, but obeys discoverable laws

• 3) These are the laws of dialectic• The endless triad (thesis, antithesis,

synthesis)

Child of Hegel

• 4) What keeps this process going is alienation• Each period eventually ends by its

own contradictions

• 5) This process is not under the control of humans

Child of Hegel

• 6) This process continues until all internal contradictions have been resolved • A conflict-free society ends alienation & the

dialectic

• 7) When this happens, humans will be in charge of their own outcomes• Not moved by laws/forces outside their control

Child of Hegel

• 8) At this point (the end of history), society will become an organic whole• Not individualistic (Capitalism)• But cooperative, collective, and

organic

The Differences

• 1. Nothing to do with the Spirit/Geist•Marx became an “Empiricist” •Called Dialectical Materialistic

• 2. A culture’s economic state sets the nature of society

•Economic determinism not the Spirit of the Time

The Differences

• 3. The division of labor creates alienation and the dialectic (Bourgeoisie VS Proletariat)

• 4. Rejection of all religion•“Religion is the opium of the

masses”•Heaven makes workers passive &

blind• 5. Revolution is needed for change

Marx’s Problem with Capitalism

• 1) It is based on the Exploitation of the worker•Worker’s labor is taken (Surplus Value)

•The owner pockets the difference (Profit)

Marx’s Problem with Capitalism

• 2) The rich control the lives of the poor •Demands are always met

• 3) The rich always have more than they need•While the poor always have less

Marx’s Problem with Capitalism

• 4) Alienation•A. From Each Other

•Private ownership divides us•No trust or brotherhood

•B. From Their Work/Production•We do only small jobs (removed from the

whole)•Our jobs are based on profit--not passion

or “growth”

Marx’s Problem with Capitalism

• 5) Over time, the rich get richer and richer•Poor fall further behind (while

doing most work)

Marx’s Problem with Capitalism

• About the Rich• 1% of America owns 48% of its wealth• 3 Billionaires in the world are wealthier than the

bottom 48 nations• The richest 225 individuals in US have more wealth

than 41% of all humanity (or 2.7 Billion)• While the people that work for them . . .

• 80% of the world live in sub-standard housing• 70% are illiterate• 50% suffer from malnutrition• 35% have unsafe drinking water

• With a redistribution of wealth, all hunger and suffering would be eliminated overnight!

Marx’s View of the Stages of History

•Primitive Communism--No Classes

•Slavery----------Slave Owner Vs. Slave

•Feudalism-----Landowner Vs. Serfs

•Capitalism---Bourgeoisie Vs. Proletariat

Marx’s View of the Stages of History

•SocialismState Managers Vs. Workers• Temporary Totalitarianism

•CommunismNo Classes

Marx’s View of the Stages of History

• At the Capitalistic Stage . . .• 1) Bourgeoisie must constantly revolutionize production

• The battle of Capitalistic competition• 2) Competition between the Bourgeoisie will push profit lower

• Creating fewer rich• 3) Pushed by profit and competition, technology will replace

workers• Which will eliminate the need for workers

• 4) Proletarians will become increasingly impoverished• Less work and even less pay

• 5) Thus, we have two radically stratified groups• Billions of poor VS a few Rich

• Revolution in the Streets!!• “Workers of the world, UNITE!”

Marx’s Inevitable Utopia

• 1) “From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs” • No one takes more (no profit or greed)

• 2) Eliminate all private ownership• This only alienates us & creates warring

classes

Marx’s Inevitable Utopia

• 3) Marx believed in the perfectibility of humans• A) Workers will be loyal, incorruptible

friends, devoted to one another with an absolutely unselfish benevolence

• B) No individual would seek an advantage at the expense of others--the thought of doing so would never occur

Marx’s Inevitable Utopia

• 4) Marx envisioned a one-world unified culture• “Workers of all countries unite” (last line of Manifesto)

• 5) Subsequently, religious and political life is replaced with uncoerced, rational society

• 6) Science and technology will eliminate want and strife

• 7) The process of history comes to an end• Individuals are free to act outside the dialectic• Act outside alienation, separation, & competition

A Critique of Marx

• 1) Skepticism about a truly cooperative society• It has never happened yet!• But if you believe in the perfectibility of

humans. . . ???

• 2) The “Capitalist” is replaced by the “State” as absolute tyrant (USSR, China, Cuba)• The state owns and controls all• “Capitalism is humans oppressing other humans.

Communism is just the opposite” (old joke)

Critique of Marx

• 3) Other factors are more powerful in uniting people• Citizenship, nationalism, religion,

language, race, etc.• People do not define themselves by

“class”

A Critique of Marx

• 4) His predictions have not come true• In fact, just the opposite has happened• But is this because of “New Deal” Socialism?

• 5) Communism has been more corrupt• Far less freedom, justice, and emancipation• But is that Marx’s fault?

• 6) Not enough focus on language/discourse• Too much on economic determinism

Standing on Marx’s Shoulders(How Marx is Used/Transformed Today)

• A. Economic Determinism is replaced with the power of communication to construct reality• Old way leaves no place for communication

• B. Class is no longer the only oppressive force• Race, gender, culture, epistemology, Truth, religion, etc.

• C. Superstructure & Ideology is expanded/refined• Althusser & Hall’s Media and Gramsci’s Hegemony • All institutions reproduce dominant ideologies, not just capitalistic

ones

Our Debt to Marx

• 1) A Patron Saint •The founder of critical theory

• 2) Concern for the disempowered/forgotten

• 3) An understanding of Capitalism•It is based on exploitation

Our Debt to Marx

• 4) The seeds of ideology•To question the “natural”

A Case Study in Cla$$ Ideology

Let’s Revolt!

• If all this “Capitalist Oppression” is true, why don’t we revolt?

•Ideology (i.e., a rhetorically constructed story that is believed by most in a society to be a true and accurate description of reality)

•“The American Dream Story”• Anyone can become Anything--Rags to Riches!• And if you don’t, it is your fault

− You are too lazy & stupid

The Story

• This is the narrative (cultural story) that oppresses the poor and empowers the rich

• The Story’s Three Major Components:• 1) Materialism

• It is our mission in life to be rich & have stuff− It is the definition of being successful in America− Average credit card debt--$7,000

• 2) Emphasis on the “individual”• If you work hard, you will make it • Those that don’t are lazy & stupid

• 3) De-emphasis on the political/structural• Making it (or not) has nothing to do with birth privilege,

racism, sexism, regionalism, class, ethnicity, attractiveness, etc.

What is the outcome of this story?• 1) It keeps the individual working and struggling

for the rich• 2) It makes the individual feel guilty and

responsible for not “making it”• 3) It draws attention away from social/political

issues that keep the poor, poor and the rich, rich (the old slight of hand)• We attack welfare (the lazy), not corporate

corruption (hard workers)

• We blame minorities, not racism• We blame women, not sexism

What is the outcome of this story?

• We blame the poor, not GM for leaving the country or Duke Power for strip mining our mountains and leaving nothing but black lung

• We support CEOs, not the labor unions during strikes

• We neglect inner-cities & poor communities, while pumping money into suburbia (they deserve it more)

How was the myth started/created?

• It was/is the most logical thing to say to the have-nots•“Just keep working, your turn will come”

•“I did it, you can do it”•“We all have an equal change at the gold ring”

•Your reward will be in heaven• And they truly believed it

The start of the myth

• Of course, the first wealthy Capitalists were the old aristocracy of Europe• Let us not forget 1) slavery, 2) indentured

servitude, 3) the land stolen from Native Americans and given as gifts to the King’s friends, or 4) the laws that granted rights to only land-owning, rich, white, men.

• These people did not magically “work” their way to wealth

The Illusion of the “Rich”

• Even today, the rich turn the truth of their privilege into the myth of meritocracy (I earned it!)• “They pulled themselves up by their boot

straps”

The Illusion of the Rich

• They forget that wealth begets wealth:• 1) Private schools (or the best public schools), 2)

best neighborhoods, 3) most expensive colleges, 4) cultural exposure (art, talk, dress, foods), 5) professional connections, 6) role models, 7) family businesses, 8) inheritances, etc.

• The true benefactors of “Affirmative Action”

• “God has blessed us”

But is the American Dream a lie?

• But is it a lie?• YESEveryone cannot grow up to be

president• Not if you are poor, a minority, or a woman• At the very least, the deck is stacked

against you

• In reality, very few ever “make it”• 90% of the world’s wealth is in the hands

of .05%

The Lie

• And the one-in-the-million that does, just serves to strengthen the myth• “See, Oprah, Bill Cosby, General

Powell pulled themselves up”

Why Don’t the Rich Change?

• 1) They truly believe in its “Truth”• They are duped the same way the poor

are

• 2) It is not in their best interest to question it• a) They get an endless supply of hard

workers• b) They are respected and emulated• c) They are seen (by others and

themselves) as hard workers deserving the good life

Why the rich do not change

• 3) Subsequently, it does not appear to need fixing• Life seems perfect, just, &

natural from their perspective

Why Don’t the Poor Revolt?

• 1) Underdeveloped critical thinking in most people• Education is key to deconstruct complex ideas

• 2) America has vilified “Communism/Socialism”• After 50 years of Cold-War rhetoric, we “don’t tolerate

such talk”

• 3) Capitalism & Democracy have been merged• It is believed that if you question one, you question

both!• Remember, one is economic, the other is political

Why Don’t the Poor Revolt?

• 4) We think it is the best system: “We have everything we want.”• We have been taught to use only one

criteria for measuring any culture’s success--Materialism

• What about 1) the family, 2) the spiritual, 3) the equal treatment of women & minorities; 4) the elimination of poverty;

Why Don’t the Poor Revolt

• 5) health care, housing, food, & water for all; 6) the environment; 7) education; 8) violence; 9) the child!!!

• By those criteria, one could say Capitalism has failed

• 5) We believe in the American Dream!