Marx

Separating Politics from Economics!• 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

• 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, Wal Mart, 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”

– But Marx was the Genius

• Lived in London Most of his Life (Died at 63)

• 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)

• 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 (1770-1831)

• 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

• 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

• 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)

• 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”

• 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

• What makes the rich more deserving?• With a redistribution of wealth, all hunger and suffering would

be eliminated overnight!

America’s Great Unanswered Questions:

• Is Capitalism un-Christian & un-Democratic?

• Is Communism more Christian and Democratic?

How Change Will Come About

• 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

– Socialism---------------------State Managers Vs. Workers• Temporary Totalitarianism

– Communism-----------------No Classes

How Change Will Come About

• 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

• 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– Don’t we do this with our families?

• Eliminate private ownership, we all become a family

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)

• 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

Standing on Marx’s Shoulders

• D. Marx’s Absolutism Truth is replaced with inter-subjectivity– Most question claims of absolute “Truth” being found after

“ideology” is deconstructed.

– Absolutism, for Postmodernists, always oppresses

• E. Goal is not revolution in the streets– 1) Deconstructing ideology, reality, & Truth

– 2) To empower the disempowered to be active agents

– 3) To “Wake Up” the masses--Enlightenment!

Our Debt to Marx

• 1) A Patron Saint – The father of critical theory

• 2) Concern for the disempowered/forgotten

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

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

• 5) My Job!

Uniting Most Critical Theories

• Ideology is a key concept in most critical philosophy

• The general idea can be traced to Marx– But it has been developed by many others over the last 140 years.

• A formal definition: – Ideology is a conceptual scheme that provides a culture

with a perspective for viewing their reality and the foundation for their political & social action.

• Get it??– I didn’t think so. . . Let’s break it down.

What is Ideology?In 13 Bullets

• 1) Ideology provides us with our perspective (or lens) for viewing & understanding our reality– We are not born with computer chips—we become “products of

our culture”– We are taught how to see/think/act– The “cultural sun glasses” you can’t take off

• 2) This reality is “socially constructed”– All that we know/see/feel/believe is a language creation

• This makes communication the KEY to all understanding

• 3) Most importantly for critical theorists, ideology shapes our understanding of power relationships with others– Who’s good, bad, moral, worthy, smart, lazy, etc. – White, rich, American, heterosexual, Christian men seem to

always come out on the winning side

What is Ideology?• 4) It is not a conspiratorial plot by white, rich men

– We simply repeat what we have always known as truth and nature

• To do anything else would appear to be absurd, stupid, and weird

– Let’s write a book!

• 5) It is not a physical entity (can’t measure it)

– Thus “critical researchers” look for how it is operationalized• MTV, church sermons, history books, parental lessons, cartoons, toys,

laws/policy, advertisements, presidential speeches, etc.

• 6) This reality is a false/biased/tainted consciousness– It prevents us from seeing the truth (or at least seeing more

critically, fairly, & equitably)

What is Ideology?• 7) Ideology masquerades as untouched, untainted nature

– We’re unaware that our reality is both constructed and biased • We forget that we are seeing all things through those sun glasses

– Instead, we believe that the way things are (especially power relationships) is nature’s doing

• We believe our understanding of the world is neutral, unbiased, untainted, “common sense” (my conversation with my grandparents)

• 8) No one can escape its influence– By the time you are smart enough to understand “ideology,” you

have already become a product of its influence– The best you can do is to rage against it!

• 9) It is conservative, perpetuating the status quo– It will always maintain present power relationships– If you don’t think it is “alterable,” change is unthinkable

• You can’t think outside the box because you are unaware that you are even in a box (ironically, of your own making)!

What is Ideology?

• 10) Ideology is produced by all of a culture’s “super structures”– Church, schools, families, history, art, media

– Each believing they are telling good “truths” (not lies)

– Thus ideology is spread by a “complete cultural propaganda system”

• 11) Ideology is sustained by a culture’s “state apparatuses”– Police, Army, Laws, Policy, and Politics

– Each believing they are maintaining “justice” (not oppressing)

What is Ideology?• 12) Force, however, is not needed most of the time—Hegemony

is more powerful!– “Hegemony is the willing agreement by people to be governed by

principles and laws they believe operate in their best interests, even though in actual practice they do not” (Lull 1995)

• They have bought into (& participate in) their own oppression• The disempowered are convinced of their own inferiority

– “It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head” (S. Kempton)

– The real reason there is not revolution in the streets• 13) Ideology is always contested by counter-hegemonic forces

– The ruling class is never safe or stable– Enough of the disempowered always see though the lie!– Music (Public Enemy, Coal Mine Blue Grass, Rage, Coltrane) feminism &

multiculturalism, movies (Thelma, Do the Right Thing), graffiti, TV (Will and Grace; Cosby Show, Mash), education (this class!)

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

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

A Closer Look at the Ideology (American Dream) that Keeps the Rich, Rich & and Poor, Duped:

• 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?

• 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

• 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?• 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”

– And they truly believed it

• 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”• 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”– “Born on 3rd base and actin’ like they hit a triple”

But is the American Dream a lie?

• But is it a lie?– YES!!!

• Everyone 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%

• 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

• 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

• 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; 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!