Lesson 4: Karl Marx Classical Sociological Theory 1

Lesson 4Karl Marx

Robert Wonser

SOC 368 – Classical Sociological Theory

Spring 2014

Lesson 4: Karl Marx Classical Sociological Theory 2

Marx’s Life

born in Trier, Germany to into a middle-class family of Jewish heritage on May 5, 1818.

was introduced to classics of literature and philosophy at an early age

attended the universities of Bonn and Berlinstudied philosophy and literature at the

universitiescould not secure a university faculty positionbecame a journalist in Prussia

2

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Marx’s Life

married in 1843 and moved to Paris1844 Marx meets Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)Engels was the son of a wealthy businessman

(textiles)Engels wrote The Condition of the Working

Class in England in 1844In 1844 Marx writes the Economic and

Philosophical Manuscripts1845 Marx is expelled from Paris and moves to

Brussels

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Marx’s Life

1845-46 Marx and Engels write The Germany Ideology

Marx and Engels join the growing worker’s rights associations emerging in Europe

1848 Marx and Engels publish The Communist Manifesto

Marx moved to London in the 1850’s where he lived for the rest of his life

Marx withdraws from public life and in 1867 he publishes the first volume of das Capital

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Marx’s LifeEngels completed and published the final

two volumes of Marx’s das Capital after Marx’s death on March 14, 1883 in London.

Marx worked very little during his life and was financially supported a great deal by Engels

Marx had become very famous toward the end of his life and was celebrated by socialists and radicals around the world

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Marx’s Intellectual Influences: Hegel

G. W. F. Hegel (1770-1831):Hegel was an idealist and developed a philosophy based

upon dialectical reason (tension between numenon and phenomenon)

The importance of negationTrue reality is reflected in reason “All that is real is rational; and all that is rational is real.”Marx considered Hegel’s philosophy to be a conservative

expression of the status quoMarx argued that Hegel’s philosophy must be “stood on

its head”

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Marx’s Intellectual Influences: Feuerbach

Ludwig Feuerbach and the Young Hegelians: generally, the Young Hegelians argued that Hegel’s

philosophy could be used in politically progressive ways they hoped to use reason to dissolve the legitimacy of

religious beliefs, as well as the oppressive nature of the political state

Marx criticized the Young Hegelians for developing religious-like ideas – many believed in Hegel’s notion of the “Spirit”

The Young Hegelians believed that the important wars would be fought with words

Feuerbach’s The Essence of Christianity – religious beliefs did not emerged from the Spirit, but from social relationships

Marx followed Feuerbach and argued that all social institutions (and importantly those of an economic nature) emerged from social relationships

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Marx’s Intellectual Influences: Smith

Adam Smith:early theorist of the political economy1776 – An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the

Wealth of Nationswhat are the laws of the economic market?assumed that capitalist social relationships were natural

– moved by the natural flow of supply and demandassumed that the economic order of a society is

independent of other social institutions labor theory of value “invisible hand” – individual self-interest is beneficial to

societySmith advocates laissez-faire economics

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Marx’s Intellectual Influences: Engels

Friedrich Engels:The Condition of the Working Class in

England in 1844

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The Dialectic

Basic idea is the centrality of contradiction.For Hegel: used to understand historical change.

A philosophical endeavor only.For Marx: “contradictions of capitalism” and

“class contradictions” needed to be worked out in the real world, not only in our minds.

How is capitalism contradictory? …drive for profit, increases exploitation, increases

likelihood of revolt

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The Dialectical Method

When speaking of causality, they are always attuned to reciprocal relationships among social factors as well as the dialectical totality of social life of which they are embedded.

Accounting for the past, present and future

Current trends lead to possible futures with no inevitabilities.

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Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered from the past. The tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living.” (Marx, 1852/1963:15)

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Human Potential

Our human nature is a product of the time and place, the social relations and institutional context we find ourselves in.What effect in human nature does capitalism

impose?Species being the potentials and powers

that are uniquely human and that distinguish us from other species.

Manifests through labor.

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Labor

Our labor can create something that previously only existed in our imagination. Production reflects a purpose.

Process where we create external objects from our internal thoughts – objectification

Works with material nature to satisfy our material needs.

We transform nature through labor but it also transforms us.

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Alienation

There was inherent relation between labor and human nature that is perverted through capitalism. This perverted relation is called alienation.

Rather than being an end in itself—an expression of human capabilities—labor in capitalism is reduced to a means to an end—earning money.

Because of labor is not our own (paid by the capitalists and all) it no longer transforms us. Instead we are alienated from our labor, and therefore our true human nature.

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Alienation from:

1) Their productive activity

2) The product

3) Their fellow workers

4) Human potential Inherent contradiction found in

capitalism: between human nature and what capitalism requires of us.

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The Structures of Capitalist Society

Capitalism creates alienationAn economic system where workers work for

owners of capital and the profits are privatized.More than just an economic system but also a

system of power. Political power has been transformed into economic relations.

Under capitalism the economy appears to be a natural force.

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Commodities

Commodity a product of materialist orientation with a focus on productive capacity of actors.

Upon interacting with others and nature, humans produce the objects necessary to survive, which are then used by oneself or immediate others commodities use value. But under capitalism this becomes working to produce exchange value where objects aren’t used immediately but later exchanged for money or other objects.

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Use vs Exchange Values

Use value tied to human needs and the objects to satisfy those needs; difficult to compare; they’re qualitatively different.

In the process of exchange though commodities are compared to one another, which are quantitatively different.

Exchange value is separate from the physical property of the object.

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Fetishism of Commodities

Commodities are products of human labor but can be separated from the needs and purposes of the creator (becoming exchange values).

EV floats free from commodity and seems to exist independently. In capitalism this the commodity and market do become real independent phenomena and take on independent, mystical external reality.

This is the fetishism of commodities

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Fetishism of Commodities

For Marx, true value comes from the fact that labor produces it and someone needs it, its value represents social relations.

Capitalism distorts this relationship to one of relations between commodities, hiding the exploitative social relations that built it.

Also a process of reification (or “thingification”)

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Capital, Capitalists and the Proletariat

Proletariat are workers who sell their labor and who don’t own means of production.Since they only produce for exchange they’re

also consumers.

Capitalists are those who pay the wagesCapital is money that produces more

money, or, money that is invested rather than used to satisfy human needs.

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Circulation of Commodities

M¹- C - M² C¹ - M - C² Commodities are purchased to make a profit,

not necessarily to use (e.g. stocks).Capital is a particular social relation, capital

cannot increase except by exploiting those who actually do the work.

Exploitation is a necessary part of capitalism.Thought to be an objective economic system

rather than system of power

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Exploitation

“Capital is dead labor, that, vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks” (1867/1967:233)

Coercion is rarely through naked force but instead through the workers own needs but because of capitalism, can only be satisfied through wage labor.

In this regard we are thought to be ‘free laborers’, free to accept the capitalists’ terms.

If we refuse, there’s a reserve army of unemployed willing to take it.

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Exploitation

The capitalists pay the workers less than the value the workers produce and keep the rest for themselves surplus value

“The rate of surplus-value is therefore an exact expression for the degree of exploitation of labor-power by capital, or of the laborer by the capitalist.”

Capitalists much engage in exploitation or others will and ruin them (general law of capitalist accumulation), this intensifies since the workers are the source of value, the exploitation increases creating class conflict.

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Class Conflict

Class, group of people in similar situations with respect to control of the means of production.

Also defined by Marx in its potential for conflict.Class exists only when people become aware

of their conflicting relation to other classes. Without awareness, they’re a class in itself. When they become aware they become a true class, for itself.

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Bourgeoisie and Proletariat

Bourgeoisie particular name for the capitalists in the modern economy who own the means of production.

Conflict between bourgeoisie and proletariat is a real material contradiction.

Increasing proletarianization occurs.Capitalists seek greater productivity

machines fewer jobs more proletariat more gravediggers

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Some of Marx’s famous expressions

“Religion is the opium of the masses.”“Workers of the world unite!!!”“The history of all hitherto existing society is the

history of class struggle.”“The workingmen have no country.”“The ruling ideas of each age have ever been

the ideas of its ruling class.”The bourgeoisie “creates a world after its own

image.”“Capitalism creates its own gravedigger.”

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Key Ideas

all societies have internal tensions – the dominant versus the oppressed

conflict is the basis of society the conflict of modern societies is primarily between the

bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (workers)economic class is the most important factor in

understanding society – the means of productioncapitalism produces a specific form of alienation and

exploitation “those who control the means of production control the

means of mental production” The use of ideologies to perpetuate capitalism and forestall

revolution

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Marx and Economic Revolution

Marx argues that because capital is privately owned by the bourgeoisie, and surplus is not adequately shared, exploitation of workers is the necessary consequence.

Because they are alienated, workers are not aware of their common condition of exploitation. Thus, workers are in a state of false consciousness because they are not aware of their collective interests.

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Marx and Economic Revolution

However, Marx argues that inevitably workers will become aware of their shared conditions of exploitation and will develop a class consciousness.A class for itself

This will result in an economic revolution where workers will seize control over the means of production and distribute surplus equally.

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Marx and Economic Revolution

Essentially, Marx’s theory is based upon economic determinism. He argues that changes in the economy change all other facets of society.

If there are economic imbalances they will manifest themselves in other dimensions of society.

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Key Criticisms

1) The problem of actually existing communism2) Missing emancipatory subject (proletariat rarely

assume this position and actively oppose communism)

3) Missing dimension of gender (men’s paid labor relies ion women’s unpaid labor)

4) Marx saw economy solely driven by production and ignored consumption

5) Marx’s reliance on Western notion of ‘progress’ as problematic (what of our current ecological crises?)