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Lecture Review Notes 9:
Karl Marx:   His Philosphical Orientation;    His Relation to Hegel & Feuerbach
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 Marx & Hegel                      1770  -  1831   
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 Marx:  An Overview            1818  -  1883   
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           Human nature   
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           Species being   
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           Base & Superstructure   
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           Marxist Economics   
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 Stratification:  Status, Class, Power   
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           Bourgeosie & Proletariat   
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           Stratification of Social Class   
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 Ideology   
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           Alienation & Anomie Defined   
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           The Components of Alienation   
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           Class & False Consciousness   
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           Class & False Consciousness--Advanced   
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 Marx & Feuerbach                1804  -  1872   

 
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 Outline on 
Hegel  & 
   1770  -  1831
Marx 
   1818  -  1883
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  Hegel didn't believe in the immortality of the soul & therefore was persecuted by the church & state  
  He was forced to give in a bit & not allow his ideas to be spread among the people  
  He said, his ideas were, “nothing more than philosophy” & people should follow their customary religion  
  Reason:  Hegel held that 'reason embraced the universe'
 
  Reason was blind, evolutionary, necessary
 
  Reason could be seen in the universe through people, which were also a part of its actualization
 
  Truth was not formal propositions, it was reality in process
 
  Truth is the fulfilling all its objective possibilities
 
  Facts can never be more than a temporary & partial truth, because they represent only one negative phase in the unfolding of truth which reveals itself in the destruction & suppression of that phase
 
  Hegel's view of facts is the opposite of positivism, which treats facts in their immediately given form as truth 
 
  For Hegel, therefore, facts, i.e., conditions are transient
 
  Hegel's conflict theory, in the Philosophy of History said that humanity advances & progresses only because of conflicts, wars, revolution; that is, through the struggles of the oppressed against the oppressors
 
  Hegel believed that peace & harmony do not make for progress.
 
  Hegel examined the conflict of ideas but he wasn't talking about social struggle, only the struggle of ideas
 
  When Hegel died, the apparent contradiction split his followers into Left & Right Hegelians
 
  The materialists went to the left w/ Marx, & he & his contemporaries were called the Young, or Left Hegelians
 
  Marx said that Hegel's horizon was fundamentally restricted by the knowledge & concepts current in his day  
  Marx said that Hegel was correct to say that dialectics governs the development of spirit/mind, but it also applies to nature & society  
  Marx is said to have 'turned Hegel on his head'  
  Marx applied Hegel's ideas on the abstract or ideal world to the historical material development of the State, Class relationships, etc.  
  For Hegel, an idealist, the essence of reality isn't material, but spiritual & is therefore independent & thus free;    you are still free even in chains  
  Hegel's advice to an exploited worker: do not worry about material oppression, but only of the spiritual kind  
  Obey the state (God's representation on Earth) & you will find happiness & freedom of the spirit  
  For Hegel, consciousness reflects the spirit  
  For Hegel:  the idea is real & everywhere, & nature of world is a mere, imperfect reflection of it & materialistic views of world are also flawed  
  The world is much more than matter in motion  
  For Marx:  the idea, our consciousness is our understanding or reflection of the world as it is  
  We translate our perception of physical world into our understanding of it  
  For Hegel, alienation was a phenomenon of the mind  
  For Marx, it is a condition in which , a person's own powers appear as independent forces, or entities controlling actions  

 
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  An Introduction to   Karl Marx  1818  -  1883
External
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  -  Project:  We Are What We Do
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  -  Project:  Class & False Consciousness
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  -  Project:  Principles of Marxism & Money, Power, & Status 
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 -  Major Works & Biography of Marx  
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 -  Biography of Engels  
  Summary:  There are FIFTEEN of Marx's fundamental concepts
1.  Our human nature is that we are laboring/creating beings
2.  Society consists of two fundamental components:  the base & the superstructure
3.  The forces of production & relations of production determine economic relationships & thus the Base & thus society
4.  Individuals have conflicting self interests
5.  There are "contradictions" in society
6.  There is class conflict:  proletariat & bourgeoisie
7.  Conflict is the energy of social change-- of historical development
8.  There is social evolution in the form of historical development of material life
9.  Society is in a state of constant change & struggle
10.  Conflict does not always mean violence
11.  Capitalism is destructive of humanity
12.  Capitalism is alienating
13.  The upper class controls the economy
14.  Culture is shaped by the economic Base of society
15.  We have either class or false consciousness		  
  SCHOLARS DIVIDE MARX'S WORK INTO "EARLY" & "LATE" MARX BECAUSE IN HIS EARLY PERIOD 
HE WAS MORE PHILOSOPHICAL & IN HIS LATE PERIOD HE WAS MORE ECONOMICS ORIENTED 		  
  There is much debate over the differences & the significance of the differences of Marx's early & late works  
  Early Marx is generally more global & philosophical in scope & offers a more complex & humanist view of human kind  
  Late Marx is generally more focused on the mechanisms of economic systems & is considered to present a more deterministic view of human nature  
  A major debate w/in Marxism is whether Marx's system was a deterministic system or not, & which sector of society had the greatest power over human nature, the economy or culture?   
  See Also:  Economic v. Cultural Determinism  
  There is much debate over various interpretations of Marx's work  
  Early Marx is seen as a humanist w/ a social focus, & a dynamic view of human nature & social life  
  Late Marx has an economics focus & a deterministic view of human nature & social life  
  Many theorists debate whether Marxism is a deterministic system or not  
Link
 Preface: A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy  
  See Also:   Entire preface  
  There are FIFTEEN of Marx's fundamental concepts  
Link
 1.  OUR HUMAN NATURE IS THAT WE ARE LABORING / CREATING BEINGS  
  There are many other bases of  human nature  
  Marx used the term species being for human nature  
  Marx believed our species being is undeveloped
 
  Marx believed in the perfectibility of the individual   
  2.  SOCIETY CONSISTS OF 2 FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENTS: THE BASE & THE SUPERSTRUCTURE  
  Economic relations make up the base or foundation of society  
  All other relationships make up the superstructure & are determined by the Base  
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 Did the so called communist countries actually change the economic foundation of their society?  
  3.  THE FORCES & RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION DETERMINE THE 
NATURE OF THE ECONOMY & THUS THE BASE & THUS SOCIETY 		  
  See Also:  Forces of Production  
  See Also:  Relations of Production  
  4.   PEOPLE, GROUPS, ETC. HAVE CONFLICTING SELF INTERESTS  
  Conflict is linked to, or over the material / economic struggle
Groups (classes) conflict because of competition over scarce resources
The major split of self interests was seen as being btwn owners & workers		  
  5.   THERE ARE "CONTRADICTIONS" IN SOCIETY   
  Contradictions are social relations that cause conflict, which may or may not be seen as unjust or simply as "the way things are"  
  Conflict, at the abstract level, is btwn classes while at the everyday or concrete level, conflict is when workers/unionists & particular capitalist firms engage in struggle  
  Examples of Contradictions:
-  social character of production -  private property
-  productive forces -  relations of production
-  production for use -  production for profit
-  production -  consumption
 
  Marx respected Hegel because, through the dialectic, he discussed an affirmative view of a phenomenon as well as its negation; i.e., its inevitable breaking up which takes account of the transient nature of things  
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 6.  THERE IS CLASS CONFLICT IN SOCIETY   
  The form of society is shaped by conflict btwn groups in society, as well as by the economic base   
  Marxists will see society in conflict whereas functionalists will see society as interdependent/cooperative  
  There were only two classes in Marx's day:  the bourgeoisie & the proletariat  
  The bourgeoisie, aka the owners, are those who own the means of production
The proletariat, aka the workers, are those who work with the means of production		  
  Stratification is the study of class structure today  
  A typical formulation of classes today includes the upper class, UMC, MC, LMC, LC  
  See Also:   Class Structure  
  Today, we see all classes in a struggle w/ each other
Example:  how does more pay for coal miners affect the other groups? 		  
  7.  CONFLICT IS THE ENERGY OF SOCIAL CHANGE, OF HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT   
  Conflict brings social change  
  8.  SOCIAL EVOLUTION IS THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIAL LIFE   
  Marx sees all history as the history of class struggle  
  Each historical epoch has its own contradictions & classes  
  Humanity has developed through FOUR historical phases, which will be followed by TWO more  
  - Asiatic       Egypt, China
- Ancient     Greece, Roman Empire
- Feudal       W Europe
- Capitalist   last antagonistic system
- Socialist     Marx would maintain that socialism was never estb in Russia, China, etc.
- Communist		  
  While capitalism is last antagonistic system in that there is class conflict, there will always be individual struggle & conflict  
  See Also:  An Overview of Marxist History  
  9.  SOCIETY IS IN A STATE OF CONTINUAL CHANGE & STRUGGLE  
  Equilibrium does not exist for Marx & other conflict theorists because the inherent tendency of society is toward conflict, not consensus  
  Conflict is natural, normal & useful to society  
  10.  CONFLICT DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN VIOLENCE  
  Conflict is institutionalized so that differences can be worked out through society's channels such as unions, courts, etc.  
  Collective bargaining & civil rights panels are examples of the institutionalization of conflict  
  Violence occurs when groups become frustrated w/ society's channels to redress differences  
  Conflict eliminates social arrangements that harm society as a whole  
  Conflict offers disadvantaged groups the opportunity to improve their position in society  
 
 11.  CAPITALISM IS DESTRUCTIVE OF HUMANITY 
 
 
 The existing system of capitalism was not only preventing fulfillment of our potential, it was even depriving us of our animal needs:  food, shelter, sex, fresh air, & so on
 
 
 Hunger is a condition of deprivation imposed by people
 
 
 During Marx's time, capitalism had reduced humanity to animal laborers where the worker's needs were at the barest & most miserable level &, in fact, people were becoming less than animals
 
 
 See Also:  Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844  
 
 Market relations destroy society through TWO processes
 
  a.  creativity is destroyed because we are not creating for ourselves, but instead we are creating for the market  
  b.  the mkt concentrates wealth which creates monopoly  
  See Also:  Pac Man economics & Mkt Concentration  
 
 12.  CAPITALISM IS ALIENATING, I.E. CAUSES SEPARATION OF INDIVIDUALS & SOCIAL GROUPS   
  While both Hegel & Feuerbach discussed the nature of alienation, Marx built upon these to develop his own dialectical- material view of alienation  
  See Also:  Alienation  
 
 13.  THE UPPER CLASS CONTROL THE ECONOMY ( 50% of income )
 
 
 See Also:   Introduction on the Economic Power of the Upper Class  
  The UC controls the economy & thus the culture  
  Bill Gates controls more wealth, over $100 bb in 2000, more than the lower 20% of the population  
  In 2000, there were over 1000 billionaires in the world  
  American income distribution demonstrates that the richest 20% has more income as all the rest  
  The top 5% of the population controls more than the lower 40% of the population  
 
 American income distribution demonstrates that the richest 20% has more income as all the rest  
 
 Groups w/ advantage will attempt to preserve the status quo:  i.e. existing set of arrangements
 
 
 While society experiences conflict, in the long run, society is relatively stable, & income distribution has changed little in the last 100 yrs.
 
 Link 14.  CULTURE IS SHAPED BY THE ECONOMIC BASE
 
 
 By controlling the base, the upper class ( UC ) controls the superstructure & thus we have conflicting values & ideologies 
 
 
 Marx believed that the powerful promote a belief in their ideology, i.e., ideology of the UC
 
  Most Am have the ideology of the rich which may be thought of as a morbid belief that they also can be rich when the cold reality is that class structure has changed only minutely in last 100 yrs.
 
 
 The media holds success stories up for workers to see
 
 
 15.  WE HAVE EITHER CLASS OR FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS
 
 
 For Marx, we have class consciousness if we support policies that advance our interests 
 
  An example of class consciousness is when the working class supports policies in its own interest such as lower taxes for the non upper classes, the advancement of unions, universal health care, etc.  
 
 For Marx, we have false consciousness if we support policies that harm or reverse our interests
 
  An example of class consciousness is when the upper class supports policies that are not in its own interest such as the advancement of unions, capital gains taxes, inheritance taxes w/ a high deductible rate  
 
 An ideology or world view is a mental system of beliefs about reality, which may be real or ideal
 
 
 See Also:  Ideology  
 
 See Also:  Class & False Consciousness
 
 
 Conflicting ideologies often appear as a conflict of values
 
 
 For Marx, most workers support the status quo, i.e., the ideology of the upper class, & thus, they have false consciousness
 
 
 Marx viewed the development of the modern era as fraught w/ both immense problems & immense potentials
 
 
 Modernity was defined by the capitalist economy
 
 
 Modernity had developed as a result of the transition from earlier forms of society  
 
 Marx restricted himself mostly to a critique of the economic system & its deformities such as alienation, exploitation, econ collapse, monopolization, etc.  

 
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Karl Marx
1818 - 1883

Born in the German Rhineland, Marx spent most of his adult life in political  exile
He studied law in Bonn & history & phil in Berlin
He received his doctorate in philosophy from Jena in 1841

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Major works of Marx
Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844
The Communist Manifesto
Das Kapital
Thesis on Feuerbach
A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy    1859
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Engels biography:  Engels was Marx's friend & colleague
Though Engels was also born in the Rhineland, his father was a textile mfr. w/ interests in England
Engels moved to England to 1st work at, then manage, then own, a cotton mill in Manchester
Marx & Engels met briefly in 1842, again in 1844 
From that time on they worked closely together 
From 1850 Engels provided financial  support for Marx, & Marx's family after Marx died

 
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Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy.  Succinct formulation of his theory 
 
See entire passage
Link
  1. Legal relations & the form of the state are rooted in mat conditions of life under name civil society
  2. People enter into social relations of production which are indispensable & independent of their will
  3. These relations of prod correspond to a definite stage of development of their material powers
  4. Totality of relations of prod constitutes economic structure of society: the foundation on which legal & political SS arise & to which definite forms of consciousness correspond
  5. It is not the consciousness of people that determines their being, but rather that social being determines consciousness
  6. Mat forces of prod come in conflict w/ the existing relations of prod
  7. The legal representations of property relation's become problematic
  8. And so social revolutions occurs:  w/ change in economic foundation, SS is more or less rapidly transformed
  9. Changes occur first in the mat economic conditions, & later in the ideological SS:  legal, political, religious, aesthetic or phil 
  10. No social order ever disappears before all the prod forces in it are development 
  11. New conditions begin amidst old conditions, slowly
z 0515 Hist Mx

 
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Our human nature is that we are laboring/creating beings.  People are "naturally" "laborers."  Marx called our human nature:  our "species being"
  • People work on social, material & natural world of which they are part
  • In doing so, they change the world, the world changes them ( natural selection) & the activities in which we engage change us
  • Work is a part of our human nature:  We are creative beings who must create through work to realize ourself, actualize, develop, etc.
  • Humans are constructing & being constructed by nature
  • Changing of economic systems is a result of individuals & groups struggling w/ their social & natural contexts
  • Marx saw history as an analogy based on competitive struggle
Society & Nature, Dickens, Chap 2

 
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Did the so called Communist countries change their economic foundations?

Russia, China:  did they change the economic foundation?  And what was the effect on the superstructure? 
This is Marx's rationale for the development of socialism in capitalistic countries only.


 
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Examples of class conflict & conflict in society: 
Labor v. mgt
Wkrs v. mgt

Environmentalism
Civil Rights Movement
Women's Movement
MADD


 
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Examples of how Culture is shaped by the economic base of society
Pretty Woman:  prostitute succeeds:  marries millionaire
Cinderella
Who wants to be a millionaire?
Lottery
Beauty Queen marries a multi-millionaire

 
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 Outline on  Human Nature
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  There are NINE paradigms that explain human nature, including:
  1.  religion
  2.  predestination
  3.  tabula rasa
  4.  instincts
  5.  genetics/biology
  6.  socio-biology
  7.  social
  8.  species being
  9.  non-academic pseudo theories
 
  1.  The religious paradigm on the explanations of human nature references to an "unknowable" creator as creating or molding human nature
 
  2.  The predestination paradigm on the explanations of human nature is usually a religious view, which holds that not only are we created solely by an "unknowable" creator, but that we have no free will to create ourselves
 
  3.  The tabula rasa paradigm on the explanations of human nature posits that we are born by a creator, but we have few essential characteristics, & thus have the ability to create ourselves
 
     Locke,   1632 - 1704  
     Montesquieu,  1689 - 1755  
  4.  The instinctual paradigm on the explanations of human nature holds that we are influenced every moment by primal, unconscious mental/biological mental formations
 
     Freud:  Eros & Thanatos
 
  5.  The genetics/biology paradigm on the explanations of human nature theorizes that are born w/ essential, physically determined characteristics that are the primary determinant of our human nature
 
  6.  The socio biology paradigm on the explanations of human nature is similar to the tabula rasa paradigm in that we are born w/ few/many essential characteristics which are conditioned by the environment
 
  7.  The social paradigm on the explanations of human nature is similar to the tabula rasa & socio- biology paradigms in that we are born w/ essential characteristics, but socialization has a major impact on who we are
 
       Mead  
       Cooley  
       Habermas  
  8.  The species being paradigm on the explanations of human nature is similar to the social paradigm in that human human nature is the result of socialization; however for Marxists, the socialization done in the creative act of labor or work is especially determinant of human nature  
       Marx  
  9.  Non-academic pseudo theories paradigm on the explanations of human nature advocates that human nature is the result of some combination of the other human nature paradigms & is usually linked to an ideology, i.e. a cult or extreme social movement that is selective on which aspects of a theory it will or will not accept  

 
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 Outline on Species Being: Marx's Conception of Human Nature
External 
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  -  Project:  We Are What We Do
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  -  Project:  Human Nature & Species Being
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  Species being means human nature
 
  Species being  is an archaic ( or old fashioned ) word for human nature
 
  What distinguishes people from animals?
 
  Like humans, animals  use tools, use nature, make things
- Bees build nests
- Chimps use tools
- Animals have emotions
What makes us different?
 
  The primary behavior that distinguishes humans from animals is that we plan what we are going to do before we do it
 
  Humans mentally pre-conceive the objective/process while animals build only instinctually  
  For Marx, people are "naturally" "laborers"  
  People work on the social, material & natural world of which they are part  
  In doing so, they change the world,  the world changes them ( natural selection) & the activities in which we engage change us  
  Work is a part of our human nature  
  We are creative beings who must create through work to realize ourself, actualize, develop, etc.  
  Humans are constructing & being constructed by nature  
  The changing of econ systems is a result of individuals & groups struggling w/ their social & natural contexts  
  Marx saw history as an analogy based on competitive struggle  
  Marx's conception of human nature is that we need to humanly mold the world by means of our theoretical practical activity   ( praxis ) 
 
  We create world in the sense that we produce tools & w/ tools & externalize objects w/ the materials of nature, thus modifying nature
 
  Animals do mold the world too through the use of tools, the use nature, & making things
 
  For Marx, human essence is the most fully expressed through labor
 
  For Habermas, human essence is realized in communication  
  Labor is a creative activity carried out in cooperation w/ others by which people transform the world outside themselves
 
  Through the creative process of labor, we also transform our world within: we learn, struggle, will, experience compassion, etc. through labor
 
  Labor is social
 
  Labor is always social or cooperative because we usually produce w/ others & we usually produce for others
 
  But market production is alienating
 
  Early production was done 
- for the family or tribe
- to give away
- to trade
- for status
 
     See Also:  Alienation
 
     See Also:  Marxist history  
  Marx believed that the process of labor was the process of objectification  
  We make objects which embody our hopes, dreams, creativity, essence, etc. & yet these things stand separate from their creators  
  We seek to express / objectify ourselves  
  Marx believed, 'We are what we do.'  
  For Marx, our species being is undeveloped  
  Marx had a conception of the natural person, natural needs, & potentials paralleling the Enlightenment thinkers  
  We have latent & potential powers, along w/ active powers  
  If people are no more than a laboring beast, we need not remain so; we can become creative, that is, we have potential  
  For Marx, it is not that we create that makes us different than animals; there are THREE features that make humans different than animals
a.   we plan before we create
b.  we desire/need to create
c.  we create ourselves through what we create		  
  We do not know what the natural person is like  
  We do not know what a peaceful, fulfilled society is like  
  We can only imagine that a society w/ fulfilled people, w/ creative, unalienated labor,  is much different than what now exists  
  Marx believed that capitalism resulted in our human nature being alienated  
  Failure to realize our human nature results in alienation  
  Both  Marx & Freud believed that to deny human nature is to distort human nature  
  Marx's laboring/creative species being is similar to Freud's Eros or sex drive  
  Marx believed we did not truly know human nature because it had been so distorted by the flawed economic system  
  Perhaps Marx's sense of our human nature is closest to Maslow's view of human nature
 
  Both Marx & Maslow believed that we have higher needs & potentials that can be developed   
 Link
 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs describes his conception of developmental human nature  
  Marx's creative laboring was not similar to Maslow's lower survival needs of food, water, clothing, shelter  
  Marx's species being is similar to Maslow's highest need:  self actualization  
  The concept “we are what we do” is similar to the concept of self actualization  
  We realize ourselves, for ourselves, not in relation to others as in Maslow's status needs, but through what we do  
  Human nature dictates the nature of society  
 
 Because our species being is based on our creativity / laboring so society itself is based on the system of creativity /laboring:  the economy
 

 
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Chart on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
 
 

The Chart on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs demonstrates, as Freud believed, that the lower needs are the foundation upon which other needs are fulfilled, but unlike Freud, higher needs are primarily social in nature

 
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Outline on the Base & the Superstructure
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  THE THEORY OF THE BASE & SUPERSTRUCTURE HOLDS THAT ECON RELATIONS ARE THE FUNDAMENTAL FOUNDATION OF ALL OTHER SOCIAL RELATIONS   
  Note:  There is much debate over the interpretation of Marx's work as seen in the related & competing schools of thought such as conflict theory, neo Marxism, the critical school, etc.  
  Class analysis holds that all history is history of class struggle   
  Class struggle is rooted in economic struggle/competition   
  Understanding economics is at the heart of understanding society because our most fundamental needs are based on food, clothing & shelter & the "higher needs" of art, recreation, even sexuality, are secondary to material needs   
  However, there is an ancient, & on-going philosophical debate over whether material (economic) [Archaic Language] conditions determine the nature of human society or whether idealistic (cultural) conditions determine the nature of society   
  All other human relations fail when fundamental economic relations fail, e.g.  food, clothing, shelter   
  ECON RELATIONS ARE THE FOUNDATION OF SOCIETY IN THAT MOST OF US DEFINE OURSELVES BY WHAT WE DO IN LIFE & BY THE FACT THAT ECON INSTITS DOMINATE SOCIETY TODAY   
  The concepts of the base & the superstructure embody the idea that: "We are what we do"   
  The concepts of the base & the superstructure are similar to humanistic psychology concept of self actualization in that we strive to develop ourselves to highest degree & this is usually done by immersing ourselves in creation, in becoming   
  Alienation occurs when we cannot develop   
  There are many divergent & convergent conceptions of human nature   
  Species being is Marx's term for our most basic human nature which is a collective or social group conception, an not an individual conception of human nature   
  THE BASE IS THE ECON FOUNDATION & THE SUPERSTRUCTURE IS BUILT UPON THE BASE & INCLUDES CULTURE & ALL OTHER SOC RELATIONS   
Link
 The Chart on the Base & the Superstructure depicts the belief that the economy is the base or foundation of society & that culture or superstructure of society is determined by the base 
 
 
 The base is the economic foundation of society including the means of production & relations of production 
 
 
 The base includes what is commonly known as the economy, & also all the social relationships inherent in the economic sphere of society 
 
 
 The superstructure includes the ideas of society & their manifestations including culture, law, art, entertainment, etc. 
 
  The superstructure includes what is commonly known as culture, & also all the social relationships inherent in the cultural sphere of society   
 
     See Also:  Marxist Economics   
 
 Common terms for the base & the superstructure are the economy & the culture   
  THE BASE HAS THE QUALITIES OF A FOUNDATION, INCLUDES THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION, INCLUDES THE RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION, & DETERMINES CULTURE  
 
 The base has FOUR major quals.  The base: 
a.  is the economic foundation of society 
b.  includes the means of production 
c.  includes the relations of production 
d.  determines culture 		  
  THE QUALITIES OF CULTURE INCLUDE THAT IT IS COMPOSED OF KBVN & REPRESENTS THE IDEAS MANIFESTED IN SOCIETY, INCLUDING THE LAW, THE ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, ETC.   
 
 Cultural relationships ( KBVN ) are the superstructure or framework of society   
 
 The superstructure has FOUR major qualities 
a.  represents the ideas of society 
b.  represents the manifestations of society 
c.  is made up of culture & law 
d.  is made up of art & entertainment 		  
  In the overview of conflict theory, one of the major principles of conflict theory is that culture is shaped by the economic base of society   
  But most social scientists view this point as the question of how much does the economy influence culture?   
  For Marx, the structure of the economy determines structure of culture   
  For Marx, the base determines the superstructure   
  For Marx, a particular economic order creates a particular type of culture   
  THROUGHOUT HISTORY, THE ECONS OF DIFFERENT ERAS MANIFESTED THE PARTICULAR CULTURAL SYSTEMS OF THOSE ERAS   
  A feudalistic economy had one type of culture, a religious & authoritarian culture 
A capitalist economy has another type of culture, a consumerist & individualist culture 
A socialist economy has another type of culture, a cooperative & bureaucratic culture 		  
  Furthermore, an analysis of the base & superstructure shows that different types of economic systems have different cultures 
  Agriculture 
  Industrial 
  Service 
  High Tech 		  
  Do different occupations have different cultures?     (knowledge, beliefs, values, norms)? 
  Top executive?                    Worker? 
  Cop?                                    Teacher? 
  Entertainer?                         Athletes? 		  
  One bit of proof of the conception of the base & the superstructure is that different occupations have different cultures   
  THE BASE EMBODIES THE SOCIAL STRUCTURES OF THE ECON & ED; THE SUPERSTRUCTURE EMBODIES ALL OTHER SOCIAL STRUCTURES, INCLUDING PF RG M CML  
Link
 The Chart on the Base & the Superstructure & the Social Structure shows that the economy determines all other aspects of society   
    See Also:  Social Structures   
  The question of how much the economy influences culture is reflected in an ancient, but still on-going philosophical debate (archaic language) btwn materialism & idealism   
  Materialism, as a philosophy, holds that the concrete aspects of life are primary determinants   
  Idealism, as a philosophy, holds that the abstract aspects of life are primary determinants   
  What is the relationship btwn material life & ideal life?   
  Most Marxists, but not conflict theorists, believe material life totally determines ideal life   
  Marx's theories are based on a materialistic (economic) view of humanity   
  SOCIALIZATION BY THE BASE IS THE MOST PERVASIVE & POWERFUL   
  The fundamental idea of material life determining ideal life is found in many other theories, especially the concept of socialization   
  Socialization is:   
  a.  a process that "teaches" people roles & functions to develop a self - image in people   
  b.  how we "deep learn" through exposure to & participation in the activities of our lives   
       Review:  Socialization   
  The economy shapes our culture / personality because we, for example, engage is the processes of the economy that teach us to look out for number one, work hard, etc.   
  Conflict theorists believe that material life influences ideal life   
  By "controlling" the base, the upper class "controls" the superstructure   
  The ultimate question is not whether the upper class controls the superstructure, but rather how much influence the upper class has over the superstructure   
  Marx believed that the powerful promote a belief in their ideology, i.e., ideology of the upper class   
  In general, most workers support the status quo, i.e. the ideology of the upper class   
  Ideologies are mental systems of beliefs about reality: world view   
  Conflict theorists believe that Americans have the ideology of the rich   
  Conflict theorists believe that most Americans have a "morbid belief " that they also can be rich   
  While most Americans are hopeful that they too can be rich, the reality is that class structure has changed only minimally in last 100 yrs.   
  Social scientists, activists, et al, frequently struggle w/ the questions, "Why do Americans have false consciousness?" & "What can be done to change what people believe?" etc.   
  One common reason people believe what they do is the influence of the media, but conflict theorists & Marxists hold that the media's ideology is only a reflection of the larger ideology as created by the base   
  The media continually holds up unrealistic success stories for people to long after:   
    Cinderella 
  Pretty Woman 
  Who wants to be a millionaire? 
  The Lottery 		  
  'CLASSIC' CONFLICT THEORISTS HOLD THAT THE SOC RELATIONS OF THE BASE DETERMINES THE SOC RELATIONS OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE, BUT NEO CONFLICT THEORISTS & OTHERS HOLD THAT THERE IS A MUTUAL INTERACTION BTWN THE TWO   
  The question of the relationship btwn the economy & culture is not simply one of how strongly one influences the other   
  The question of the relationship btwn the economy & culture may also be understood as a struggle of competing value systems, ideologies, etc.   
  Societies have conflicting values & ideologies   
  Conflicting ideologies often appear as a conflict of values   
  But many believe there is mutual causation btwn the economy & culture   
        See Also:  Economic & Cultural Determination   
  For Marx the direction of causality is that the base determines the superstructure while for Parsons the direction of causality is that the superstructure determines the base   
  For Marx & many conflict theorists, the direction of causality btwn the base & the superstructure is from the base  to the superstructure, but for Parsons & many functionalists the direction of causality is from the superstructure to the base   

 
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Chart on the Superstructure & Base
 

Superstructure:  ideas of society & their manifestations:  culture, law, 
                             art, entertainment, ideology, values, etc. 
 
 

Base:  economic foundation of society:  means of production & relations of production 


 
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Chart on the Base, the Superstructure & the Social Structures
1.    Peers
2.    Family
3.    Religion
5.    Government
6.    Military
7.    Charity
9.    Media
10.  Recreation/ Leisure 

4.    Work (economy)
8.    Education

 
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Outline on  Marxist Economics
External
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  SOCIETY IS STRUCTURED BY THE MODE & RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION IN THE ECON BASE   
  The mode of production consists of the two components of the forces of production & the relations of production   
  THE LABOR THEORY OF VALUE HOLDS THAT WORTH / USEFULNESS IS CREATED BY APPLYING LABOR TO FORM 'A PRODUCT'   
 
 The labor theory of value holds that the value of a thing is determined by amount of labor put into it
 
 
 The market theory of value posits that the value of a thing is determined by its scarcity
 
 
 Surplus value is the amount above subsistence value for the worker:  similar to profit
 
 
 The most profitable capital appropriates the most surplus value
 
  CAPITALISM DEPENDS ON KEEPING AN INDUSTRIAL RESERVE ARMY, I.E. A SURPLUS OF WORKERS TO KEEP LABORERS COMPETING, THUS KEEPING WAGES LOW   
 
 The industrial reserve army is the Marxist concept denoting that  w/ capitalism, there is always unemployment & the concomitant poverty
 
 
 Capitalism needs unemployment to make jobs scarce, so people will work for less
 

 
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 Outline on the Stratification & Interactions of Power, Class, & Status
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  STRATIFICATION IS THE SOCIAL PROCESS WHERE SCARCE SOCIAL & PHYSICAL RESOURCES SUCH AS WEALTH, INCOME, POWER , STATUS, ETC. ARE NON RANDOMLY DISTRIBUTED AMONG MEMBERS, GRPS, CLASSES, ETC. OF SOCIETY 
 
  "Strata" means layers   
  In the social sciences, there are typically THREE foci of stratification analysis including power, status, & class which are based on power/authority, prestige, & economics   
  POWER IS THE ABILITY OR AUTHORITY TO ACT OR DO SOMETHING, OR TO HAVE SOMETHING DONE, OR CONTROL SOMETHING OR SOMEONE  
  Power:  The political scientist Robert Dahl ( 1957 ) defined power as 
-  the ability of a person or social formation (group) 
-  to get another social formation 
-  to act or believe in a particular way 
-  that they would not have done before 
 
  There is a clear distinction btwn power, authority, & influence 
 
  STATUS IS ANY POSITION W/IN A SOCIAL SYSTEM; THUS ONE IS IN A HIERARCHY OF PRESTIGE   
  Status is aka prestige, honor, respect, etc.   
  Positions are roles w/ status   
  A CLASS IS A SOCIAL GROUPING OF PEOPLE W/ SIMILAR SOCIO ECONOMIC STATUS & RELATIONSHIP TO THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION, IN ANY TYPE OF SOCIETY   
  Class represents economic power in modern, industrial, state capitalist, global economies 
 
  Thus class confers power, authority, influence & status 
 
  Individuals (e.g., Ross Perot) & orgs (PACs) often see their main task as converting one form of power into another 
 
  In our society, economic power is the predominant type of power, therefore actors often try to convert economic or class power to other types of power 
 
  Nearly all power conversions take place through organizations 
 
  All power relationships take place in a context of inequality, hence the appropriateness of linking an analysis of power to an analysis of stratification   
  Power relationships can only occur in a stratified society   
  The greater the disparity of stratified resources, the greater the opportunity for the use of power   
  In an equal society (understanding that total equality can never occur), there would be no stratification & no power, as it is defined here   
  Power, can & does occur based on the strat of other types of resources, & will inevitably continue to occur based on these other types of resources such as gender, friendship, popularity, etc.   

 
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 Outline on the Bourgeoisie & Proletariat 
External 
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  Marx's analysis of capitalism delineated TWO primary classes, the bourgeoisie & the proletariat  
  For Marx, besides the bourgeoisie & the proletariat, there were other, secondary, classes including the petite bourgeoisie, the lumpen proletariat, farmers, & others  
  Today, most Marxists recognize that a middle class has developed, thus the number of classes have grown from two to many  
  The bourgeoisie are the owners, the class that developed out of merchants during the middle ages
 
  The proletariat are the workers, the class that developed out of peasants during the middle ages
 
  For Marx, the major conflict in society is between the bourgeoisie & the proletariat 
 
  Secondary classes during Marx's time included serfs, slaves, religious leaders, aristocrats, lumpen proletariat
 
  Most of the secondary classes of Marx's time were vestiges of the previous Feudal Era  
  Bourgeoisie is the name given in Europe to middle class of emerging merchants & craftsmen of medieval cities
 
  The word "Bourgeoisie" means, literally, 'those who live in cities' i.e., burg's  
  The Bourgeoisie played a major role in the 16th century in uprooting Feudalism
 
  The bourgeoisie has roots in the chartered towns of the middle ages that achieved independent status from feudal lords  
  As trade developed, burgers became wealthy & powerful  
  W/ the accumulation & concentration of wealth, manufacturing developed & divisions of industrial labor replaced the guild labor of the middle ages  
  From the late 18th century, the Bourgeoisie spearheaded democratic reform
 
  Following the Industrial Revolution, the High Bourgeoisie (industrialists and bankers) came to be distinguished from the Petty Bourgeoisie (tradespeople & white collar workers)
 
  From the time of Molière (1622 - 1673), the bourgeoisie were ridiculed by some for its preoccupation with status and material gain
 
  Molière was the stage name of Jean Baptiste Poquelin, the greatest French Comedian & his comedy was based on the contrast of how people see themselves as compared to how others see them  
  In Karl Marx's theory of class struggle, the Bourgeoisie was seen as an ultimately reactionary force trying to prevent the ascendancy of the wage earning proletariat. 
 
  The Proletariat are a class of workers who depend for their means of existence on the sale of their labor for purposes of industrial production
 
  Marx believed the Proletariat class was formed by the rise of Capitalism & would eventually become the overwhelming majority
 
  Marx believed the Proletariat class would revolt against their exploitation seize power from the Bourgeoisie, or capitalist class & create a classless society
 
  The development of the Bourgeoisie & Proletariat paralleled each other  
  The Proletariat also emerged from displaced serfs, 'rebel' aristocrats, etc.  
  The Proletariat formed in the chartered 'free towns' of the Middle Ages  
  The Bourgeoisie have allied w/ various other classes, & finally became dominant & independent (unallied)  
  The Bourgeoisie first became truly independent in Northern Italy  
  The Bourgeoisie created the market system, republican democracy, wage labor, industry, etc., & eventually all of these came together in Capitalism  
  The Bourgeoisie were what today we would call entrepreneurs  
  The efficiency of the Bourgeoisie system out competed feudalism  
  The Proletariat are reduced to a commodity in the new Bourgeoisie system, i.e. Capitalism  
  Marx believed that more & more people, from other classes, would be pushed into the Proletariat  
  The development of any class system, whether it be Bourgeoisie & Proletariat, Aristocrat & Serf, etc., is one of dialectical development  

 
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Outline on the Introduction to the  Stratification of Social Class
External
Links
  -  Video:  EO. Wright on Social Class             4:49
Link
  -  Video:  Class          27:05
Link
  -  Video:  Standard Deviants on Class          6:20
Link
  -  Project:  Your Experience of Class
Link
  -  Project:  Pick a Formulation of Classes, Apply to Occupation, Authority, & Ownership 
Link
  A FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF CONFLICT THEORY IS THAT THERE IS CLASS CONFLICT IN SOCIETY   
  Class analysis is not class bashing or conspiracy theory  
  The form of society is shaped by the conflict btwn the groups in society  
  Different groups have conflicting basic self interests & these groups are called classes  
  A CLASS OF PEOPLE HAS SIMILAR INCOME, WEALTH, STATUS, & RELATION TO THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION   
  Sociologist refer to a group of people who are similar in terms of level of income or wealth as a social class  
  A class is a social grouping of people w/ similar socio economic status & relationship to the means of production in any type society  
  A class is a group of people who are similar in terms of level of income or wealth  
  For Kerbo, a class is a grouping of people w/ similar positions & similar political & economic interests  
  The class dimension of stratification is based on economic position  
  Class analysis is widely utilized in the social sciences  
  The sociological definition of social class indicates that there are many definitions, which are labeled in many different ways and have unclear boundaries  
  For Marx, there is class conflict in society:  The form of society is shaped by the economic base, as well as by conflict btwn groups in society  
  According to Marx, the most important aspect of the definition of class is a person's relationship to the means of production & most people are either workers, or they have ownership of the means of production  
  For Marx, a class is a group that has a conflicting basic self interest as compared to another group / class & the primarily conflict in society is economic  
 
 Marx's class analysis holds that     " All history is the history of class struggle "  
  There were only two primary classes in Marx's day  
  One problem with the Marxian definition of social class is that it places a salaried person receiving $125,000 a year in the same social class with someone working for the minimum wage  
 
 Weber believes that class is determined by a person's relationship to means of production, as well as one's life chances, & capital ownership ( status & power )  
 
 Groups (classes) conflict because of  competition over scarce resources
 
  HISTORICALLY, THERE WERE 6 TYPES OF SOCIETIES, EACH W/ DIFFERENT SETS OF CLASSES   
 
 There are SIX types of society/stratification systems, each w/ its own unique class structure  
 
 An example of a stratification system w/ a unique class structure is a feudal, agricultural society, where the landowners are the ruling class, who were made up of royalty / aristocrats.  The catholic church clergy made up another class and the subordinate class consisted of serfs, peasants, tenant farmers
 
 
 An example of a stratification system w/ a unique class structure is the pure capitalism that existed in Marx's day, the mid 1800s, where there were only two classes: the owners who were known as the bourgeoisie, & the workers who were known as the proletariat
 
  THE MOST COMMON CLASS FORMULATION TODAY INCLUDES THE LOWER CLASS, WKING CLASS, MID CLASS, UPPER MID CLASS, & UPPER CLASS   
 
 Today, more classes are recognized than in Marx's time
 
Link
 Table of Various Formulations of Class
 
Link
 Table of Nine Classes in the Modern Industrialized Nations ( Primarily the US )
 
Link
 What are these classes based on?
 
 
 The lower class accounts for 10 to 20 percent of the population, this group is struggling to make it, lives around the poverty line, depending on employment, health, marital status, etc. 
 
  Most homeless people are adult males  
 
 The working class accounts for 30 to 35 % of the population, & works at blue collar or clerical jobs and has income below the average level of $51,000 for a family  
  Sociologist Herbert Gans is a conflict theorist who in “The Functions of Poverty” makes the point that a good many Americans (the non poor & often the wealthy) benefit from the continued existence of widespread poverty  
 
 The lower middle class accounts for 25 to 35 % of the population, this group holds the lower status white collar jobs, many of which may not require a college degree, and has income around the median level of $51,000 for a family
 
 
 The upper middle class accounts for 15 to 20 % of the population & is made up of better paid mgt. & professional employees, and has income above the median level of $51,000 for a family
 
 
 The upper class makes up about 2 to 5 % of the population and some have assets well in excess of $1 million
 
  The corporate class is more likely to have made their wealth by their own efforts rather than from the ownership of capital  
  The upper class may consist of some of the new rich  
  The new rich experiences status inconsistencies because they are educated but cannot earn the incomes to live up to their expectations  
 
 The elite class makes up about 1 % of the population & many have assets well in excess of $1 million
 
  The elite social class includes both the "old rich" and the "new rich"  
 
 In 2001 the 400 wealthiest families ranged from $600 mm to Bill Gates w/ $54 bb, i.e. $54,000 mm
 
 
 The old rich gain prestige from their name alone & have been wealthy for generations
 
 
 Some of the old rich include the Rockefellers, the Fords, the Carnegies, the Danforths, Steve Forbes, & others  
 
 The new rich gain prestige from being "self made"
 
 
 Some of the new rich include Bill Gates, Sam Walton, Steven Jobs, Ross Perot, & others  
  CLASSES MAY BE BASED ON OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURES, AUTHORITY STRUCTURES, OR PROPERTY   
  Kerbo believes that class divisions are based on THREE major criteria which overlap to a certain degree  
  a.  Class is based on a person's position in the occupational structures  
  b.  Class is based on a person's position in the authority structures  
  Authority structures are systems which determine how many people a person must take orders from versus how many people a person can give orders to  
  When normal people are accorded the power to protect & maintain their political & economic interests, even when their interests conflict w/ other groups, they exercise that power  
  c.  Class is based on a person's ownership of property  
  Ownership, in the modern world includes not only land, but also
- stocks
- bonds
- intellectual property
- patents
- copyrights
- proprietary knowledge		  
  Given that the US is an industrial capitalist nation, typical listing of class divisions are made primarily in terms of occupational & economic divisions  
  Classes are often labeled differently by different analysts, depending on the questions they are asking  
 Link
 Table  The Convergence of Occupation, Bureaucratic & Property Divisions of Five Class Categories  
  For many analysts, the major conflict in society is between the owners & the workers  
  Class analysis examines the exact mixture of achievement versus ascriptive factors that determine where people end up in the econ hierarchy  
  Class analysis asks many fundamental questions about the role of economic stratification in society, such as:  
  a. 'what is the most important criteria in distinguishing classes?'  
  b.  'how many classes exist?'  
  c.  'to what extent do individuals recognize the divisions of class?'  
  d.  'do class divisions still exist in the US & other industrialized nations?'  
  e.  'are racism & other forms of discrimination based primarily on class, status, power or race stratification?'  

 
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Table of Various Formulations of Class
PW
Bourgeoisie UC Upper Class Capitalist Class   Elites
  MC Upper Middle Class Higher Nonmanual Class Higher White Collar Class  
Proletariat LC Lower Middle Class Lower Nonmanual Class Lower White Collar Class White Collar
    Working Class Skilled Manual Class Skilled Blue Collar Class Blue & Pink Collar
    Lower Class Unskilled Manual Class Unskilled Blue Collar Class  
          The Poor

 
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Table of Nine Classes in the Modern Industrialized Nations ( Primarily the US )
PW
1. Upper Class
 ( Old Money )		 Families high in property ownership w/ high authority flowing from said ownership;
e.g.:  the old established families: Rockefellers, DuPonts, Mellons, Fords, Carnegie
2. Corporate Class
 ( New Money)		 Families w/ high authority & power in major corporations in government usually w/o extensive ownership in these corporations
Examples:  corp. presidents, vice presidents, & top board members
Most analysts agree that the UC is shrinking while the corp class is growing
3. Upper Middle Class Families w/ relatively little property but high to middle positions in occupation (nonmanual labor) and authority
Examples:  lesser corporate managers, doctors, lawyers....
4. Middle Class Families w/ relatively little property but  middle positions in occupation (nonmanual labor) and authority
Examples:  lesser corporate managers, doctors, lawyers & major office workers, clerks, salespeople
5. Lower Middle Class Families w/ relatively little property but middle to low positions in occupation (nonmanual labor) and authority
Examples:  office workers, clerks, salespeople
6. Skilled Working Class Families w/ little or no property middle to low positions in a skilled occupation often based on manual labor w/ little or no authority
Examples:  Plumber (blue collar)
7. Unskilled Working Class Families w/ little or no property who are in middle to low positions in an unskilled occupation often based on manual labor w/ little or no authority
Examples:  Fast food worker (white collar), construction laborer (blue collar)
8. Lower Class Families w/ no property & no authority who are often unemployed, & may receive enough $ to stay in a home through the family, welfare, social sec, disability, crime, etc.
9. Destitute Families w/ no property & no authority who are often unemployed, who do not receive enough $ to stay in a home

 
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Table: The Convergence of Occupation, Bureaucratic & Property Divisions of 5 Class Categories
Kerbo 0305
 
Positions in Three Main Types of Institutional Structures
Class Categories
Occupation
Bureaucratic Authority
Property Relation
Upper Class
High
High
Owner
Corporate Class
High
High
Nonowner
Middle Class
High to Mid Level
Mid Level
Nonowner
Working Class
Mid Level to Low
Low
Nonowner
Lower Class
Low
Low
Nonowner

 
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What are these classes based on?
Broadly speaking, classes are based on your economic position in society

 
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Outline on  Ideology
External
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  AN IDEOLOGY IS A WAY OF THINKING, A WORLDVIEW  
  An ideology is a  particular system of ideas, a characteristic way of thinking of a people, a group, or a person especially on social & political topics   
  An ideology is a system of thought based on related assumptions, beliefs, & explanations of social movements or policies   
  Ideologies are mental systems of beliefs about reality   
  An ideology may be understood as a "world view"   
  Ideology & culture are very similar in meaning.  The definition for ideology asserts that the knowledge, beliefs, & values shared by a society give legitimacy to the social structure   
  An ideology is a system of ideas that is pre conscious that often embodies a rationalization of motivations   
  IDEOLOGIES COMBINE ALL FACETS OF SOCIAL EXISTENCE  
  An ideology's content may be economic, political, philosophical, or religious   
  Some ideologies, such as communism & socialism, refer to econ & political systems   
  Other ideologies are capitalism, democracy, fascism, feminism, Protestantism, racism, Roman Catholicism, totalitarianism, & more   
  Ideologies do not rely equally on factual info in supporting their beliefs   
  People who accept an entire thought system usually reject all other systems concerned w/ the same content   
  To such people, only conclusions based on their ideology seem logical & correct   
  people strongly committed to an ideology have difficulty understanding & communicating w/ supporters of a conflicting ideology   
  Conflicting ideologies held by various nations, social classes, or religious groups have led to the world's greatest & most dangerous controversies   
  For example, World War 2 was largely a struggle btwn democratic & totalitarian nations   
  IDEOLOGIES HAVE SOCIAL POSITIONS, I.E. EXIST IN A HISTL CONTEXT  
  Ideologies have a "social position" in that they often support or justify a party, class, or group   
  Ideology & contextual knowledge:  Because we all have an ideology, & our own personal historical context true knowledge is impossible   
  Epistemology is the sociology of knowledge or how knowledge is socially created   
  Conflict theorists, Marxists, etc. believe that, narrowly speaking, consciousness, or broadly speaking, ideology, is shaped by the interaction of material ( working ) conditions & the dominant culture in which one finds oneself   
  A major focus of conflict theory is the examination of ideology which is a world view, including  knowledge, opinions, etc.   
  For conflict theorists, our ideology is that part of our culture of which we are generally, but not specifically aware   
  Ideology is important to conflict theorists because they seek an end to class domination, & to achieve that end, people must first understand that they are exploited, & desire to end that exploitation   
 
 Social scientists know that their is an interaction of ideology & social position, but they do not agree on how that interaction operates 
i
 
 The materialists believe that one's social position determines ideology 
 
 
 The idealists believe that one's ideology determines social position 
 
  The conflict theorist / Marxist view is that social position determines one's view of society, i.e., one's world view or ideology 
 
  Montesquieu first developed the concept of the "contextualization" of knowledge as seen in many contemporary theories of ideology   
  MARX:  CLASS DETERMINES CONSCIOUSNESS  
  Marx developed an analysis which held that class determines consciousness through a process that follows FOUR steps   
  a.  labor determines class   
  b.  labor & class determine consciousness   
  c.  what you do, determines how you think   
  d.  you are what you do   
  Marx developed an analysis which held that through the creative process of our labor, we develop an ideology which embodies the adage that "you are what you do"   
  CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS IS AN UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR OWN BEST INTEREST  
  Class consciousness occurs when a group of people w/ a common self interest correctly perceive that interest & develop beliefs, values, & norms consistent w/ advancing that interest   
  Class consciousness occurs when subordinate groups do not accept ideology of the dominant group, but accept ideology relevant to their own interests   
  THE DOMINANT CLASS' IDEOLOGY USUALLY DOMINANTS   
  The ideology of the dominant group or class is often the most prominent ideology   
  People accept the ideology of the dominant groups in society & so accept their values & do not pursue their own self interest   
  Much of social analysis concerns 
a.  the nature of the dominant group's ideology 
b.  why people accept the dominant group's ideology 
c.  how the dominant group's ideology is disseminated 		  
  STRUGGLES OCCUR OVER IDEOLOGY & MATERIAL RESOURCES  
  For many social theorists, culture, ideology, etc. cause conflict   
  For many social theorists, cultural belief systems, ideology, ethnicity & religion, can cause a lot of conflict   
  Ideological struggle has gone by various names such as: 
a.  the culture wars 
b.  the struggle for the hearts & minds 
c.  religious wars 		  
  When analyzing these ideological struggles, one must also examine material / economic struggles   
Link
 Examples of ideological & material struggles   

 
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Examples of ideological & material struggles 
Israeli - Arab conflict:  religion & land 
Black - White conflict:  some amorphous ideology of race/culture & equal opportunity rights 
Catholics & Protestants in No Ireland:  religion & land & equal opportunity rights 
PW

 
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  Outline on the  Definition of Alienation & Anomie
External
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  ALIENATION IS THE RESULT OF BEING SEPARATED FROM THE PREDOMINANT CULTURE  
  Many theorist have contemplated the meaning of alienation  
  Hegel            1770  -  1831  
  Feuerbach     1804  -  1872  
  Marx             1818  - 1883  
  Blauner         contemporary  
  Alienation is a state of being, a relationship ( mental & physical manifestations ) characterized by the separation or isolation from existing culture ( knowledge, beliefs, values, norms held in common ) caused by an estrangement from idealistic and/ or materialistic factors  
  While both Hegel & Feuerbach discussed the nature of alienation, Marx built upon these to develop his own dialectical- material view of alienation  
  Alienation, as defined by Marx, is the separation or isolation of workers from the products of their labor Contemporary definition:  feelings or the experience of emotional distance, isolation, powerlessness, loss of control  
  ANOMIE IS THE RESULT OF A WEAKENED OR ABSENTCULTURE / MORALITY  
  For Durkheim, anomie is weakened or absent common morality; a condition of normlessness in society  
  Durkheim developed his concept of anomie to explain the condition in modern society where the old culture or common morality, break down, but have not yet been replaced by its modern form, in the form of organic solidarity as manifested in a societal div of labor  
  Anomie is a state of being, a relationship, with mental & physical manifestations, characterized by the lack of a controlling culture ( knowledge, beliefs, values, norms held in common ) caused by the destruction, ineffectiveness or rejection of culture  
  Anomie is the lack or weakness of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group  
Link
 Examples of alienation include: 'I am alienated if there is a strong culture, but I cannot become part of that culture' or 'I am anomic if culture has basically disintegrated or is ineffective'  
  Durkheim, taking the term from the Greek anomia which means lawlessness, argued that anomie could result from rapid social change  
  FOR MERTON, ALIENATION IS THE RESULT OF NOT BEING ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE NORMAL LIFE GOALS OF A SOCIETY   
  Some US sociologists, in particular Robert K. Merton (1910- ), have maintained that anomie can lead to deviance  
  For Merton, when an individual or group is prevented from achieving widely accepted goals, law-breaking may result  
  Both alienation & anomie exhibit any number of psychological & political manifestations
  - depression                                  - thievery
  - anger                                          - violence
  - revolutionary political ideals    - deviance		  
  While the concept anomie is similar to Marx's concept of alienation, there are significant differences btwn the two including the fact that anomie is a condition of a lack of, or a vacuum of common culture, while alienation is a condition where a person or group is separated from an existing common culture  
  For Hegel, alienation was only a phenomenon of mind caused by an estrangement from the dominating ideas of the time  
  FOR MARX, ALIENATION IS A COMMON CONDITION IN CAPITALIST SOCIETIES BECAUSE PEOPLE, RATHER THAN BEING ABLE TO MANIFEST THEIR CREATIVITY THROUGH WORK AS THEY SHOULD, ARE EXPLOITED AT WORK   
  For Marx, alienation is a condition in which a person's own powers appear to be controlled by independent forces or entities     [ Marx & his contemporaries were called the young, or left Hegelians ]  
  Marx believed that people find their humanity through labor, not religion, not sex, not anything else  
  Marx believed that the failure to realize our human nature results in alienation  
  We are what we do  
  Our labor becomes objectified in our products  
  Craftsperson, or the primitive hunter gatherer produces, controls the products & either consumes it, or sells it themselves  
       See Also:  Species Being  
  In the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, Marx writes Human Estrangement is rooted in the social structure which denies people their essential human nature   

 
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Examples
Hippie is alienated because they cannot fit in or become part of middle class America
For the street urchin there is no dreams of middle class America
For him there is no such culture in existence-- he is anomic
He embraces a gang counter culture
PW

 
Internal
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  Outline on the Components of Alienation
External
Links
  -  Project:  The Components & Experiences of Alienation
Link
  -  Project:  Alienation, Examples, Increasing? 
Link
  Marx believed we are alienated under capitalism for FOUR reasons because of any of FOUR estrangements [separations] from
1.  Products 
2.  Labor
3.  Oneself
4.  Others
5. ( the Earth / nature )
i.e., all those things that make us human		  
  In the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 Marx writes that human estrangement is rooted in the social structure which denies people their essential human nature   
Link
 1.  ALIENATION IS CAUSED BECAUSE OF OUR SEPARATION FROM PRODUCTS, THE THINGS WE PRODUCE   
  What each worker produces is appropriated by others & no person who made it has control over it  
  In the past, during many societies from tribal society to feudalism, people consumed, traded, gave away everything they produced  
  Today, the product is gone before we complete it  
  For a laborer, labor becomes objectified in commodities over which they have no control  
  An example of product related alienation is birthing for hire, or creating a child against your will  
 
 In the sense that under capitalism, labor becomes objectified, the more one produces, the more morally poor the laborer becomes 
 
  2.  THE SEPARATION OR LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE ACT OF PRODUCTION CAUSES ALIENATION   
  Under capitalism, nearly everyone experiences a separation from the means of production  
  Work can be an act of creativity, but has become merely an means to an end, rather than an end in itself  
  When we are estranged from the act of production, work becomes a means to an end rather than an end in itself  
  No intrinsic satisfaction in the act of production causes alienation  
  Work becomes a commodity that is sold to someone else, & its only value is in its salability  
  In the past, all products were hand produced & each product was individualized, such as in crafts work
 
  Under capitalism, nearly everyone experiences a separation from the means of production  
  Alienation begins w/ the separation of people from their means of production & subsistence: e.g., such as that in England w/ the Enclosure Movement  
  People are separated from their land & so left w/ becoming vagabonds, & eventually w/ nothing to sell but their labor, becoming "wage slaves"  
  In modern factories, workers no longer own tools or any production facilities  
  Animals produce for immediate consumption, instinctively while people make activity the object of their will which is how we can attain greater degrees of freedom  
  Production as the object of our will & the ensuing freedom is reversed w/ capitalist, alienated labor in that people's essential being, productivity, becomes a mere means to an end  
  3.  ALIENATION IS THE SEPARATION FROM ONESELF, OUR VERY HUMAN ESSENCE, OUR SPECIES BEING, OUR HUMAN NATURE   
  Review:  Species Being  
  Alienation from oneself, the denial of one's Species Being, results in the objectification of the self  
  The worker feels outside themself because the worker has no control over the process of production or its results  
 
 The alienated worker therefore feels outside of their work, & his work feels outside of themself
 
  Work is like any other human activity in that when it is abstracted or separated from other human functions, it becomes animalistic  
  Because alienation from the separation from products & separation of the act of productions, alienation deprives people of their productive activity, those specifically human qualities which distinguish us from the activity of animals, & people come to feel like an animal, harnessed to the plow  
  Marx said, "Certainly eating, drinking, procreating, etc., are also genuinely human functions.  But in the abstraction which separates them from the sphere of all other human activity and turns them into sole and ultimate ends, they are animal."  
  In the past, as people labored/created, they  discovered/created themself, but today most workers do not hope to discover or create themself at work & instead they often try to do that, unsuccessfully, after work  
  Our species being is that we express our humanity through our laboring essence, our creativity  
  The process of labor is a process of objectification  
 
 We make objects which embody our hopes, dreams, our creativity, our essence, & yet these things stand separate from us
 
  Objectification only becomes alienation under certain historical circumstances such as capitalism  
 
 Under capitalism, owners appropriate products produced by another, & one works only for profit & not for personal reward
 
 
 Under capitalism, one has no identity in relation to what one produces
 
  Because one cannot express oneself in ones product or creativity, one attempts to do so in other ways & one seeks objects to express oneself  
 
 With alienation, one becomes those objects which we purchase to express ourself
 
  The worker feels outside themself because the worker has no control over the process of production or its results  
 
 Because the worker cannot express themself in their work, & they turn to commercialism to express themself, the worker therefore feels outside of their work, & their work feels outside of themself
 
  Work is like any other human activity:  when it is abstracted or separated from other human functions, it becomes animalistic  
  Marx said, "He is at home when he is not working, and when he is working he is not at home....  It is therefore not the satisfaction of a need; it is merely a means to satisfy needs external to it."  
  4.  ALIENATION IS CAUSED BY THE SEPARATION FROM OTHER PEOPLE  
  The bourgeoisie & proletariat remain estranged from each other because the relationship is based on conflicting interests & fundamentally different conditions of life  
  The ideology of capitalism alienates all,  including the capitalists themselves because of self denial  
  The proletariat is separated from the proletariat because under capitalism, the organization of the forces & relations of production make workers compete against each other  
  In the owner worker relationship is the first alienation between worker & owner  
  Under capitalism, social relationships turn into market relationships which causes separation from other people & thus alienation  
 
 People are judged by their position in the market, rather than by their human qualities
 
  People objectify others not as individuals but by "How can you help me?"  
  In the past, to trade or give away a product or even small scale, personal sales were very personal relationships  
  Today, with mass marketing there are no personal relationship in selling or buying  
  Under capitalism & alienation, people become interchangeable cogs in the commerce machine  
  While people are united by common life experiences, people are also divided by very different life experiences  
  The ideology of capitalism alienates all, including the capitalists themselves because of self denial  
 
 For Zeitlin, self denial, the denial of life & of all human needs, is capitalism's cardinal effect
 
 
 The less you consume, the more capital you have; the less you are, the more you have
 
  Marx believes that the proletariat is separated from the proletariat  
  Review Forces & Relations of Production   
  Under capitalism, the organization of the forces & relations of production make workers compete against each other at an extreme & unsustainable level  
  Marx believes that production is an act of people in social cooperation, among other conditions  
  Under capitalism, cooperation is secondary to competition & worker is pitted against worker in a winner take all struggle  
  Unions & other professional organizations can overcome destructive competition only to an limited extent  
  5.  ALIENATION IS CAUSED BY A SEPARATION FROM THE EARTH & NATURE  
  Marx & most other social scientists failed to considered the separation from the Earth   
  However some social scientists & many environmentalists, conservationists, preservationists, & others have seen humankind's separation from, objectification of, exploitation of, & ignorance/lack of awareness of the Earth & nature causes various types of harm & incompleteness to the self, society, & the Earth & nature  
  See Also:  The Environment & Alienation  
CAPITAL IS A SOURCE OF ALIENATION BECAUSE IT REDUCES ALL THINGS TO THE ULTIMATE COMMODITY, DEVOID OF HUMANITY:  MONEY  
  "Capital" itself is a source of alienation  
  Capital is money & wealth, used in trade, manufacturing, or any business  
  Through capitalism, people are reduced to the level of commodities & they become just one more factor in means of production   
  Money itself is not wealth as the story of Midas demonstrates  
  People, business, personal material objects, & the economic system of capitalism are all dominated by the requirements of profitability, rather than by their own human needs  
Link
 Alienation appears as an impersonal force  
  An impersonal force is a structural force which seems to be independent of any person, but is the result of a social relationship  
  The impersonality of capitalism & alienation is the reification of individual to individual, personal relationships  
  See Also:  Reification  
  Marx noted that the pursuit of profit & capital accumulation seems to take on a life of its own, disguising the human origins of capital & exploitation of "man by man (sic)  
  The improvement of wages does cannot eliminate alienation because it does not address the separation from the products, the act of production, others, & oneself  
  For  Marx, the improvement of wages would only be better wages for the slave because the alienated conditions would still exist  
  Modern workplace developments have shown that alienation can be mitigated by such workplace innovations such as autonomy, innovation, democratic mgt, employee ownership, job enlargement, shop floor control, etc.  
  See Also:  Contemporary Analyses of Alienation  

 
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Examples of Layers  of Alienation

Production not yet commodified
An example of product related alienation:
Birthing for hire, or creating a child against your will
“The worker puts his life into the object; 
  but now his life no longer belongs to him but to the object.” 
Each act of production has some of the qualities of birthing
We produce babies in an unalienated manner 
where "the product" is considered part of us

Alienation occurs when a person no longer recognizes him or herself in their product
“It is no longer his own and stands opposed to him as an autonomous power.”

Medicine
Early on, Doctors took a vow of poverty
The patient was 1st.  To serve was the most important
Drs. soon became more professional
Then, like all professionals, they did as much pro bono work at came along
Then some started limiting pro bono work
Now, some Drs. do little or no pro bono work & are in UMC or rich

Cooking
Do McD's cooks have any love of cooking or the product?

Watchmaker in shop
Watchmaker in factory

PW

 
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Examples of Alienation as an Impersonal Force

Fall/Winter 1998:  Boeing lays off 26,000  'just in time for Xmas'
Exxon Mobil lay off 6,000 in largest merger in history
Other corps downsize as Asian flu hits
This is all "Nothing personal, just business."

Doctors:     Personal or Impersonal relationship is best?

PW

 
Internal
Links

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 Outline on an  Intro to Class & False Consciousness
External
Links
  -  Project:  Class & False Consciousness
Link
  CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS OCCURS WHEN GROUPS ACCEPT THE IDEOLOGY RELEVANT TO THEIR OWN INTERESTS
 
  Class consciousness is when subordinate groups do not accept the ideology of the dominant group, but accept ideology relevant to their own interests
 
  Class consciousness is when a group of people embrace a culture / life- style that represents their own interests
 
  An example of class consciousness is that the rich believe in their own superiority & the natural inferiority of the poor
 
  An example of class consciousness is that the middle class believe in equal opportunity for all & not in the superiority of the rich & not in the natural inferiority of the poor
 
  FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS OCCURS WHEN SUBORDINATE GROUPS ACCEPT THE IDEOLOGY OF THE DOMINANT GROUP & BELIEVE THINGS THAT ARE NOT IN THEIR OWN INTEREST
 
  False consciousness is when a group of people embrace a culture / life-style that harms their own interests
 
  For Marx, when non upper class people accept the world view of upper class, they have false consciousness
 
  An example of false consciousness is that the middle class indulging in consumerism, believing the rich are deserving, the poor are not deserving
 
  An example of false consciousness is that during the 1972 Presidential race, McGovern, the Democratic candidate, proposed limiting inheritance to .5 mm & this position was opposed by the vast majority of people even though over 90%  wouldn't be affected
 
  Class consciousness occurs when a group of people w/ a common self interest correctly perceive that interest & develop beliefs, values, & norms consistent w/ advancing that interest
 
  The concepts of class & false consciousness do not denote correct & incorrect consciousness  
  Historically, the class & false consciousness Ideologies of some groups have been accepted as wrong by most observers  
  Marx saw the workers, i.e. the proletariat, as the only group capable of class consciousness
 
  False consciousness is the beliefs, values, etc. that work against a group's / class' self interest
 
  Both workers & owners can experience false consciousness
 
 
 Many theorists believe this is the common condition today
 
 
 For Marx, we have either class or false consciousness  
 
 For Marx, class consciousness develops out of working class experience/context  
  An important aspect of class is the extent to which a society has members who are aware of, & identify w/ the social classes to which they belong  
  Americans are less class conscious than people in other societies  
  Nearly all Americans think of themselves as "middle class" or "working class"  
  In many societies, the wealthy readily identify themselves as upper class  
 
 There are FIVE reasons the US has no class consciousness
1.  The culture & ideology of the US is that of equal opportunity
2.  The media & all social structures support the Horatio Alger Myth
3.  The US has a relatively weak Labor Movement & no Labor Party
4.  Education is tied to social class in the US
5.  The US once had more structural mobility
 
 
 1.  THE CULTURE & IDEOLOGY OF THE US IS THAT OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
 
  As a result of  the US's foundation on the counter value of rebellion against title & monarchy, & the dissemination of the Horatio Alger Myth, the US's ideology mystifies class status  
  American's prefer not to openly acknowledge their class status  
  Americans prefer to believe that people have similar statuses & similar situations in life; that we are all pretty much alike  
 
 2.  THE MEDIA & ALL SOCIAL STRUCTURES SUPPORT THE HORATIO ALGER MYTH
 
  America's entertainment media, education system, all sectors of society, support the belief that anyone who tries can succeed, & that love will easily overcome social class differences btwn people  
  Examples of media support of false consciousness:  
  Pretty Woman  
  Dirty Dancing  
  White Palace  
  The Horatio Alger Myth supports false consciousness, preventing people from acting in their own interests  
      See Also:  The Horatio Alger Myth  
  The widespread presence of the Horatio Alger Myth, & similar ideological components in Am culture illustrates that it is in the class interest of the wealthy to promote the image of Am as a society where class doesn't really matter & where anyone can "make it"  
 
 When people perceive that there is not equal opportunity, they criticize the system & support change
 
  When people have false consciousness, when they believe that anyone can succeed, they accept the system as fair & legitimate  
  As long as people have false consciousness, believe in the fairness of the system, they will not demand changes that threaten the wealthy & the powerful  
  It is in the interest of those w/ wealth, including ownership & control of the media, to promote the Horatio Alger Myth, the ideology that the system is open & fair  
 
 3.  THE US HAS A RELATIVELY WEAK LABOR MOVEMENT & NO LABOR PARTY
 
  There is evidence that people who question the ideology of fairness are treated more harshly in the US than elsewhere  
  For example Sexton, 1991, demonstrates that Labor Unions & Labor organizers were, & are, repressed more harshly in the US than in Europe  
  In the 1930s, the US used the military, police & private security companies to interfere w/ strikes, often w/ the use of violence & the hiring of strikebreakers was common  
  Today, the US has the most restrictive labor laws of any industrialized country, & has the least amount of both physical & labor rights protection  
  In Canada, all public employees have the right to organize, bargain, & strike, while in the US they may not strike, taking much power away from organization & bargaining  
  In the US, companies can refuse the contract of a newly certified union, demanding a recertification  
  In Canada, to form a union, unions need only submit signed cards from a majority of workers  
  While the process of using signature cards to obtain union certification is legal in the US, in practice, signature cards & most certification elections are contested  
  The lack of a Labor Movement means there has been no Labor Party in the US, resulting in a general weakening of the political left  
  Canada & most European countries have a major labor or "social democratic" party  
  In Canada & Europe income & vital services such as health care are more equally distributed  
  4.  EDUCATION IS TIED TO SOCIAL CLASS IN THE US   
  Because most educational systems are funded by state & local taxes, usually property taxes, educational systems are much more effective in more wealthy regions, enhancing their class consciousness  
  The upper class sends their children to private school, enhancing their class consciousness  
 
 5.  THE US ONCE HAD MORE STRUCTURAL MOBILITY, WHICH MEANT THAT CLASS RELATIONSHIPS, & HENCE CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS, WAS LESS APPARENT TO PEOPLE & ALSO LESS NECESSARY   
 
 The US had a rapidly expanding economy through the 1950s, providing ever more, higher paying jobs lessening the need for class consciousness  
  As the rest of the world has moved to a modern, industrial economic base, the US faces more global competition, resulting in less economic expansion increasing the need for class consciousness  
  Less economic expansion creates less jobs, which creates less structural mobility making class consciousness more necessary  

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on  Class & False Consciousness--Advanced
 External
Links
  Marx believed class consciousness would develop out of the working class' concrete experience in the capitalist system because of  FIVE Historical Material Conditions  
  a.. working in a collective setting  
  b.  increasingly miserable conditions  
  c.  the contradiction of the wealth of the owners  
  d.  the lack of other solutions  
  e.  education  
  Lenin, Mao, Stalin, & others believed society needed an elite to rule the proletariat  
  Other conceptions of class consciousness often use the term to signify any feelings of self awareness or common identity among members of a social class  
  Existential philosophers have often used the terms authentic & inauthentic in a manner similar to class & false Consciousness  
  For Lukacs, class consciousness is when the dominate group acts in their own objective interest  
  For Lukacs, false consciousness is when the subordinate group acts against their own objective interest; usually accepts ideology (know & beliefs) of dominant group  
  For Lukacs, class consciousness is neither the sum nor the average of individual consciousnesses  
  For Lukacs, class & false consciousness is the property of a class  
  For Lukacs, capitalism is the best context for overcoming false consciousness  
  Lukacs believed we do not realize extent of our exploitation, nor socio historical, economic conditions & therefore we can only determine this from relationships in the past  
  Lukacs believed most classes in history could not overcome false consciousness  
  Lukacs believed the proletariat have the opportunity to overcome false consciousness because:  
  a.  the economic base of capitalism is simple & clear  
  b.  the state & economy are clearly linked:  not so in past systems  
 
 c.   status is less important today while in the past system status was very important  
 
 Lukacs believed the proletariat must move from fighting for survival to fighting for a specific aim
 
 
 For Mann, 1973, the elements in class consciousness are class identity, class opposition, class totality, & the vision of an alternative society 
 
  1. Class identity as an element in class consciousness is the definition of oneself as working class  
  2. Class opposition as an element in class consciousness is the perception that capitalists & their managers constitute an enduring opponent  
  Note that many theorists would denote race or gender as the major oppositional element in society  
  3. Class totality as an element in class consciousness is the social phenomenon where class conflict defines social totality; i.e. it is a characteristic of all aspects of society  
  4. An alternative society as an element in class consciousness is the belief in the need for fundamental change in our social system  
 
 But false consciousness prevents the correct interaction btwn interests & values because the interests of the ruling class come to predominate
 
 
 The ideology of the dominant group or class is often the most prominent ideology  
 
 People accept the ideology of the dominant groups in society & so accept their values & do not pursue their own self interest  

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on 
 Feuerbach 
   1804  -  1872
 & Marx 
   1818  -  1883
External
Links
Link
 -  Biography & Major Works of Feuerbach  
  Ludwig Feuerbach held that religious beliefs were illusory
 
  Feuerbach, in The Essence of Christianity, viewed religion as an illusion which resulted from a yearning for perfection  
  Feuerbach believed that people projected the best part of themselves unto the cosmos   
  He called this process of projecting the best part of humanity unto the cosmos 'externalization'  
  People worship the productions of their own minds  
  Feuerbach believed that people project the best part of themselves unto the cosmos  
  In relation to the nature of the origin of religious beliefs, Durkheim developed ideas that were similar to Feurbach's  
  For Durkheim, our understanding of god is our understanding of the collective unconsciousness  
  Note that some intellectual religious leaders accept the ideas of Feuerbach & Durkheim, noting that they do not necessarily negate any mainstream Christian ideas since god may use several mechanisms to lead people to faith, or because peoples' manifestation of god on Earth is how they come to understand god, e.g. 'I understand god by doing his work.'  
  Marx accepted Feuerbach's thesis but believed that a more important question was:  'Why do people accept this illusion?'
 
  In his  Theses on Feuerbach, Marx holds that Feuerbach did not go far enough 
 
  Marx believed that Feuerbach  & the Enlightenment atheists remained at psychological level & ignored key sociological questions
 
  In relation the Feuerbach, Marx asked:   
  -  Why do people project the best part of themselves unto the cosmos & not accept or experience it themselves?   
  -  What social conditions cause the externalization of religion & other ideas?
 
  -  What are the social conditions that prompt people to externalize their own powers & values & to attribute them to hypothetical, superhuman beings?   
         See Also:  Alienation  
  For Marx, 'religion is the opiate of the masses'  
  Domination, oppression, & exploitation has given rise to religion  
  Following the precepts of Feuerbach, Marx said, "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions.  It is the opium of the people.”
 
  Religion is opium because it leads one to seek happiness, not in this world, but the next
 
  It is believed that Marx was not strictly atheist, rather he opposed the organized religions of his day as distortions of their founders & holy books  
  Marx believed that we should eliminate the social order that requires illusions
 
  Mere exposure & education to false ideas of religion & others, would not change peoples minds
 
  Task was to change social order & eliminate circumstances that require illusions
 
  Social relations are central to philosophy
 
  Marx believed Feuerbach's most imp contribution was to make social relations of person to person the central principle of his theory
 
  This was the basis of Feuerbach's materialism as opposed to Hegel's idealism
 
  Feuerbach had a flawed materialism
 
  Marx thought Feuerbach's material was too materialistic
 
  All theories must take account of our active, creative, & determining side  
  The active side was recognized by idealism, i.e., Kant & Hegel & even Feuerbach  
  But Feuerbach focused only on present social relations & ignored how social relations are affected by the historical situation in which we find our selves  
  Correcting Feuerbach's focus on present social relations at the expense of the hist situation, Marx develop his analysis based historical materialism,  rejecting Feuerbach's materialism  
  Human nature has an active & a passive side  
  Marx's dialectic takes into account both the active & the passive side of human existence  
  We are shaped by society or structural forces of other people [ and by nature ] but we are also capable of acting on & to respond to these forces  
  Mx was more dynamic free will than either Hegel or Feuerbach but human behavior was still circumscribed
 
  The activism of Marx meant that he could not accept Feuerbach's strict determinist view which left little room for individual action  
  But Marx's ideas of false & class consciousness, on revolution, & his idea that  “our aim is not to interpret the world, but to change it,” made Marx very much more of an activist than was Feuerbach  
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Electric Library's Free Encyclopedia

Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach 
1804  -  1872, 
German philosopher
At first a follower of Hegel, 
he abandoned idealism 
for materialism, 
a progression that influenced Karl Marx 
in the development of 
dialectical materialism

Feuerbach rejected illusionistic nature of religion 
& established 
a naturalistic humanistic ethic 
that held humanity & nature 
to be proper study of phil

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Major Works
The Essence of Christianity     1841
     was translated into English by George Eliot

The End
 
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