Marxism

We discussed Post-Marxism and defined it for the class. We then began a discussion in the class talking about the different technologies and whether or not they fit with the Marxist or post-Marxist concepts. Technologies we talked about included google glass, golden-I, and arduino.

Classical Marxism and the Frankfurt School:

Classical Marxism is not what most people think.  Marx says, “The Mode of Production of material life conditions the social, political, and intellectual life process in general.”  To understand this we must understand the relationship between base and superstructure.

Base – Forces of production (raw materials, tools, workers, etc.) and the relations of production (slavery: master/slave, feudal: lord/peasant, capitalist: bourgeois/proletariat)

Bourgeiois – “of or characteristic of the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes”

Proletariat – “workers or working-class people, regarded collectively (often used with reference to Marxism)”

Superstructure – consists of institutions (political, educational, cultural) and forms of social consciousness (political, philosophical, and cultural) generated by these institutions

The relationship between the base and superstructure is said to be twofold because the superstructure expresses the base, but the base conditions or determines the superstructure.

“The ideas of the ruling class are…the ruling ideas; the class ruling material force in society is..the…ruling intellectual force.”  This does NOT mean the ideas of the ruling class are meant to be imposed on subordinate classes!  “A ruling class is compelled…to represent its interest as the common interest of all the members of society…to give its ideas the form of universality, and represent them as the only rational, universally valid ones.”

The Frankfurt School is the name given to a group of German intellectuals associated with the University of Frankfurt.  I see their ideas as a type of applied Marxism; that is, what happens when you take Marxism off paper and apply it to real life.

Critical Theory – the name given to the institute’s critical mix of Marxism and psychoanalysis

The main difference between Classical Marxism and the Frankfurt School is seen through comparing the above quotes with the following: “The Frankfurt School see only ‘conformity’: a situation in which ‘the deceived masses’ are caught in a ‘circle of manipulation and retroactive need in which the unity of the system grows ever stronger.”

Althusserianism and Hegemony:

Althusserianism is a version of Marxism that was developed by Thomas Althusser.  Rejecting the base/superstructure concepts of Marxism, Althusserians focus on social formation, referred to as the structure in dominance.  The belief behind structure in dominance is that large social practices are the result of the economy.  For example, we are all students at LSU because jobs have become scarcer and we want to be able to compete for them.

Althusser has two types of interpretation: Symptomatic Interpretation and Identifying people as members of a group. The Symptomatic Interpretation focuses on identifying a problematic.  The problematic is a term coined by Marx during his critique of Adam Smith’s work.  Marx believed Adam Smith was addressing a problem by providing a solution, without the question being posed.  An example of and Althusserian problematic would be a typical car commercial.  Most car advertisements focus a car driving quickly on an empty road near an ocean, canyon, or mountain with the ending addressing the gas mileage and cost.  The problematic in this type of media would have several meanings

1)   Because the car is driving on an empty road, a buyer will never be stuck in traffic in this car

2)   Because the car is driving through a scenic route, the car and nature can coexist, without the car causing any harm to the environment.  This is also emphasized through the listing of the gas mileage.

3)   Because the car is “only $25,000”, the extra excluded costs of gas and insurance will not effect the buyer’s decision to get the car.

Although the problematic in this example is deceiving to the buyer, it helps the car sell.  Machery was an Althusserian who believed in relating the problematic to a historical event.  For example, the movie The Shining, Althusser would say the problematic is identifying the connection between mental illness and murder because of the insanity Jack develops.  Machery on the other hand would say that The Shining is addressing the problems of racism, specifically the terror inflicted on the Native Americans when the white man inhabited the United States due to constant tribal symbols placed in the movie, and the only victim of murder is Black.

The interpretation of Althusser does not seem to be affective.  Althusser would group people by social beliefs, and address them through their beliefs.   An example of why this is ineffective would be the social issue of racism.  If a person claimed to be opposed to racism but laughs at a racist joke, Althusser could not group that individual by that belief. This interpretation has been seen to effective in the media through advertising.  Most commercials address people by saying things like “This product is perfect for you!” “Do you travel a lot? Then you should buy this!” By identifying people in groups, Advertisement can reach a wide range of people.

Hegemony is a type of democratic government in which the dominant group leads the inferior group intellectually and morally.  This belief is how Marxists explain the success of capitalistic democracies.  Hegemony only works if every individual in the society is concerned with his or her own success.  For example, in the previous political election, republicans would have typically voted for Mitt Romney, rather than democratic nominee, Barrack Obama.  Hegemony is not only incorporated into government, but also in pop culture.  A good example of this would be Justin Bieber.  Not everyone likes Justin Bieber’s music, but nearly everyone knows who he is and has heard his music.  In this situation, it is in everyone’s best interest to know that Justin Bieber is successful pop star, in the social aspect.  But not everyone is going to go buy and listen to his music.