Marx World Literature Mr. Brennan

Myth & Power How can religion be used to legitimize power? How can religion be used to keep an individual or group from losing power? Can you provide a historical or contemporary example that illustrates this? Do-Now

SWBAT explain how myth reinforces the continued exploitation of the poor and inequitable power structures. 1. Mini-Lecture: Karl Marx & F.A. Ridley 2. Class Readings: “A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel” (1844) “Socialism and Religion” (1948 c.) Learning Objective AGENDA Finish Reading “Socialism and Religion” Homework Reminders

Key Vocabulary Socialism: theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. (Political) Republicanism: a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives (Economic)Communism: theory advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. (Religious) Atheism: disbelief in the existence of God or gods. “Socialism is a system which in politics expresses itself as republicanism, in economics as communism and in religion as atheism.”—August Bebel

Karl Marx Marx (1818—1883) was a German economist and sociologist, and revolutionary socialist. His work in economics laid the basis for the current understanding of labor and its relation to capital. His most notable works are The Communist Manifesto (1848) Capital (1867–1894).

Karl Marx Marx proposed that the motivating force of capitalism is in the exploitation of labor, whose unpaid work is the ultimate source of profit. The employer can claim right to the profits, because he or she owns the productive capital assets. He saw social progression through class struggle: a conflict between those who control production (power), and those providing the labor (poor)

A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) was a German philosopher, who published “Elements of the Philosophy of Right” (1820), which discusses the concept of free will Hegel argues that the free will can only realize itself in the complicated social context, and that a person is not truly free, unless he is a participant in ALL aspects of the life of the state. He believed that with the rise and fall of empires, the course of history is moving toward the ever- increasing actualization of freedom, and that “the existence of the state is the presence of God upon the earth"

In “A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right (1844), Marx criticizes Hegel’s “Elements of the Philosophy of Right” (1820), stating that many of his arguments begin in abstraction (i.e. religion) “Religion is the opium of the people”

F.A. Ridley Francis Ambrose Ridley (1897—1994) was a United Kingdom politician, author, and marxist. His “Socialism and Religion” extends on the beliefs of Karl Marx, explaining religion’s connection to social warfare, the attempts to establish legitimacy of power, and the oppression of the masses.