INT 200: Global Capitalism and its Discontents Karl Marx

Economics and the Theory of Class Struggle – “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle.” – Mode (or Means) of Production – Division of Labor – Private Property – Capital – Class – “Within the capitalist system... all means for the development of production transform themselves into means of domination over, and exploitation of, the producers; they mutilate the laborer into a fragment of a man, degrade him to the level of an appendage of a machine, destroy every remnant of charm in his work and turn it into a hated toil;... they transform his life-time into working time.” – Class Struggle

Karl Marx The Labor Theory of Value – the value of any commodity is the result of the amount of labor time that went into its production – workers are able to consume only that portion of their products – Surplus-value goes to the capitalist – the struggle between capitalists and workers over the size of the surplus value – the amount of surplus value is also the source of capitalism's greatest weakness Alienation – The worker is alienated from his or her productive activity – The worker is alienated from the product of that activity – The worker is alienated from other human beings – The worker is alienated from the distinctive potential for creativity and community

Karl Marx Base and Superstructure: Ideology – Government: the state is an instrument in the hands of the capitalists – Religion: Opium of the Masses – Ideology: the way of thinking, which gets people to accept the status quo or, at least, confuses them as to the possibility of replacing it with something better Communism – the contradictions of capitalism lead to its overthrow – Revolution, then a socialist society through democratic planning, production would now be directed to serving social needs – the final goal, "communism", the stateless society were all are equal, even the socialist state withers away