1. Capitalism, Marxism and Communism
Communism and Capitalism
Conflicting Perspectives of Guevara
Ten Minutes to Marxism

3. Communism and Capitalism
Watch the clip below and answer the following questions:
What are the differences between communism and capitalism?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of capitalism and communism?
In your opinion, which system of government is more effective?

4. Communism and Capitalism
As you are watching the cartoons above, think about following:
How was communism represented in the United States of America?
How was capitalism represented in the Soviet Union?

5. Conflicting Perspectives of Guevara
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara is possibly the best known revolutionary in the western hemisphere and all over the world and often the first revolutionary character that many people encounter.
You are currently reading ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ for his account of his early life and his political awakening.

6. Conflicting Perspectives of Guevara
But who is Che Guevara? What should our attitude to Che and his politics be?
Is he:
A charismatic, handsome and harmless icon on a t-shirt?
A committed and principled revolutionary who hated injustice and impatiently wanted to overthrow capitalism?
A Communist Terrorist, a War Criminal or a Pig?

7. Conflicting Perspectives of Guevara
Consider the following articles:
Michelle Malkin “The Victims of Che Guevara”
Michelle Malkin “Target Yanks Che Merchandise”
Humberto Fontana “A Glorious Anniversary Che Guevara’s Death”

8. A detailed and easy-to-use guide to understanding Marxist theory
Ten minutes to marxism
A detailed and easy-to-use guide to understanding Marxist theory
Karl Marx
Born in Germany Died 1883
Philosopher and Social Activist

9. Marxist theory
The worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces, the more his production increases in power and range. The worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities he creates. With the increasing value of the world of things proceeds in direct proportion to the devaluation of the world of men. Labour produces not only commodities; it produces itself and the worker as a commodity -- and does so in the proportion in which it produces commodities generally. Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts (1844)

10. Marxist theory explained
Society is divided into two groups:
The proletariat – the workers who sell their labour to survive
The bourgeoisie – the owners who exploit the workers
The bourgeoisie (owners) dominate and exploit the proletariat (workers)
But why does the proletariat accept a system that exploits them?

11. hegemony Antonio Gramsci Born 1891 - Died 1937
Politician, Political Philosopher and Writer
Hegemony is a process in which a power relationship is accepted and seen as normal
Popular culture is used to persuade the proletariat to accept the power that the bourgeoisie have over them

12. hegemony
Hegemony can also be applied to the power relations found in gender, class and race
The media often portrays members of the bourgeoisie and dominant cultural/gender groups as successful and powerful and members of the proletariat or minority groups as less significant or subservient to the bourgeoisie
Over time, the audience become accustomed to thinking that this is normal and begin to accept the power that the bourgeoisie have in society

13. Are the presenters in positions of power and authority?
Case study
Do the presenters of lifestyle programs have middle-class or working class accents?
Are the presenters in positions of power and authority?
Does this make our perception of the power relationships in society seem more normal?

14. A marxist perspective
Lifestyle programs involve the retraining of the working class and the lower middle class
They train the ‘proletariat’ audiences into accepting the values, ideals and tastes of the bourgeoisie
Furthermore, they often criticise and make examples of the tastes and the behaviour of the participants in the program

15. Another perspective Noam Chomsky Born 1928
American linguist, philosopher and cognitive scientist
Chomsky argues that the media manipulates the mass audience to prevent them from rebelling against the powerful or dominant classes
This is not necessarily done deliberately. The need for an audience share and profit will often dictate what a media institution will censor and what it will show

16. Case study What opinions of gay marriage are presented in the excerpt?
What opinions of gay marriage are presented in the excerpt?
Whose political interests does Fox News Channel serve?
What impact might the excerpt have on an audience?
How does this impact relate to Marxism?

17. Criticisms of marxism
Marxism often assumes that the audience is passive and easily manipulated, which is not always the case
Stuart Hall (1981) argues that in order to gain acceptance, the bourgeoisie must continually work at getting the consent of the fleeting and fragile proletariat
Media texts are polysemic. This means that they are open to a range of interpretations and different readings. On one level, they may be read as supporting and promoting the power of the bourgeoisie. However, they can be read in other ways