1. INTRODUCTION TO MARXISM

2. In order to understand his criticism, you need to understand the conditions that he lived in Long hours, low pay Periodic unemployment No Welfare State No universal right to vote KARL MARX – 1818 - 1883

3. KARL MARX Uses a the epistemology of historical materialism to determine how people construct their value systems Historical materialism – economics is the driving force of history According to Marx, “The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas…” “The ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force.” According to Marx, society has always been divided into the “haves” (bourgeoisie) and the “have nots” (proletariat)– and these two classes have always fought each other. Power, therefore, is demonstrated through excess

4. MATERIALISM

5. Marx Thinks that society is composed of two parts Superstructure (knowledge / value) Base (epistemology)

6. The Base The base is like the foundations of a building. Marxists say the economy (the means of production) is the base

7. And the superstructure The rest of the building which is built on the foundations The superstructure means all the other parts of society – culture, the state, education

8. BASE-SUPERSTRUCTURE THEORY Production and our relation to production influences the values that control everyday life Values simultaneously reinforce the importance or truth of the system “Its always done like this”

9. Social Control in capitalist society is achieved through ideology - ruling class ideology

10. The working class may suffer from false consciousness – not understanding their true class position Purchasing products pacifies the working class because our ability to purchase becomes a method of demonstrating power It creates a false hope that the individual is closer to the bourgeoisie (rich) than the proletariat (poor) Creates competitions between consumers and intensifies the necessity of consumption

11. THIS COMPETITION CAN BE AS SIMPLE AS SCHOOL SUPPLIES

13. “False Consciousness” of Capitalism $ Money is the “pimp” for humanity’s needs. It becomes the object of desire and alienates humans from their true essence. Fetishism of Commodities – workers fail to realize that their labor is what gives commodities their value.

14. DEMONSTRATION OF CLASS STRUGGLE

15. WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE? Marx says that resistance strategies emerge from class consciousness Individuals have to form common suffering common identification amongst members through This unification is necessary in order to rid themselves of their false consciousness Rejection of individual property is necessary; helps individuals create collective agency Much of this is based on idealism instead of realism – its about what do we want society to look like Establishment of a utopia – “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect” Opposite is a dystopia – it is the antithesis of a utopia Believes that there is no universal way to understand society

16. HISTORY OF CLASS STRUGGLE Process of serfdom dominated societies – people tend land in exchange for protection Emphasizes individualism and property – the idea of competition motivates people and their decisions Societies operate as collectives ; no private property and everyone works towards the same goal

17. OCCUPY MOVEMENT Americans frustrated with the disparity in wealth distribution and income inequality in the United States took to the streets to “take back Wall Street.”

18. COMMUNISM

19. Not a bad theory – but there are several criticisms which can be made of it

20. It’s not all about money – this is economically reductionist e.g. what about ideas, culture, religion?