Marxism 2

Question 1

How did Marx see as proof that the modes of production did not work?

Answer 1

every period marked by crises

Question 2

what question was Marx concerned with?

Answer 2

how can humans be free?

Question 3

how did he see the process of labour as constraining us?

Answer 3

Through labour we gradually free ourselves from our natural constraints, but entangle ourselves in social constraints

Question 4

How did Marx explain relationships?

Answer 4

on their material basis – the need for food/water/shelter drives human interaction

Question 5

what is historical materialism?

Answer 5

considers change over time and concerned with material reality

Question 6

how did Marx see surplus as being created?

Answer 6

The difference between the actual value of the proletariat’s labour and their wage is what creates surplus (or profit) for capitalism

Question 7

why does productive capitalism lead to a crisis?

Answer 7

Crises of overproduction – too much being created that people cannot afford, which didn’t allow for reinvestment

Question 8

What is Gramsci’s theory of hegemony?

Answer 8

ruling class stays in power by developing a dominant set of ideas which are all pervasive and taken for granted in a society, blinding us to our oppression

Question 9

what quote from Marx could highlight Gramsci’s point?

Answer 9

“religion is the opium of the people”

Question 10

what is Althusser’s idea?

Answer 10

ideological state apparatus

Question 11

what is ideological state apparatus?

Answer 11

the bourgeoisie maintain power by using institutions that spread bourgeois ideology and ensure that the proletariat is in a state of false class consciousness

Question 12

what is false class conciousness? (Lukacs)?

Answer 12

denotes people’s inability to recognize inequality, oppression, and exploitation in a capitalist society because of the prevalence within it of views that naturalize and legitimize the existence of social classes

Question 13

what is commodity fetishism?

Answer 13

fetishise the abstract exchange value

Question 14

how can Marx be seen to have a true appreciation for the exchange item of a commodity?

Answer 14

Marx had to consistently pawn his and his families items in order to keep writing and survive

Question 15

why did neo-marxism develop?

Answer 15

to address the issues it felt traditional Marxist theory couldn’t address

Question 16

what are 2 key distinctions between neo-marxism and traditional marxism?

Answer 16

• Angled for a peaceful ideological dissemination, rather than revolution
• Consideration of cultural, individual factors as well as economic, structural factors

Question 17

when did Herbert Marcuse publish one-dimensional man?

Answer 17

1964

Question 18

what theory of Marx’s did Marcuse add to?

Answer 18

alienation

Question 19

how did Marcuse add to Marx’s theory?

Answer 19

• Capitalism pushes man so hard they see themselves as extensions of commodities
• Modern capitalism creates false needs and false consciousness for consumption of commodities, locking one-dimensional man into a one-dimensional society which leads man to have to see themselves in their commodities

Question 20

why did Marcuse believe it was now impossible for the working class to have a revolution?

Answer 20

Pressure of consumerism has led to the working class becoming involved in the capitalist society

Question 21

who did Marcuse say would be able to have a revolution?

Answer 21

an alliance between radical intellectuals and the groups not yet integrated including the persecuted, the unemployed and the unemployable