Template:Marx-politics

Choose from the Philosophy Menu Bar ▼ HOME INDEX Justice 6.v.25 The Good Life 20.v.25 Hume & Testimony 3.vi.25 1H25 Reflections 17.vi.25 Nietzsche 1 24.ii.25 Nietzsche 2 11.iii.25 Universal Basic Income 25.iii.25 Hegel 22.iv.25 2024 Wrap-Up 10.x.24 Democracy 14.i.25 Civilisation? 28.i.25 Compulsory Voting? 11.ii.25 Berlin and Freedom 15.x.24 Nussbaum, Sen and Capability 29.x.24 Slavery Reparations 12.xi.24 Rawls 26.xi.24 Assisted Suicide 11.vi.24 Popper and Evolution 20.viii.24 Popper continued 17.ix.24 Berlin and Romanticism 1.x.24 Marx 19.iii.24 Kant and Knowledge 16.iv.24 Kant and Morality 30.iv.24 Education and Religion 14.v.24 Hobbes & Security 23.i.24 From Locke to Mill 6.ii.24 Rousseau: Social Contract 20.ii.24 Rousseau and Education 5.iii.24 AI and Ethics 31.x.23 Aristotle and AI 14.xi.23 Autumn 2023 Review 28.xi.23 Democracy 9.i.24 Private Education 5.ix.23 The Very Elderly 19.ix.23 Justifiable Law-breaking 3.x.23 Moral Authority 17.x.23 The Wells School of Philosophy Roll Call 19th March 2024, Hare Lane, 1000-1200 hrs: Tutors: Linda (LW), Steve (SW) Pupils: John (JE), Patricia (PM), Alexis (AN), David (DR), Margie (MR), Viki (VR), Howard (HS), Ray (RT) Scribe: Gavin (GW) Apologies: Colin (CS) The homework set We agreed that at our next meeting we would discuss the philosophy of Karl Marx. In some ways Rousseau and Marx have similar approaches: both rail against some prevailing wisdom. In the case of Rousseau, an assertion that man is inherently good in his natural state, contrary to the original sin position of religious institutions and the brutish philosophy of Hobbes. For Marx, his beef is that it is simply wrong to assert that society is inevitably unequally divided in terms of wealth and power as a natural consequence of the way societies evolve. Instead he believes that inequality is not only a great evil besetting us, but also that it is a consequence of social action. And critically, that it can be redressed. This idea underlies Marx's whole philosophy: that he, as a philosopher, is not just there to interpret the world but also to change it. Marx propounds the theory of historical materialism: economics and socially based, as opposed to Rousseau's take which is more psychological/anthropological. Both these philosophers give us the opportunity to get the benefits of the synergy that philosophy generates when combined with other disciplines. There is a star-studded cast for a BBC In Our Time on Marx, well worth a listen as an introduction: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p003k9jg Also a good 10-minute YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSQgCy_iIcc When you're listening keep thinking about what might be relevant today with our increasingly unequal, divided, societies. How can society be changed for the better to generate freedom and equality. The IOT should have give you a reasonable overview of his work, and the YouTube video may have whetted your appetite to dig a bit deeper in some particularly interesting areas. If it has you might like to google topics such as: Marx and alienation Marx and exploitation Marx on 'ideology' Historical materialism Some questions you could start to focus on as you reflect and research: Does Marx's notion of alienation, and its associated ills, retain any relevance in today's more digitally based, less personalised, world? To what extent does/can/should our work define us as people? Does capitalism inevitably rule this out? Are we still just cogs in a changed machine? Is the gig economy an example of what Marx predicted? Is Marx' analysis that a class struggle lies at the root of society's ills valid now, in some form or other? Is social and economic inequality now built into our political systems? Is capitalism continuing to be in crisis? And if so, does this represent and opportunity for change…greater leisure, freedom? Towards a universal basic wage? More portfolio lifestyles, chances to pursue (platonic) excellence? Is Marx right in suggesting that capitalism is bad for us psychologically and morally, even for captains of industry? For example, the (Rousseau) view of property and possessions being a corrupting force, inculcating all the worst values? Seeds of our own destruction? What could a Marx Manifesto for our coming general election look like? Would it be popular? Was Marx a philosopher? Or more of a journalist, propagandist, politician? Are we, in any sense, philosophers? Plenary Session Introduction(SW) Karl Marx railed against the prevailing wisdom. He believed man innately productive and individualistic. Man would naturally work for the common good. He saw work as a source of joy and freedom. Inequality tends to arise, but not inevitably. He believed capitalism causes that inequality; it creates classes, and class divisions. False consciousness emerges, he believed—the ways in which material, ideological, and institutional processes are said to mislead members of the proletariat within capitalist societies, concealing their exploitation and intrinsic inequality. It is a form of epistemic injustice, as explained by Fricker and earlier, Marshall McLuhan. Epistemic injustice is injustice related to knowledge. It includes exclusion and silencing; systematic distortion or misrepresentation of one's meanings or contributions; undervaluing of one's status or standing in communicative practices; unfair distinctions in authority; and unwarranted distrust. But there is no mention of a social contract in Marx’s writings. Over the centuries, the context has changed, often driven by advances in technology: slavery, feudalism, colonialism, industrialisation etc. Has it now all become too difficult to cope with? Beset by complexity, we fiddle with the detail. No-one is taking long view. Capitalism constantly creates surpluses, but we have taken too much out of the capital account of the planet. Bosses hold all the best cards. The worker is forced to work, but the boss class can pick and choose when and whom to employ. It is not an equal relationship. But Marx believed capitalism is bad even for the boss class because they become spoilt. Marx was very critical of ideologies, which he believed were not right place to start in any analysis. One should start with what actually exists, he said. Philosophers and theologians are starting at the wrong place. Discussion Marx's notion of alienation in today's world Why did Marx believe that the solution to alienation was the abolition of all private possessions? Surely that causes alienation?(GW) Marx believed the absence of private property would be overcome through collaboration.(AN) Workers had to work harder to compete with cheap competition. Work became more boring. 1848 was a year of huge upheaval across the world.(MR) Companies need to recognise the symptoms of dislocation. The effects on the displaced indigenous people can include alcoholism and suicide.(RT) The alienation from nature which occurred when workers moved into the towns was a huge psychological loss.(SW) Marx had a vision for returning people to the countryside.(AN) Agricultural workers may have a job for only six months of the year. If they move to the cities, they may have a job the entire year.(VR) But there is huge rural poverty today.(SW) William Morris was a proto-Marxist, and did much to foster socialism in the UK. He said: 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.'(DR) Do we have the economy that Marx predicted? The middle class has grown beyond Marx's expectations.(AN) Marx thought that eventually everyone would become bourgeois.(RT) Revolution would give everyone the leisure and freedom to go out into the countryside, Marx believed.(RT) In practice, in a world where good work is not better rewarded, some workers will become lazy, others will become leaders.(VR) Employers recognised that workers needed to have enough money to buy what was being produced.(AN) And this system generated the American Dream.(RT) Employers recognised that they needed a healthy workforce and took steps to encourage that.(VR) But company towns like Port Sunlight, where pubs could be banned, gave bosses more control.(RT) But people want the right to get drunk. Not everyone wants another Singapore.(LW) But there were down sides too: the zenith of the American Dream coincided with J Edgar Hoover and investigations into unAmerican activities. In Britain the Prevent programme is to be extended to socialism and anti-fascist activity.(SW) Thatcher made us all mini-capitalists through share ownership of public utilities in the 1980s. Did we join the bourgeoisie?(GW) Is class struggle at the root of society's ills? Marx wanted Russia to become a communist state, but recognised that the transformation needed to be kicked off.(MR) The revolution was kicked off by intellectuals, but it was hijacked by a small number of individuals at the top.(MR) The French Revolution destroyed much of the establishment fabric of France, including the Church, but it later took Napoleon to build a new structure and processes for the country.(MR) Marx thought England was ripe for revolution.(MR) Marx was bemused that revolution didn't happen in England. Perhaps the structure of the state was too powerful here.(RT) Perhaps the folk memory of the Civil War, two centuries earlier, gave the population the feeling that "We’ve been there; we've done that". Should the change be achieved through gradualism or revolution? Marx thought it had to be revolution. And it had to be bottom up.(SW) The Communist Manifesto was written during the colonial era, but it is still relevant. The trades unions stopped revolution happening in the UK by obtaining power for the workers.(AN) The Industrial Revolution made workers wealthy.(VR) There are now Marxist interpretations of many subjects, including economic geography.(RT) Women drew the short straw. The trades unions have historically been terrible for ignoring women. In Japan, women are now refusing to have children because they want a career.(LW) Marx thought women should be in the home.(AN) Ludicrously in the 1970s, Sainsbury's didn't employ women in buying, even though they were by far the biggest shoppers.(LW) Is capitalism in crisis? There are now more guns than people in the USA. The London Review of Books suggests that it is too late to control guns in America. Gun purchase is another example of consumerism.(LW) Bernie Sanders is a rare breed in the USA in calling himself a socialist. He uses a different terminology to Marx, but hesays similar things.(RT) Is there an opportunity today for workers to have more leisure and freedom? The unions were also a means of educating the workers.(AN) Is capitalism is bad for us psychologically and morally? Plato had an early concept of the division of labour: the potter should be the potter etc.(LW) China tried to eliminate the population's awareness of its past, to avoid its citizens applying Marx’s views on historical determinism.(AN) Other topics touched on Remembering Frank Brierley. The race to mine mineral nodules on the sea bed and the Moon. And the green sheen given to these intentions by the PR advisers. Books Referenced: Miranda Fricker (2009). Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing Paperback. Oxford University Press.