Exam 2 Flashcards
Dialectical Materialism
Dialectical Materialism means that eventually, the tensions resulting from technological advances would lead to revolution; those in power would be overthrown, and a new ruling class would come to power. In each case, change would be sudden and violent and would pave the way for a new economic base and superstructure. Marx called this entire process dialectical materialism. Dialectic is the term he used to describe history as a struggle between the existing order (the thesis) and the challenge to that order (the antithesis), resulting in historical change (the synthesis). Materialism simply refers to the fact that this tension is over material factors, specifically economic ones. Marx believed that revolutions inevitably result from this dialectic process. (p.388)
Superstructure
Definition: All non economic institutions in a society (for example, religion, culture, national identity). These ideas and values derive from the base and serve to legitimize the current system of exploitation. (Page 387)
Marx viewed this superstructure as a system of institutions created essentially to justify and perpetuate the existing order. People consequently suffer from “false consciousness,” meaning that they believe they understand the true nature of the world around them, but in reality they are deluded by the superstructure imposed by capitalism. Thus Marx and most other communists rejected liberal democracy as a system created to delude the exploited into thinking they have a say in their political destiny when in fact those with wealth actually control politics.
Theocracy
Iran is the only official theocracy remaining in our modern state system.
theo means religion, and crazy means rule so it means the rule of religion
This means that the laws of religion are also the same as the laws of the state
For example, all the laws of Islam are the same as the laws of the country
Important to understand this because while other states may have predominantly religious views, those views do not relate to civil law do our secular system. Theoretically, In Iran, adultery may literally mean stone to death by the state.
Vanguard of the Proletariat
Lenin in particular believed that revolution could be carried out in less advanced countries if leaders constructed a vanguard of the proletariat—his term for a small revolutionary movement that could seize power on behalf of the people, who may lack the consciousness necessary to rise up.4 This approach meant that in reality, communism spread where the level of economic development was relatively low—exactly the opposite of what Marx had originally theorized. (p.390)
Politburo
Politburo is short for “Political Bureau”
The Politburo is the top policy making and executive body of a communist party
One way to understand the politburo is to look at the Soviet Union post Stalin’s death, 1953. The basic features of the Soviet system, however, remained in place. Power was vested in the Politburo, the ruling cabinet of the Communist Party. At its head was the general secretary, the de facto leader of the country. Government positions, such as national legislators, the head of the government, and the head of state, were controlled and staffed by the Communist Party and simply implemented the decisions of the Politburo. (p. 423)
Opium Wars (1839-1942)
The Opium Wars started because China was a state that did not open up it’s trade to the rest of the world. The British wanted China to open up their market of Chinese Spices, Silk and other important products to the rest of the world. So what the British decided to do was to find a way to make it necessary for the Chinese to trade with them. They decided to do that by trying to get the Chinese addicted to opiums. By doing so, they would open up their market because they will have to trade their products in order to receive opiums by Britain. Opium was made in India, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and they would package them and ship it illegally for the Chinese noble, political elite.This resulted in China giving Hong Kong to the British. This was one of the first Western effects on China.
Dictatorship of the Proletariat
Once world revolution had taken place, Marx foresaw, there would be a temporary “dictatorship of the proletariat,” during which the last vestiges of capitalism, particularly the old remnants of the superstructure, would be swept away. After the institutions of capitalism had been decisively eliminated, the institutions of the state itself would begin to “wither away.” There would be no more need for laws or police, because all people would share equally in the fruits of labor. No longer would there be a need for armies or flags, because people would be united in equality rather than blinded by the false consciousness of nationalism. People would live in a stateless world, and history, which in Marx’s view had been driven by exploitation and class struggle, would essentially come to an end.
Means of production
For Marx, then, the world was properly understood in economic terms; all human action flowed from the relations between the haves and the have-nots. Marx believed that structures, rather than people or ideas, made history. Specifically, Marx spoke of human history and human relations as functions of what he termed the base and the superstructure. The base is the system of economic production, including the level of technology (what he called the “means of production”) and the kind of class relations that exist as a result (the “relations of production”). Resting on the base is the superstructure, which represents all human institutions—politics and the state, national identity and culture, religion and gender, and so on. Marx viewed this superstructure as a system of institutions created essentially to justify and perpetuate the existing order.
Confucianism
Under the tenets of Confucianism, the role of government is to impose a strict moral code and foster “correct” behavior. Central to the Confucian worldview are the ideas of hierarchy and social harmony. Peace, order, and stability in both the family and the nation flow from the proper actions of benevolent superiors and obedient inferiors who all know their rightful place in society and act accordingly. Not surprisingly, China’s authoritarian leaders have found reason to champion these traditional values bolstering central authority, social harmony, and even “small prosperity,” a Confucian precept calling for the acceptance of a moderately well off society short of full prosperity.
The philosophy of Confucianism influenced the imperial leaders with its emphasis on a fixed set of hierarchical roles, meritocracy, and obedience to authority. Confucianism also helped foster the development of the Chinese civil service, a corps of educated men chosen on the basis of a rigorous series of competitive examinations testing their familiarity with Confucian thought. The notion of a meritocratic, professional bureaucracy did not emerge elsewhere in the world for centuries.
Central Planning
Along with private property, communist systems also eliminated the market forces of supply and demand, believing that these factors were incapable of equitably distributing wealth. Communist countries largely chose to replace the market with the state bureaucracy, which explicitly allocated resources by planning what should be produced and in what amounts, setting the final prices of these goods, and deciding where they should be sold. This system is known as central planning.
Cultural Revolution
Under Stalin’s rule, many people were purged from the Soviet Communist Party and executed for imaginary crimes. These were not cases of mistaken punishment: Stalin used terror and victimized symbolic “criminals” as a way to intimidate the Communist Party and the population as a whole.7 Similarly, in China, Mao unleashed the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s, encouraging the public (students, in particular) to attack any institution or individual that was either a remnant of precommunist China or lacked revolutionary zeal. Mao’s targets included the party-state, which he believed had grown conservative over time and was restricting his power— indeed, his notable slogan was “Bombard the party headquarters.” During the next decade, countless Chinese died, books were burned, art was destroyed, and cultural relics were demolished—all for the crime of being “reactionary.”
Party State
Definition: A political system in which power flows directly from the ruling political party (usually a communist party) to the state, bypassing government structures
Under communism, the party-state was able to dominate virtually all aspects of human relations without any effective check. But with the collapse of communism, the party was ejected from its leading role in political life. This left many formerly communist countries with a sprawling, if not always powerful or particularly legitimate, postcommunist state that did not embody the rule of law.
Resource Trap Economy
Russia appears to be moving toward a “resource trap” economy like those found in Iran and Saudi Arabia. The argument is that where natural resources are a major part of the economy and owned by the state, they run the risk of giving the state and government too much economic power while stifling other forms of economic development.21 Declining natural resources or demand for those resources could eventually undermine Russia’s economic progress.
Glasnost and Perestroika
Definition Glasnost: Literally, openness; the policy of political liberalization implemented in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s
Definition Perestroika: Literally, restructuring; the policy of political and economic liberalization implemented in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s
At the domestic level, Gorbachev initiated the twin policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring), with the intention of liberalizing and reforming communism. Glasnost encouraged public debate with the hope that a frank discussion of the system’s shortcomings would help foster change and increase the legitimacy of the regime. Perestroika, or actual institutional reforms in the economy and political system, would flow from this critique. These reforms were expected to include some limited forms of democratic participation and market based incentives in the economy. Moderate reform, not wholesale transformation, was Gorbachev’s goal.
Nomenklatura
Communist parties maintained control over society not only through repression but also by carefully allocating power throughout the country’s various political, social, and economic institutions—a thorough form of co-optation. This strategy can be seen clearly in the nomenklatura, politically sensitive or influential jobs in the state, society, or economy that were staffed by people chosen or approved by the Communist Party. The nomenklatura encompassed a wide range of important positions: the head of a university, the editor of a newspaper, a military officer, a film director. Not surprisingly, party approval often required party membership, making joining the party the easiest way to prove one’s loyalty and rise up the career ladder.
