Historical Materialism and Cultural Materialism Flashcards
reason of growing interests materialism
-increasing socio-economic inequalities
-impact of human activities on ecosystems and climate
-natural disasters and pandemics
-AND ALL OF THIS IS INTERRELATED THROUGH GLOBAL POLITICAL-ECONOMIC POWER RELATIONS
historical materialism
-human society determined by material conditions: (non-) ownership of means of production determines relations between people, material base determines superstructure (religion, legal system, ideational aspect of culture)
-transitions from one stage to the next driven by internal contradictions in the form of class oppositions (class struggle)
-marxism
stages of evolution in human society, historical materialism
- primitive communism
- slavery
- feudalism
- capitalism
- socialism
- communism
false consciousness
Marx and Engels, real awareness would increase as internal conflicts in capitalist society would intensify. he did not see the rise of large middle class, social legislation, introduction of universal suffrage
Critique of ‘false consciousness’
by Gramsci
- class struggle is not resolved in a struggle over economic dominance but
- in the struggle of ‘ideological’ dominance: cultural hegemony
- therefore: bringing about new power relations only possible by waging ideological struggle (counter hegemony)
application of marxist theory in anthropology
- french anthropologists started applying Marxism to the study of non-capitalist societies
- non-capitalist societies: superstructure not just legitimating relations of production but also organizing economy
cultural materialism
by Marvin Harris
- main tenet: societies and cultures with their specific beliefs and practices are shaped by infrastructure: the way people organixe their relations with ecological enviroment in such way that it ensures their survival
- in common with marxism: the material base has primacy, superstrycture follows from ‘material’ conditions
- different from marxism: no contradictions leading to progressive evolution of society
- always take a ETIC perspective
- harris introduced the emi-etic dichotomy
Harris on infrastructure
-mode of production
-mode of reproduction
Harris on structure
- domestic economy
- political economy
Harris on superstructure
“consists of the behaviour and thought devoted to symbolic, ideational, artistic, religious etc. as well as all the mental and emic aspect of a culture’s infrastructure and structure”
positive factors cultural materialism
+ remarkable phenomena (food taboos, infanticide etc.) explaines as adaptions to environmental and technological conditions
+ transparent research strategy
+ predictive hypothesis can be tested empirically
negative factors cultural materialism
- emic perspective seen as mere justification/rationalization of behaviour ultimately to be explained by resource to infrastructural change
- many cultural practices and ideas are non- or even counter-adaptive, and they seem quite resistant to change despite changing material/enviroemntal conditions
- dogmatic and simplistic
critique historical materialism
- capitalism has evolved in other ways than marx predicted
- marxist theorizing may lead to repressive politics
