Lib theo - MARX Flashcards
Marx
Marx’s writings (most famously ‘The Communist Manifesto’ and ‘Das Kapital’) often reflect these feelings.
Marx believed:
*It is human activity behind these experiences of powerlessness (alienation)
*Humans do not have a fixed nature but have to work to survive
*Unlike animals we are conscious of our work and can develop new ways of doing things.
Lib theo
-Liberation theology seen as a ‘bottom-up’ theology because it starts with the material conditions of the poor and exploited, and works up to the church teachings.
-these are the same conditions that karl marx found unacceptable and inhumane.
- he was an atheist, but his economic and sociological analysis of the conditions which led to the alienation and exploitation of the poor are useful to the liberation theologians. many have been critical of the church and other institutions which impose laws rather than work for those who can’t tackle injustice
Alienation and exploitation
idea that all processes of the world are governed by physical material forces. Humans contribute to the material conditions of the world and are affected by them.
—when the two are in harmony people feel useful and productive, but marx states that history shows that we don’t have long periods of stability.
every moment is a material process working towards harmony, which then collapses and is rebuilt.
this process is called historical materialism, which is marx’s view of the world.
marx’s aim was to investigate the causes of social instability,
Shared in some of jean rousseau’s assumptions that there was a stage in a ‘state of nature’ when families all shared in the means of production without exploitation. the initial cause of disharmony is not clear but was probably the result of disputes over land ownership.
God and religion
Religion
Religion as opiate for the people, provides means of control .belief that god controls history is a false-consciousness and leads to false hopes and illusions.
the place of religion gives power to the state to control the population using the excuse of god’s natural order meaning some are rulers and some servants.
- religion gives power to the state to control the population using the excuse of god’s natural order
Use afterlife/heaven as an excuse to justify injustices
Need abolition of religion
Capitalism
Capitalims changed the relationship between people and production resulting in a social division = the wealthy owners vs the workers.
According to Marx:
*Workers cannot work independently of capitalism
*To work means to be part of capitalist machine
*Work is a living death; labour becomes forced because of the need to work for money and thus food.
*Look at the factory system (e.g Apple production line) where the stages of production are separated, people only relate to the part of the process they are working on. They are dehumanised and unable to live fulfilling lives because they are being exploited by the factory owners as a means to an end.
Means of production
Primary causes of exploitation is ownership of the means of production.
in a capitalist society the production of goods matters and everyone becomes dehumanised
Worker has no control, is an ‘appendage of the machine
No creative imput, alienated in work
when he receives pay, he is controlled by the bourgeoisie who own the shops where he spends his money and the home he pays rent for.
bourgeoisie and proletariat
-at various times the exploited have realised their position is not ordained by god and have attempted to free themselves.
-such moments have been met with violent oppression by those who fear their power will be lost.
-for marx this was most prevalent in the industrial revolution. he named the two classes the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
Praxis
Praxis
is the belief that as history is constantly changing, then humans have the ability to understand the material conditions of any situation and change them.
Praxis is analysing the situation which has oppression, work out what caused it and then change it. the problem with philosophy, marx says, is that is analyses and does not change anything.
-Philosophy is to abstract to bring any practical change
Historical materialism
Historical materialism
- once we see how history has developed its material and economic basis, we can understand what institutions are based on
-When understood we can reform structures bottomup
Logical as; idea of reversal can be seen in the argument that theology should begin with the condition of the poor as the underside of history
More coherent then abstract understanding of looking to doctrine and god
Historical materialists see kingdom of god as transformation of society
