Marxism

Question 1

Where do Marxists believe power is found?

Answer 1

• Concentrated in the hands of a wealthy minority “ruling class”.
• The “ruling class” uses its power to exploit the ruled class (majority) so as to maintain its position.
• Marx identifies this dichotomy throughout history: Slaves to Polites (Antiquity), Serfs to Nobility (Medieval) and finally proletariat to bourgeoisie (Modern).

Question 2

What are Marxists’ views on the state?

Answer 2

-They believe that the state is “a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie”.

-Although it is disagreed upon how this is achieved; >Miliband believes in Instrumentalism (direct control of the state by the bourgeois)  
>Poulantzas believes in "Structuralism" (state is set up in such a way to regulate class conflict and maintain the Capitalist system). 

-Cultural Hegemony (first introduced by Antonio Gramsci) exists, in which the beliefs and values of society are determined by the ruling class to legitimize the state and the current state of affairs.

Question 3

What are Marxist’s views on Democracy?

Answer 3

• Democracy is a facade that gives the illusion of diffused power, when in reality whatever party is elected will act as a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie”.
• This keeps the proletariat in a “false consciousness”, unable to recognize their position of exploitation.

Question 4

Example of Corporate Welfare and Tax

Answer 4

-In the UK corporation welfare has been increasing annually while corporation tax is cut.

> £50 billion (2012) increased to £90 billion (2015)
17% (2008) decrease to 12.5% (by 2018).

-This was decided by people in power such as George Osbourne (whose father Sir Peter is a businessman…)

Question 5

Example of Great Recession

Answer 5

• The one event that should shake people from their false consciousness, bring down the cultural hegemony and blast class conflict into the open achieved the opposite.
• Despite Behemoth Financial Institutions (Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Moodys) causing the Great Recession in pursuit of short term profit, the cultural hegemony of “moral hazard” was reversed for them and the citizens were forced to pay for their mistake.
• $58 billion spent on restructuring GM in the US within the TARP Plan.
• Austerity Measures in the UK resulted in 1/3 of citizens beneath the poverty line 2010-2013, yet the party responsible for austerity remains in power to this day.
• People were outraged, but not towards the institutions that caused it. Largely blame was placed on scapegoats such as immigrants, Muslims, etc. President Donald Trump (who is a member of the bourgeoisie) was a reaction to this and promised to bring change. Instead, he reneged on most of his flagship policy and has crafted policy primarily benefitting wealthy interests (his new tax plan for example).

Question 6

Academic study of Caterpillar Corp. by Prof. Leslie Robinson (2017)

Answer 6

• A division in Switzerland (in which CAT does very little actual work, but corporation tax is 4-6%) was found to be registering the profits made by selling spare parts in Switzerland as opposed to the USA (where they were produced but corporation tax is 35% ).
• Both the Swiss and US governments, however, will not clamp down on this activity. This is a prime example of the state working to benefit wealth.

Question 7

Example of General Motors

Answer 7

• In 2016 GM spent $8.5m lobbying for the passing of the Trade Preferences Extension Act (2015).
• The Bill passed, and stops Sub-Saharan African partners of The Africa Growth Opportunity Agreement from “undercutting” US businesses.

Question 8

Example of Ronald Reagan and Thatcher

Answer 8

• During the 1980s, economic problems saw an end to Keynesian orthodoxy in economic policy and was instead replaced by the Reagan administration.
• He cut income tax from 60% to 23% for the top bracket, and corporation tax from 48% to 34%. Many members of his executive were from prominent businesses (GM, Goldman), such as Donald Regan who was his chief of staff and former CEO of Merill Lynch.
• Inequality has since grown in America, with the bottom decile household income growing 0.1% every year compared to 2.0% for the top decile according to OECD statistics

Question 9

Example of Iron Triangle

Answer 9

-Military Spending in the USA has doubled from 1998-2008
-Weapons producers have increasingly funded campaigns of congressmen. They increase the budget available to the Pentagon who then spends more money on weapons contracts from these producers.
-There exists a revolving door between the Producers and Pentagon:
>Dick Cheney for example left as Secretary of Defense after 1993 became CEO of Halliburton- an oil company which owned KBR as a subsidiary (a weapons contractor).