Quiz 2 - Marx Flashcards
Ways humans systematically/collectively produce material things needed for subsistence
Mode of Production
3 Parts of the Mode of Production
- Means of Production
- Social Relationships of Production.
- The Superstructure.
the “things” harnessed in order to have production.
Means of Production
Examples of the Means of Production
Tools, techniques, raw materials, machinery, facilities, etc.
What is the primary Means of Production under Capitalism?
Labour
The relations between people while obtaining the Means of Production.
Social Relationships of Production.
What determines Social Class?
Your relationship to the Means of Production (whether or not you own/have access)
Unfettered access to the means of production.
Owner
Fettered access to Means of Production, need to sell labour for wage.
Non-Owner
Fettered access to Means of Production, need to sell labour for wage.
Non-Owner
Which percentage is smaller, owners or non-owners?
Owners
What is the “Base” of the Economy?
The Means of Production + the Social Relationships of Production
All institutions (outside the economy) in the realm of production.
the Superstructure.
Examples of the Superstructure
-Religion
-Family
-Politics
-Laws
etc.
3 reasons why Marx calls Religion: “the Opioid of the Oppressed.”
- Work hard in life, to be motivated (maybe) in death.
- Creates a passive/willing working class.
- Promotes illusion of meritocracy.
How does Marx characterize history?
According to Conflict Theory (inequality) of those who do and don’t own the Means of Production.
Object outside of us which, by its properties, satisfies a human want.
Commodity
Example of a commodity
Ripe banana, satisfies hunger.
Capacity of a good to satisfy a human need.
Use value.
How does use value come into play, with commodities?
Different people have different uses/lack uses for things (ex. a ripe banana has no use value if you don’t like bananas)
Properties of Use Value
Material qualities
Material quantities
Interdependent system of commodity production for the purpose of exchange through the market.
Commodification
Proportion at which a commodity can be exchanged for another commodity.
Exchange value
Commodity necessitates two values”
Use Value + Exchange Value
Formula for Exchange Value of Commodities
C - M - C
What are the two properties of Exchange Value?
- Quantitative
2. Homogeneous
How do commodities become capital?
By attaching labour to them.
Example of Commodity becoming Capital.
A spinning ginning (a commodity) + a worker (labour) = cloth to sell (capital)
What are the two properties of Value.
- Immaterial.
2. Irrational.
Why is Value immaterial?
Something only has value if someone is willing to exchange a commodity for it (value is not inherent)
Why is Value irrational?
Different people assign value/lack of value to diff things. Not a universal logic.
How much labour is required to produce a commodity
Socially Necessay Labour Time
labour performed in excess of the labour necessary to produce the means of livelihood of the worker
Surplus Labour
Formula for commodification for the Capitalist
M - C - M’
How do capitalists motivate workers to work?
Only compensate them enough to subsist them long enough to produce next day of labour.
How is Labour exploitative
Worker’s labour is the only reason the commodity is turned into capital, however the worker does not benefit from this extra capital his product earns.
How would Marx argue that the Middle Class (Modern Day) are still exploited? (3 ways)
- Only rewarded financially enough to encourage them to continue to facilitate capitalism.
- Tricked into thinking they are not exploited (still not part of Ruling Class).
- Creates motivation among workers to achieve more (American Dream).
Order of Theorists: Hegel, Kant, Marx.
Kant > Hegel > Marx
What is a Hegelian Dialectic?
Theory of Change: Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis
What type of theorist is Marx?
Materialist
What type of Theorist is Hegel?
Idealist
What type of Theorist is Kant?
Idealist.
Marx’s Hegelian Dialect of the Master-Slave Relationship
Master + Slave = Being
How is the Slave dependent on the Master? (Marx)
Relies on Master for subsistence/wages/to create slave identity.
How is the Master dependent on the Slave?
Relies on slave for daily labour + to create his identity as a master.
How does a Slave exercise his species-being?
By using his labour to create the Master
How does a Slave exercise his species-being?
By using his labour to create the Master
How can Slaves overthrow their Masters?
By recognizing that they are the creators of the master, and ending their labour.
Why is the Slave better off than the Master?
Slave is exercising Species Being/Conscious Labour, Master has unconscious labour
How does Marx organize the phases of society through history?
According to who owns the means of production
Where does Marx thing one’s ideas come from?
Our relationship to the Means of Production
What are the 3 Phases of Marx’s History of Ownership and D.O.L?
- Tribal Ownership
- Ancient communal + State ownership.
- Feudal or Estate Property (middle ages)
What type of societies existed during Marx’s Tribal Ownership phase?
Hunter-Gatherer Tribes
What first instance of Private Property was apparent during Tribal Ownership?
Women + Children
Who had private property/individual ownership during Tribal Ownership?
Each tribe collectively owned and traded women and children.
Where is the Tension in Marx’s Tribal Ownership phase?
Within families
What determined D.O.L. in Tribal Ownership, according to Marx?
Biology (women were childrearers, men were hunters)
What type of societies existed during Marx’s Ancient Communal + State Ownership phase?
Rural farm communities and small towns
How was D.O.L. organized during Ancient Communal + State Ownership phase?
Individuals/families held power over their slaves.
How did private property change from Tribal Ownership to Ancient Communal + State Ownership?
Private property was owned by a tribe collectively, and then owned by an individual/family.
Why was the introduction of private property of an individual during Ancient Communal + State Ownership so problematic?
It led to individual inequality, as certain individuals were able to accumulate wealth
Where is the Tension in Marx’s Ancient Communal + Tribal Ownership phase?
Tension between the town and the countryside (owners and workers)
What type of societies existed during Marx’s Feudal or Estate Property phase?
Urban areas and rural areas.
How was D.O.L. organized during the Feudal or Estate Property phase?
Small peasantry
Smallholders and agricultural labourers of low social status
small peasantry
A group of craftspeople that specialized in a certain product
Guild
What are 3 parts of Guild Heirarchy?
- Master Craftsman
- Journeyman
- Apprentice
How were craftspeople special from other peasantry?
They controlled the means of production for 1 product, and accumulated a small amount of capital in return.
Where was the Tension in the Feudal or Estate Property phase? (2 forms)
- Between landowners and townspeople.
2. Between craftspeople and Guilds.
Why was there tension between landowners and the town during the Feudal or Estate Property phase?
Landowners did not want to depend on peasants for certain goods + did not want their serfs to decide to become craftspeople
Why was there tension between craftspeople and serfs in the Feudal + Estate Property phase?
Serfs are jealous of craftspeople, as they are serfs that “escaped” exploitation.
How does Marx describe Human Labour? (3)
- Conscious
- Ability to control/manipulate the environment/earth.
- Humans have creative/cultural/emotional/aesthetic needs (Species Being)
How does Marx describe Animal Labour?
- Unconscious
- Passive/at mercy to nature/the environment.
- Have only material needs.
What is accessed by humans in order to reach our full potential/separate us from animals?
Species Being
What type of work does the Capitalist structure promote for the worker?
Animal work
Sense of separation/unfamiliarity/hostility
Alienation
Sense of separation/unfamiliarity/hostility
Alienation
4 processes of Alienation for the worker
- Alienation from the Product of our Labour
- Alienation from the Process of our Labour.
- Alienation from our Species Being.
- Alienation from Each Other
How are workers alienated from their Product? (2)
- Has no control over product’s sale once it is made.
2. Have invested their time/labour/passion into he creation of something, to be controlled by someone else.
How is the worker alienated from the Process of their labour?
No control over the way a product is made: materials, colours, time, etc.
Why is creative labour not satisfying?
Because despite any creativity, worker is either alienated from the Product or the Process
Consumers only care about the product, not the chain of production/process that created it.
Fetishization of commodities.
How are workers alienated from their Species Being?
By being alienated from the Product and Process of production, workers are starved of their unique human needs
Why are exploited humans worse than exploited animals?
Humans are self aware
How are workers alienated from Each Other?
- Workers compete for resources/wages/time off
2. Labourers compete for work, as capitalists try to lower costs and up their profits
The entire group of cases that we want information about
Population
a part of the population that we
actually examine in order to gather information.
Sample
a numerical summary of the
population.
Parameter
a numerical summary of the sample
data.
Statistic
4 examples of parameters
- population size
- mean of X in population
- standard deviation of X in population
- proportion in population
Standard notation for population size
N
Standard notation for sample size
n
standard notation for mean of X in population
μ (mew)
standard notation for mean of X in sample
x̄(x-bar)
standard notation for standard deviation of X in population
σ(sigma)
standard notation for standard deviation of X in sample
s
standard notation for proportion in population
p
standard notation for proportion in population
p
standard notation for proportion in sample
p̂(p-hat)
what summarizes the
information in a collection of data.
Descriptive statistical methods
what provides predictions
about characteristics of a population based on
information in a sample from that population.
Inferential statistics assume that the sample is a
probabilistic sample.
Inferential statistical methods
a sample chosen by chance.
A probabilistic sample (or random sample)
probabilistic sampling design that gives each
member of the population an equal chance to be
selected
proportionate sampling designs
probabilistic sampling design that assigns different probabilities to different subsets of the population
disproportionate sampling designs
sample of people who choose
themselves by responding to a general appeal
voluntary response sample (or convenience
sample)
Why are voluntary response samples biased?
people with strong opinions, especially negative
opinions, are most likely to respond.
Can we apply statistical inference to convenience samples
No
n cases from the population chosen in
such a way that each case in the population has
an equal chance of ending up in the sample.
A simple random sample (or SRS)
create a list of all N members of the
population. Then calculate k = N/n (rounded up).
We will select every kth member of this list, but
need a random starting point. Use a random
numbers table to randomly select a number c
between 1 and k. Select the cth case in the list, case
c + k, case c + 2k, and so forth.
systematic random sample
divide the population into groups of similar individuals,
called strata. Then choose a separate SRS in each
stratum and combine these SRSs to form a full
sample.
a stratified random sample
When the proportion of the sample drawn from a
given strata matches the strata’s proportion of the
population, the stratified sample is
proportionate
When the proportions of the sample do not match the population it is called a
disproportionate stratified random sample.
the population is first
divided into strata. A simple random sample of
strata are selected and all cases within each of the
selected strata are then sampled.
cluster random sampling
entails going through
several rounds of sampling to produce the sample.
multistage random sample
