Test 2 study Flashcards
statics and capitalism
Statics are the basics of the structure of capitalism.
Bourgeousie and Proletariat as the BASE of Capitalism. Relations of productions exist at the base of every society. These relations define the super structure of society.
Bourgeousie owning the means of production
two laws of dynamics/laws of motion
laws of overproduction
and
laws of falling rate of profit
laws of overproduction:
excess of supply over demand of products being offered to the market. Happens to such a degree that a lot of it becomes trash, but weirdly profitable to do so. Leads to colonization and spreading effect to find new markets and new people to exploit.
Laws of falling rate of profit:
the rate of profit decreases over time. Leads to a further concentration of wealth. More and more B are forced into the P because they are outcompeted by other B or bought out by monopolies. Higher wealth inequality. Leads to further exploitation - workers viewed more and more as exploitable, profitable things. They will always try to find a way to make things cheaper.
Feudalism moving to Capitalism
Caused by historical materialism - material dialectics on a macro scale. Material conflict forces our society to move to something new. Marx says this is inevitable. Happens between people and their social structure.
Inherent contradiction of production
Bourgeousie and proletariat want different things. B wanting surplus value and P wanting good wages. There is conflict between these two wants and needs.
Positionality of Marx
Influenced heavily by Adam Smith and Friedrich Engels. Adam Smith is the base for Durkheim. Marx is responding to Smith with a critical lens and Marx influenced Weber.
Marx is critiquing Smith’s views that Capitalism is fair, equal and just.
Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto with Engels as a political piece.
Conflict theory vs Functionalist/Positivism
Both empirical models that can predict data about our society. Both evolutionary models.
Conflict: humanistic approach to societal functions and flaws. Everything arises through conflict. Critique of Capitalism.
Functionalist: everything in society holds a function and without functioning society things are off balance. Sui Generis and studied through social facts.
Marx and Durkheim key concern
Durkheim: what holds society together, what causes social stability and solidarity?
Marx: what divides society? Feels society is brutal oppression and people gain things through oppressive means
Marx Evolutionary Model
From class to division to non class - which then creates a better society. We need to go through conflict to evolve to something better. Can we viewed as an elitist perspective.
Classical Liberal Economics - what is Marxs theory of economics
A change in the mode of production - a new economic way of production when society changes from Feudalism to Capitalism and so on.
Also called the Labor Theory of Value. How the profits and wages interact and what do they mean. Cyclical: profits into wages into rents back into profits. To Marx, this is exploitation and to Smith this is giving the profit makers (capitalist entrepreneurs) what they deserve. Marx sees surplus value as exploitation.
Positivism Aims
to quantify, measure, predict and control phenomena. It seeks nomothetic knowledge.
Marx is getting nomothetic knowledge about Capitalism while Durkheim is getting nomothetic knowledge about Society.
Critical Theory - summary
Seeks generalizable processes. Fundamentally a critique of illegitimate authority and domination. Critical of the idea that knowledge is value-free
German Enlightenment vs English Enlightenment
Fundamental split in philosophy. Marx is “flipping Hegel on his head”. Hegel is an idealist and Marx is a materialist - the opposite of an idealist, that your material reality affects your consciousness.
Adam Smith and Marx
Marx agrees with Adam Smiths key points, that his ideas are true and these things exist. BUT he does NOT agree with how these things are JUST in society.
