Utopian and scientific socialism Marx’s “materialist conception of

history” Critique of capitalism Revolutionary sequence Democracy and freedom Marxism as ideology

Related but not identical; different varieties of each Key figure for both, Marx; predates Marx Plato’s ideal republic -- guardian class owns all things

(including spouses and children) in common Early Christians, later monastic orders, pooled worldly

possessions St. Thomas More (early 16th c.) ideal communist

commonwealth, Utopia, private property, profit, and greed banished

English Civil War (1640s), radical sects (Diggers, “True Levellers”) put communal/communist ideas into practice› Able-bodied work, common store of goods, skills, and services› English authorities destroyed communes, arrested leaders

Industrial Revolution (late 18th – 19th c.) replaced earlier agrarian visions of socialism and communism

Modern vision a reaction against social upheavals brought about by industrial capitalism

Uprooted from farms, families moved into cities looking for work in factories

Working conditions unsafe; living quarters cramped, dirty, and squalid

Contrasted sharply with newly emerging class of capitalists

Some thought squalor natural, necessary, inevitable Some sought to improve condition of working class “Socialists” thought system required fundamental change Moralistic/ethical socialists -- people will realize industrial

capitalism is evil; humane socialist society of equals will come about when people change minds about system of profit and exploitation

Scientific socialists -- agreed with aim, disagreed with cause› Saint-Simon -- hidden historical processes will bring socialist

society into being; industrial capitalism’s need for technical expertise lays groundwork for expertly planned socialist economy

› Charles Fourier and Robert Owen – planned perfect socialist societies; disciples put these into effect in model communities

Marx called early socialists utopian Impractical to suppose socialist society will come about as

people have a change of heart or as a necessary consequence of capitalism

Capitalism makes socialism (and eventually communism) possible, but not inevitable

Socialism possible only if old society is first destroyed; destruction will happen only under right conditions

Working class -- proletariat -- must realize class interests are incompatible with and opposed to interests of dominant class of capitalists -- bourgeoisie

Workers must be enlightened about their “real condition” and how it might be changed

Aid to enlightenment of working class Draws on Hegel’s philosophy of history and

economic theories of Adam Smith Describes how capitalism came into being,

was changing, and might be overthrown Cornerstone of  Marx’s theory of social

change -- “Materialist Conception of History” Main theme

› Fundamental social change involves more than changing one’s ideas or ideals

› Requires changing material conditions -- social, economic, and institutional structures and processes -- that underlie dominant ideas

Human history is twofold struggle: › Master nature for human aims and ends› Struggle between different social classes

To master nature, human beings must labor; for labor to be effective, people must relate to and work with one another in ways that increase capacity to put nature to human use

“Material forces of production” -- raw materials and tools for extracting, processing, transforming, and transporting these raw materials into useful objects

To create, make use of material forces, people must enter into “social relations of production” -- social division of labor that characterizes their particular society or “social formation”

Material production precondition of life itself and all other human actions, activities, institutions, and practices

Humans must first produce means of subsistence and reproduce species

Humans are rational, thinking beings We ask questions about life; whys and wherefores of

existence; why things are the way they are; why some people work hard and die early while others live lives of leisure and ease

Every social formation capped by an “ideological superstructure” -- system of ideas and ideals by which social relations are justified and legitimized

Slave societies -- people learn some human beings are “slaves by nature” or that it is “God’s will” that they be slaves, while others are masters

Capitalist society -- with class division of labor between ruling bourgeoisie and subservient proletariat, people learn that “laws of economics” dictate this as the only rational and workable arrangement

For those who remain unconvinced, there is always religion -- the “opiate of the people,” which dulls their minds to the possibility that such a system is made by human beings and can be changed by human beings

“The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas”

In capitalist society, dominant or ruling ideas of bourgeoisie are viewed as only ideas worth taking seriously

Alternative ideas -- and especially socialist ones -- are ignored or portrayed in classrooms, curriculum, and mass media as self-evidently silly, unworkable, or absurd

“Informed” by educators, economists, and journalists, members of working class are kept from forming true picture of situation and system under which they live and by which they are exploited

Suffer from “false consciousness”

Help workers overcome false consciousness › Supply them with means to cut through

propaganda and misinformation to which they are exposed in capitalist society

› Marx’s theory a “critique” not only of capitalism but also “political economy” -- economic theory that justifies and legitimizes capitalist system of production, exchange, and distribution

Point to possibility of another, more just and equitable society -- a classless communist society

Helped to break down feudal society and punctured “illusions” that had governed medieval mind-set

Increased humanity’s powers over nature Greatly expanded productive capacity of human beings Created enormous wealth Outlived its usefulness, caused more problems than it

solved Capitalist system of production is “alienating” in four

respects› Separates or “alienates” workers from product of labor› Kills spirit of creativity by making worker serve machine› Destroys workers’ capacity to create and enjoy beauty› Alienates workers from each other, making them competitors

rather than comrades

Capitalists, although affluent and comfortable, also alienated

Capitalism makes capitalists an “appendage of capital” -- capitalist must do what “the market” tells him or her to do, even if it means ignoring his or her conscience or casting morality aside

In capitalist society, Marx says, the only thing that is “free” is the market; all others -- including the capitalists -- are its servants or slaves

Perverted or topsy-turvy kind of society unfit for human beings to inhabit

Only society fit for human habitation -- one in which human beings are free and in full control of their fate

To be truly free, proletariat (and ultimately everyone) must be free of constraints and restrictions imposed by class divisions, economic inequalities and unequal life-chances

Must be free to recognize these inequalities -- free of “false consciousness” that makes them mistake their own real interests

Only then can workers fulfill basic human need to have rewarding work and respect of their fellows

Market is free and in control Human beings are its appendages and servants Capitalist society is unfit for human habitation Prospects for change? Constructive alternatives? Capitalist system self-subverting and, in long run, self-destructive Created its own “grave diggers” -- the proletariat By bringing them together, teaching them to work cooperatively

to produce complex and costly commodities, bourgeoisie, or capitalist class, has given proletariat sense of its own enormous collective power

Bourgeoisie has also given them a common enemy (the bourgeoisie), a common interest (the overthrow of the bourgeoisie), and a common aim (the replacement of capitalism with a just and equitable system of production and distribution)

Capitalism leads, in the final analysis, to proletarian revolution

Steps in revolutionary sequence: 1. Periodic, ever-worsening economic crises bring about 2. Immiseration of proletariat, which in turn leads them to3. Develop revolutionary class consciousness, thereby

giving them the will and motivation to 4. Overthrow bourgeoisie and seize state power for

themselves in the form of the5. Dictatorship of the proletariat. When it is no longer

needed, this 6. Dictatorship or transitional state will wither away,

thereby making possible the creation of a7. Classless communist society

Marx had little to say about it Resisted temptation to “write recipes for the

kitchens of the future” Shape of any future society should be decided by

future people, not by Marx or anyone else Democratic Major means of production publicly-owned and

democratically controlled Free public education for all All able-bodied people will work Rule regarding production and distribution:

› “From each according to his ability; to each according to his need” 

Master-slave dialecticHegel’s philosophy of history (evolution of spirit, ideas)Utopian socialism vs. scientific socialismMaterialist conception of history (evolution of material production) AlienationClass/class struggleFalse consciousnessCapitalism; surplus value; problems with capitalismRevolutionary class consciousnessRevolutionary sequence“From each according to his ability; to each according to his need”Material productive baseIdeological superstructure -- ideologySocial relations of productionModes of productionForces of productionRevolutionary dictatorship of the proletariatWithering away of the stateProletariatBourgeoisiePublic vs. Private ownership of propertySocialismState SocialismCommunismMarx’s notion of freedom, democracyMarxism (explanation, evaluation, orientation, program)

1. What is the materialist conception of history and how does it relate to socialism?

2. By what sequence of events did Marx believe communism would come about?

3. What did Marx and Engel mean by alienation and consciousness?  Why are these concepts important to Marx’s theory?

4. How does Marx characterize democracy and freedom?

5. How does Marx’s theory fulfill the four functions of an ideology (explanation, evaluation, orientation, program)?