Marxism: Introduction

Class Relations, Capitalism and Commodification

2003 Spring

Outline
Starting Questions
Focuses in this unit Marx Snowed Up

Starting Questions (1): Economic Determinism

Is money (or the economic relations we are in) the

most important determinant in our life? The apparently non-materialist aspects of life
the mental: our belief, ideas and ideals; the spiritual: our soul literature and all the cultural products. Love -- Can love transcend the conditioning of money and the other social factors (e.g. class, educational background, etc.)?

Starting Questions (2): Class Relations

Which class do you belong to?

Are we all middle class? What types of class relations do you see in our society? What is capitalism? How does it influence our life? What type of relations of production are there at school and in between the teachers and students?

Commodity Fetishism?
( 920415) Why do we want more than what is useful? Do we have insatiable desire? If so, why?

General Responses: (1)

Political Economy of Love

power relations (e.g. ) ( )

General Responses: (2)

Relations of Production
Class -- not the most basic category in any kind

of social analysis. Can be combined with the other categories such as race and gender. Important in analyzing the power relations in society and in literature control/exploitation, inequality, and dialectical relations (master/slave). e.g. love between Daisy and Gatsby, Sons and Lovers, Mulholland Dr.

General Responses: (2) -2

Teacher & Student Relations

One example Are teachers authorities to rebel against? Are students buyers free to choose what they

want? I dont think the school will like it. Why does the father say that if the teachers serves the students as customers, the former will not guide,

General Responses: (2) -3

Teacher & Student Relations

Teacher-student: commercial relation and others Teachers (like experts and those with technical

skills ) are professionals they can produce more knowledge and thus more of their labor power and values. They, like the students, are still in the system of domination and subordination. (Ref. Scase 80)

General Responses: (3)

Our Consumption Habits

Why cant we stop buying? Possible reasons:

Devaluation of the goods we buy or own; positional goods When more people own the goods, the satisfaction it brings is reduced. (e.g. 40,000 dollar face cream; shark fin; etc.) Durkheim: human wants are in principle limitless; capitalism develops too fast, always changing our expectations. Stoppable only by 1) repressive social morality; 2) regulating capitalism. Loss of Religion and Sense of Stability. Marxist views: (later) capitalism creates false needs and

Marxism: Topics & Schools on Focus

1.
2.

3. 4.

Marx and Vulgar Marxism Western Marxists : Althussers theory of Ideology & Gramscis Hegemony American & British Marxism: Jameson and Eagleton Foucault &

Dialectic Materialism, Class and Commodification 2. Literature & Society 3. Marxist Literary Criticism 4. Literature as Discoure
1.

Marx: Basic Ideas

1.
2.

3.

Economic Determinism; (previous Q & A) Dialectic Materialism--(His Dialectic View of History: Revises Hegels view of history) Critique of capitalism

Exploitation of laborers and Alienation of them from their productive process Commodification of Human Identity and Relations

4.

Social Structure: Base and Superstructure

Dialectic Materialism:
Marxs Two major Statements
It is not the consciousness of men that

determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness. (In other words-- Consciousness does not determine our socio-economic existence; our socio-economic existence determines consciousness.) Economic Determinism

Marx: Two major Statements (2)

The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various way; the point is to change it. Has Marxism failed after the fall of Berlin Wall, the collapse of Soviet Union and the capitalization of mainland China?

e.g. Soviet Union 3 years after their its collapse, of Russias economy is private owned. China capitalism has been developing since 1970s in some special economic zones an official stock exchange was set up to allow people to buy and exchange shares. (Saunders 4)

Economic Determinism: Some Basic Terms

Means of production --
e.g. Machines in industrial society; media and computer in our age of Information; those who own them, or know well how to use them, get to hold power over those who don't.

Modes of production --
In the industrial society -- mechanical reproduction; in our "post-industrial" age -- electronic reproduction.

Relations of production --
between the capitalist class who owns those means of production, and the proletarian class whose labourpower the capitalist buys for profit.

Economic Determinism: example

Production of a novel today: influenced by Means of production typing or handwriting; including only verbal language or also drawing. Modes of production -- multimedia or print copy; Relations of production from production (with publishers) to distribution (with bookstores and news media) to consumption (readers)

Marxs Critique of Capitalism

1.

Capitalism caused by industrialisms amplification of labor power (e.g.) with machines surplus values accumulation and expansion of capitals
Investment (re-investment) Productive process (the laborers + machine) (alienation) Marketable commodities

Economic surplus

(Scase 13)

Marxs Critique of Capitalism (2)

2. Consequences: exploitation and alienation of laborers, exchange values over use values; reification() and commodification of human relations Example: Modern Times ; Bicycle Thief

Marxs Critique of Capitalism (2)

2. immiseration thesis -- exploitation and alienation of laborers, Note: Saunders argues that capitalism actually increases human wealth (of the poor and the rich alike) and improves human lives What do you think?

Marxs Solution
3. Marxs argument: State-owned properties Communism (example: clips of The Greatest Thinker: Marx) Pension funds or share-holding is not enough; State-owned capital; possible problem, the States inefficiency; Commune (regional economy, self-sufficiency)

Marxs Critique of Capitalism (3)

3. fetishism
The charming and enigmatic nature of commodity Use value Exchange values added to it; abstract relations between the products relations between men

Commodities as system of signs, hiding the economic relations in the production process.

Critique of Capitalism (4) by Western Marxism

Herbert Marcuse capitalism creates our false needs, whereas our real needs are repressively desublimated in a onedimensional world of commodities. (Cf. Saunders 79) Ardorno: creates massified pseudo-identity e.g. The Icicle Thief

Social Structure: Base and Superstructure

Base-- The sum total of [the] relations of

production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation Superstructure--a legal and political superstructure, cultural institutions and forms of social consciousness. Relations between -The mode of production of material life conditions the social, political and intellectual life process in general.

Social Structure: Base and Superstructure (2)

Other ways to describe their relations:
reflect, determine ultimately, cause,

condition,sets the limit

e.g. Vulgar Marxisms reflectionism (presupposes a homology in social structure)

Social Structure: Base and Superstructure (3)

Superstructure

Parallel, reflect

Ideology: the ruling ideas of the ruling class;

imposed on the other classes.

Base as foundation, center

Althussers idea of social formation; de-centered

Relative autonomy of the social levels and ultimate determination by the base
Superstructure

Base

Snowed Up
1.
2. 3. 4.

What are the binary opposites in the story? How is Edie related to the men around her? What gets "snowed up" in the story? What do you think about the ending? Is Edie finally subject to both the control of her society and the belittling of her author?

Binary Opposites
class difference: Lord Bilbrton--> has power, Mr. Alderman Thrigg--> has money; Aurelles--> Aurelles' playing chess -- "trying oh, so hard to play chess--which he does not understand-with papa; and all just because." father's position: in financial trouble, to be saved only by being appointed by the government. 2. difference in age and appearance: Lord Bilbrton "wizened", Mr. Alderman Thrigg "stout" and Aurelles "strong, tall, noble-looking" 3. order vs. Edie's giddy head
1.

Edie in between these men

She prefers Aurelles over the other two suitors, though she is aware of the former's clumsiness in social games.
reflected in her terms of address--> Aurelles or Phillip or Phil; Lord Bilberton or Charlie

Edie's change by the snow

Before the snow -- Edie's position against class difference and social customs:
like a shuttlecock or tennis ball; 2. It is laughable . . . p. 20

Edie's rebelliousness and ambition as a writer:

1. p. 20 the fur coat -- must wear it; interest in her own looks; 2. not going to be sold exactly. p. 20 3. be a poetess someday. 4. hate their "coming to the point." --> will not marry them, will
cry, quarreled; am cross. 5. "entanglement with a penniless soldier."p. 21 6. her view of having a spouse p. 21

The Other Peoples reponses:

1) 1/4 Lord B: "poor shivering ancient body 2) 1/5 "I shall perish with an angel!" Mr. Thrigg is not good at using metaphors; Bilberton, silly with fright. Papa, cynical. * Mr. Thrigg as one trying to help; 3) 1/6 Mr. Thrigg in despair and struggle (p. 23) 1/14 p. 24

The Other Peoples reponses : (2)

4) 1/14 All the servants left but the maid, papa an invalid, Bilberton helpless; Thrigg trapped in snow; the arrival of Phillip p. 25 5) 1/15 eat the cat; 6) 1/17 Papa and the Alderman may die. Philip is the only one active to get food. 7) 1/18 the last try by Phillip 8) 1/19 a feast; The Alderman eats a long time.

Edie's changing views of the snow and the others

1)1/3 "Why it is beautiful! I wish I was snowballing Aurelles." (21) 2) 1/4 nothing to do; hate the snow p. 21 1/5 - 6, laughs at her suiters. 3) 1/10 "we shall be starved." Misses "Phillip." --a very short entry. * turning point: 4) 1/14 "Nothing but snow." "Such fun! The Alderman has been helping me in the kitchen." Philip arrives; he is willing to rescue Thrigg only if he gives up his pursuit of Edie. Edie changes her tactics. p. 26

Edie's changing views of the snow and the others

5) 1/15 must write to pass away the time; * Edie's weakness and incisive comment on the "weakness of the snow": 1/17 cries; comments on the snow. "the weak, feeble despised flakes of snow." 1/18 waiting; * turning point: 1/19 he has all my heart 1/22 the roughs invasion; nice to have a soldier around. Hope for us at last--fog. 1/15 Is aware of her being a commodity between two men. Will be a good girl and make Phil a first rate wife. --Her diary ends with a bracket and blankness.

Snowed Up: Its Contraditions

Although Jeffries writes a cautionary take about

what happens when society is deprived of technological support, there also appears to be an unarticulated desire for such a catastrophe to occur, a desire for devastation and for reversion. [He expresses] liberal anxiety but also a reactionary 'back to nature' impulse. (Meynard 139)

References
Sauders, Peter. Capitalism: A Social Audit. Buckingham: Open UP, 1995. Scase, Richard. Class. Buckingham: Open UP, 1992. . 92/02/14.

Maynard, Jessica. A Marxist Reading of 'Snowed Up. Literary theories : a case study in critical performance. Eds. Julian Wolfreys and William Baker. London : Macmillan Press Ltd , 1996