Marxism
-Economic theory of historical development
-Modes of production (and consumption) determine politics and culture of society
-History as an ongoing 'spiral' of rising and collapsing economic systems
-Society divided into socioeconomic classes, with one class necessarily dominating
-Not just a 'communist theory' – a more general outlook on history
Karl Marx
-German economic historian, journalist, 1818-1883
Friedrich Engels
-German industrialist, 1820-1895
-materialist history
-class struggle, communism
Antonio Gramsci
-Italian politician , 1891-1937
-hegemony
Louis Althusser
-French philosopher, 1918-1990
-Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs)
Stuart Hall
-Jamaican sociologist, 1932-
-reception theory
Modes of production:
Tribal hordes
Neolithic kinship
Oriental despotism
Ancient slaveholders
Feudalism
Capitalism
Communism
Classes:
e.g. patricians vs. plebs vs. slaves in Rome
e.g. Three Estates – nobility, clergy and peasantry in Medieval Europe
e.g. bourgeoisie and proletariat which developed as a result of industrial revolution
Capitalism:
Mode of production which emerged out of three main factors:
-development of urban middle class engaged primarily in trade & services: bourgeoisie
-industrial and scientific revolution: efficient factory labour
-growth and development of efficient international trade networks: free market
Class conflict
-bourgeoisie: control the means of production and trade system, reap the benefits
-proletariat: work the means of production, alienated from the real fruits of their labour
-lumpenproletariat (organized crime systems) and remnants of aristocracy: watch the conflict from the sidelines, unable to engage in it
-in Marx's vision, the proletariat was predicted to triumph, leading to 'end of history' and creation of a classless communal society
Socioeconomics
Base
-economic foundation of society
vs. Superstructure
-cultural/ideological order built upon that foundation
Cultural institutions are created by economic conditions
-politics, law, religion, philosophy, arts
Ideology is an overall 'world view' created by those cultural institutions
-ideas, beliefs, forms, values
-inherent to classes; dominated by the economically-advantaged class
Hegemony:
-Ideological domination of all classes by the ruling block
-Dominated classes adopt (or are forced to adopt) the values of ruling block
-...but these values do not reflect the reality of their experience
-'false consciousness' created and enforced
-Created largely through so-called ISAs (Ideological State Apparatuses)
-consensus-building social institutions: church, school, media, etc.
-institutions reinforce each other and if one falls (e.g. decline of religion) others come to take its place (e.g. rise of mass media)
-vs. stable, concentrated RSAs (Repressive State Apparatuses: criminal justice, military, social welfare systems)
-Works largely not through 'hard' power and suppression of dissent, but 'soft' power
-subtle repeated messages
-Does not seek to eliminate class conflict and instability
-instead manages this instability and turns classes on 'false' targets instead of the source of their domination
-e.g. US healthcare debates; 'moral majority' movements; working-class hostility to criminals and the ultra-rich vs. fierce defense of middle-class values
Culture & Arts
-neither innocent entertainment nor free of social & economic forces
-have an important role in maintaining ideology
-but not merely used for coercion and domination
-popular culture texts often have mixed messages: many voices speaking at once
-reflect the broader cultural realities, ongoing conflict
-the authors often say more than they even mean to by using particular language
-art is often 'fugitive' – allows alternate views to be presented
-different styles of art & popular culture come from different classes, and are viewed/valued differently by different classes
Commodification
-use value vs. exchange value
-the actual use of an item: what you can do/produce with it or gain from it
-vs. what you believe that item to be worth
Commodity Fetishism:
-displacement of use value by exchange value
-accelerated production of items that have little use value but high exchange value
-results in alienation of workers from the fruits of their labour
-e.g. Chinese sweatshop labourers have little use for iPods or fashionable clothing (and thus have no choice but to accept low pay for them)
-e.g. office workers in the West have little choice but to follow fashion (or be thought of as weird) and have to work harder to be able to own more 'cool' things
Commodity Fetishism
...leads to Reification:
-tendency to view people & human relations as objects – commodities with use & exchange value
-value and acceptance of certain types of identities and relationships, devaluation (if not rejection) of others
-in arts/popular culture, produces aggressive imposition of tastes along hegemonic lines
-reinforced by artistic institutions (critics, collectors, sales charts, media)
-even resistance & individual identity are measured and co-opted in such society
-genres previously associated with resistance/alternative views become commercialized
-e.g. rap, punk, surrealism = hot news + cool merchandize
Cultural Economy
-popular culture and art also work by economic logic and emerge from class preferences
-just like money and property have value, cultural tastes and knowledge are also a form of capital
-social and cultural status can be exchanged for financial welfare, but are also valuable on their own (Bourdieu)
-intellectual and artistic elites guard their cultural tastes with prejudice, produce cultural capital by adopting unexpected/complex preferences that their level of education/knowledge allows only them to fully understand
-Distinction: profit gained by cultural elites from 'high culture' (Bourdieu)
-wealthy elites and savvy middle-class people 'buy into' elite cultural tastes – fund intellectual elites, buy reified products of 'high culture' (books, paintings, records, etc.), use this as evidence of their cultural dominance (but are unable to actually compete with cultural elites)
-lower middle class and working class are left out – cannot understand or afford 'high culture'; produce their own 'vulgar' cultural genres that are either looked down on by cultural and economic elites, or appropriated and adjusted by dominant culture to maintain the status quo and manage instability
Marxism and Rhetoric
-no 'Marxist rhetorical method' as such – only cultural theory as it applies to rhetoric
-explaining why particular arguments are made, why particular values are defended
-examining subtle ways in which hegemony is embedded in popular culture
-discovering ways in which the social status quo is challenged or can be challenged
-critical reading – looking for material motives driving any text
Materialism:
-all ideas, rules, norms, customs, social practices based on real, observable objects, conditions and practices
-popular culture vs. lived experiences + economic interests
-there are always insiders and outsiders; dominant vs. dominated elements in society, all of whom seek both material well-being and acceptance of their cultural views
Economic metaphors:
-how signs reinforce the 'normal' material order of the world
-how signs challenge or subvert it: alternative systems of meaning (e.g. subcultures)
Sites of struggle and reading
-popular culture can either affirm real-life experience, or be incongruous with it
-popular culture texts are sites where interpretation of material reality can be challenged
Preferred reading
-'normal', common sense reading that directly points to dominant class values
-tells us what we ought and ought not believe or value
Oppositional reading
-alternative readings, values challenging dominant views
-tells us to question what we ought and ought not believe
Subverted oppositional reading
-radical readings rejecting dominant views outright
-tells us to reject dominant beliefs about what we ought to be, and adopt more 'real' ones
Inflected oppositional reading
-bending dominant culture to own needs
-tells us to oppose some aspects of dominant culture, but embrace others (for our own benefit)
Overt vs. occluded hegemonic messages
Ideas of normalcy/desirability
Subject positions
-Models – characters showing desirable/normal traits
-Anti-models – characters showing undesirable/abnormal traits
-may be sympathetic, but not inspiring imitation
No comments:
Post a Comment