Karl Marx: The Structure-Agency Problem

Karl Marx: The Structure-Agency Problem A hugely influential revolutionary thinker and philosopher, Marx did not live to see his ideas carried out in his own lifetime, but his writings formed the theoretical base for modern international communism. Karl Marx (1818-1883), was a German economist, philosopher, and revolutionist whose writings form the basis of the body of ideas known as Marxism. One of Marxs most important intellectual influences was the philosophy of George Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831). Hegels signature concept was that of the dialectic, a word that originally referred to the process of logical argumentation and refutation. Hegels influence on Marx is evident in Marxs belief that history is evolving through a series of conflicts in a predictable, unavoidable direction. Hegel also influenced Marx in his characterization of the modern age. Marxs theory, which he called historical materialism is based on Hegels. Hegel claims that history occurs through a dialectic, or clash, of opposing forces. Hegel was a philo sophical idealist who believed that we live in a world of appearances, and true reality is an ideal. Marx accepted this notion of the dialectic, but rejected Hegels idealism because he did not accept that the material world hides from us. With the aid of Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) he produced much of the theory of modern Socialism and Communism. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxism holds at its core a critical analysis of capitalism and a theory of social change. The powerful and innovative methods of analysis introduced by Marx have been very influential in a broad range of disciplines. The economic and political theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that hold that human actions and institutions are economically determined and that class struggle is needed to create historical change and that capitalism will ultimately be superseded by communism. A Marxists thought is based on this daily practice, a philosophy called dialectics Thus, Marxism is both a theory and a practice. The theories of Marxism are sometimes called dialectical materialism; theory is based on a particular set of conditions that are always finite, and thus, any theory is necessarily limited. To test the validity of theory, Marxists rely on practice as the criteria of truth. Using such a methodology Marx and Engels examined history, which lead them to elaborate theories of the class struggle, the basis of social relations through economics, and the form of society that could follow capitalism. The bourgeoisie or capitalists are the owners of capital, purchasing and exploiting labour power, using the surplus value from employment of this labour power to accumulate or expand their capital. The proletariat are owners of labour power (the ability to work), and mere owners of labour power, with no resources other than the ability to work with their hands, bodies, and minds. Marx studied the differences arising between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. The bourgeoisie are interested mainly in developing a capitalist society, using advanced methods of production. The bourgeoisie are the capitalist who own the factories, the product made in the factories and controlled all the trade. The Proletariats have gained nothing in society but the thrill of their own labour. The proletariats feel that they are treated poorly from bourgeoisies; they receive only enough in life to survive and have no chance of achieving a higher, class status. The proletariats helped to improve production in society, which developed Capitalism and helped it to grow faster. The proletariats were not getting the wages they deserve for the labour that was accomplished. Marx wanted the proletariats to stand up to the bourgeoisie and cause a class conflict. The distribution of political power is determined by power over production (i.e., capital). Capital confers political power, which the bourgeois class uses to legitimatize and protect their property and consequent social relations. Class relations are political, and in the mature capitalist society, the states business is that of the bourgeoisie. Moreover, the intellectual basis of state rule, the ideas justifying the use of state power and its distribution, are those of the ruling class. The intellectual-social culture is merely a superstructure resting on the relation of production, on ownership of the means of production. Marx used the term mode of production to refer to the specific organization of economic production in a given socie ty. A mode of production includes the means of production used by a given society, such as factories and other facilities, machines, and raw materials. It also includes labour and the organization of the labour force. The term relation of production refers to the relationship between those who own the means of production (the capitalists or bourgeoisie) and those who do not (the workers or the proletariat). According to Marx, history evolves through the interaction between the mode of production and the relations of production. The mode of production constantly evolves toward a realization of its fullest productive capacity, but this evolution creates antagonisms between the classes of people defined by the relations of production-owners and workers. Capitalism is a mode of production based on private ownership of the means of production. Capitalists produce commodities for the exchange market and to stay competitive must extract as much labour from the workers as possible at the lowest possible cost. The economic interest of the capitalist is to pay the worker as little as possible, in fact just enough to keep the workers alive and productive. The workers, in turn, come to understand that their economic interest lies in preventing the capitalist from exploiting them in this way. As this example shows, the social relations of production are inherently antagonistic, giving rise to a class struggle that Marx believes will lead to the overthrow of capitalism by the proletariat. The proletariat will replace the capitalist mode of production with a mode of production based on the collective ownership of the means of production, which is called Communism. Marx describes how the worker under a capitalist mode of production becomes estra nged from himself, from his work, and from other workers. Drawing on Hegel, Marx argues that labour is central to a human beings self-conception and sense of well-being. By working on and transforming objective matter into sustenance and objects of use-value, human beings meet the needs of existence. Labour is as much an act of personal creation and a projection of ones identity as it is a means of survival. However, capitalism, the system of private ownership of the means of production, deprives human beings of this essential source of self-worth and identity. The worker approaches work only as a means of survival and derives none of the other personal satisfactions of work because the products of his labour do not belong to him. These products are instead expropriated by capitalists and sold for profit. In capitalism, the worker, who is alienated or estranged from the products he creates, is also estranged from the process of production, which he regards only as a means of surviva l. Estranged from the production process, the worker is therefore also estranged from his or her own humanity, since the transformation of nature into useful objects is one of the fundamental facets of the human condition. The worker is thus alienated from his or her species being, from what it is to be human. Finally, the capitalist mode of production alienates human beings from other human beings. Deprived of the satisfaction that comes with owning the product of ones labour, the worker regards the capitalist as external and hostile. The alienation of the worker from his work and of the worker from capitalists forms the basis of the antagonistic social relationship that will eventually lead to the overthrow of capitalism. The labour theory of value states that the value of a commodity is determined by the amount of labour that went into producing it. Marx defines a commodity as an external object that satisfies wants or needs and distinguishes between two different kinds of value that can be attributed to it. Commodities have a use-value that consists of their capacity to satisfy such wants and needs. For the purposes of economic exchange, they have an exchange-value, their value in relation to other commodities on the market, which is measured in terms of money. Marx asserts that in order to determine the relative worth of extremely different commodities with different use-values, exchange-value, or monetary value, must be measurable in terms of a property common to all such commodities. The only thing that all commodities have in common is that they are a product of labour. Therefore, the value of a commodity in a market represents the amount of labour that went into its production. The labour theor y is important in Marxs work not because it gives special insight into the nature of prices but because it forms the foundation of Marxs notion of exploitation. In the simplest form of exchange, people produce commodities and sell them so that they can buy other commodities to satisfy their own needs and wants. For Marx, the enterprise is the nucleus of class war both capital and labour are united by certain latent interests which, being contradictory, places them on the opposite sides of a conflict relation. Classes are conflict groups under conditions of absence of mobility, superimposition of authority, property, and general social status, superimposition of industrial and political conflict, and absence of effective conflict regulation. For Marx alienation is a physical and psychological condition which arises out of the conditions of modern work. Since the worker does not own what he produces, since he lives as an extension of the machine, since he hates what he does, then the worker does not own his own life, he is in a basic sense simply a human machine. He exists to himself as an alien object; the reality of capitalism for Marx is that it is not free. For Marx the connections between the theory of capitalism and the conditions of modern life are all too clear. Marx believed society was an evolving struggle. He believed Capitalism was an evolving structure. However, unlike Adam Smith, Marx did not believe this evolution was always smooth, nor did he believe it evolved for the best. In fact Marx, predicted the collapse of Capitalism. Marx placed great value on economic forces for explaining social structures. Marx examined society and argued that the wealth of capitalists was based on paying labour less than their true labour value (underpaid labour). This difference between the true labour value and the wages paid led to the accumulation of money capital. Workers were abused and disenfranchised. As capitalism developed, Marx predicted, workers would become increasingly alienated and seek to overthrow the capitalist class. Growth was not guaranteed but could become volatile leading to periods of economic slump. Marxists certainly point to the Great Depression of a vindication of how capitalism can fail.

Plagiarism :: Computers Technology Cheating Essays

Plagiarism Plagiarism has been present in society for longer than one might like to think. But what is even more upsetting is the fact that it is a recurring problem in innumerable school systems across the country. By definition, plagiarism is the â€Å"unacknowledged and inappropriate use of ideas and wording of another writer† and can be considered â€Å"a grave violation of academic integrity† (http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/writing/tools/plagiarism.html). This may seem slightly harsh, but it is indeed true. However, to put in layman’s terms, an act of fraud or deception is committed when someone plagiarizes, either from a textbook or the internet. And, as with every mistake, consequences arise that affect the individual greatly. The general public conveys plagiarism to be â€Å"the capital intellectual crime† and in addition, is most often used by students and professors whose â€Å"undetected plagiarisms disrupt the system of student and scholarly evaluation† (http://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/posner-r-plagiarism.html). Such actions can become the cause of expulsion of a student or the halt of a professor’s career. Because this is a major offense and requires immediate discipline, several American universities have established guides indicating the types of plagiarism that exist. One prime example is California State’s Eagle Guide. Within it, three categories of various plagiarisms are presented with the first titled Turning in Someone Else’s Paper, also known as Type I. Basically, the individual was either too lazy or lacked the confidence in himself to compose the paper. â€Å"This is the worst type of plagiarism because fraud is committed that undermin es the entire educational system. The material was not learned, writing skills did not improve, and the grade is based on deception. All in all, the person’s education is a fraud.† (http://web.calstatela.edu/centers/write cn/plagiarism.htm). Furthermore, Type II is the Internet â€Å"Pastiche† which is a â€Å"literary work composed of various sources† (Macmillan Dictionary, 1984). In this instance, the paper is assembled by the â€Å"writer† out of other texts. Paragraphs are â€Å"grabbed† and are carefully placed to form a final draft. Lastly, Type III is improper paraphrasing. This transpires when an author’s idea(s) are rewritten into other’s words and original sentence structure is used. Type III is the least hostile because it can easily be corrected with few practices.

Past and Future Life

Here I am 36 years old and writing a paper on my past, present and future life. In this paper I will present a brief description of a few of my life experiences that I faced growing up. I will also look ahead to the goal I want to accomplish in the future. I grew up in a military family, My father was in the U. S. Army at the Air Force Base in Fayetteville, NC about 2 hours from Jacksonville where he and his family was living. My father and mother met in Jacksonville and from there the rest is history. My earliest childhood memories were growing up between Jacksonville and Georgia. I was the youngest of 2. My dad continued to serve in the Army but for whatever reasons he and my mother decided to divorce. At that point my mother packed me and my sister up and moved back to Georgia to live with her parents for a while. While living there with my grandparents my sister and I never got along she would always do things and blame me for it. I remember one night after eating dinner my sister got up to put her dishes in the sink in the kitchen, so I came in behind her but as I walked up into the kitchen I saw her turning the gas stove on (and you know to use a gas stove you have to light it) she then walked out of the kitchen, so I stayed in there nd washed my dishes up but, before I could finish my mother came in and said that she smelled gas, so I told her that my sister was in here messing with the stove, my mother called my sister in the kitchen to find out what happened and of course my sister sat there and lied and said that I turned the stove on. I then tried to tell my mother that my sister was lying on me but she didn't want to believe anything that I was saying so I got into trouble for something I didn't do. I was never able to tell my side of a story because the first thing my mother would say was shut up because I don't believe a word you are saying. As I got older and into my teenage years I started experiencing things and seeing a lot of things for myself. I started sneaking out to hang out with my friends, I went to parties, sleep overs just so I could get out the house. I wanted to have a boyfriend but my mother told me that I was to young to date. At the age of 16 , I had gotten pregnant I kept it a secret for a very long time, I continued to go to school and work. One day someone called my mother and told her that she may want to take me to the doctor and check to see if I'm pregnant. Well a few days later My stepfather and I was in a car accident and I had to go to the Hospital and et x-rays on my knee because it had gotten busted up in the accident. So when the nurse came in my mother was asked to step out the room and the nurse started giving me a physical and I told her that I believed that I was pregnant and she said well that's funny you say that because your mother wanted me to do a pregnancy test on you. I asked the nurse not to say anything to my mother at that point and the nurse told me that she couldn't do that so I immediately got scared of what was going to happen next. My mother was told the news about me being pregnant and she was not happy at all. I couldn't go back to school because I was unable to walk on my leg from the accident but that really wasn't the real reason it was because my mother didn't want to many other people knowing but they already knew what was going on. Well a few weeks went by and one morning my mother came and woke up it had to be around 3:00am so I got up without any questions my mother , stepfather and I all got into he car and left, I had no idea where we were going so I ended up falling back to sleep until we reached our destination and when we got there my mom asked me â€Å"Do you know where we are? † I aid no so we proceeded to go into the this huge place but once we got in I new what it was from there. It was the abortion clinic in another part of Georgia my mother was getting ready to make me have an abortion and I didn't wan to. Well we went to the back I spoke with the doctor and they had to see how far along I was first before they proceed with the procedure lucky they couldn't perform the procedure because I was to far along in my pregnancy,so then my mother wanted me to have the child and put it up for adoption, she wanted me to give it to one of my step father's brother and his wife but hat fell thru, then she wanted me to have the baby and put his last name the same as hers for insurance purposes at least that's what she told me. I really didn't have a say so when it came to my child, and I had a big problem with that so I went back to work so I can take care of my child. One night I came home from work and before I could get to the steps I could here my baby crying and crying, I walked into the house to see that no one was there to comfort him. I walked through the house to find that my mother was in the bed sound asleep. I was very angry with her at this point so I had to figure a way to et out of that house, so I called and spoke with my oldest sister and we both got in contact with our father and we made plans for him and my uncle to come and rescue us from this mess. I finally turned 18 and my father and uncle came to pick us up from Georgia and brought us to NC I was very glad to be away from that house with my mother. When I got settled in I went back to school and got my high school diploma I was very excited then because I completed the high school and it was time that I find a job so I can continue to take care of my child. I attended the local community college here and eceived my certification as a nursing assistant and from there I went to work for a few nursing homes but then, I got tired of all that hard work for a little bit of pay so I quit working in that field for a while and started doing retail , I enjoyed working in the retail field it was a real learning experience but my passion was still in the health field so I went back to college. In our studies of adult development theory, I was interested to learn about Erikson's theories of psychosocial stages. Erikson believed adolescents †anguish over who they are and how they fit into their social world. (Witt& Mossler 2010, pg. 53). Here I am now with 2 children and working towards my Business degree. It has taken me a really long time to figure out what it was that I really wanted to be doing and where I wanted to be in my life and I have figured it out now. My goal is to finish my business degree and open up my business and then go back to school to obtain my bachelors in healthcare management. I have learned so many things from my childhood growing up, but I can't dwell on the past although sometimes I have to go back in time to relate to the present. Now I have to build a future for me and my hildren so they can see how hard there mother worked and how far I have gotten in life. As our text explains, modeling is an important source of learning (Witt& Mossler,2010) and I also want to set a good examples for my children. My family and friends are very supportive and happy that I have chosen to go back to college and get my degree. With all this support it has helped me to succeed in my courses (chu2010). I believe that you are never to old to go back to school and reach the goals that you have been trying to reach. I think you have to have faith and believe that things will work out.

Edgar Allan Poe s The Masque Of The Red Death - 1225 Words

Throughout the history of literature we see an obvious string of religion connecting most works to the core of their beginnings. From creation stories of tribes, to colonial poems, to the twisted mind of Edgar Allan Poe, there is a connection. Poe’s â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† may not seem to portray the ideas of religion but through close examination, the association will become less cloudy. Poe’s use of symbolism, narrator, word choice, helps readers unmask the idea of religion. Poe’s use of symbolism is very evident throughout the story of â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death†. Much has been made about the meaning of the rooms that fill Prince Prospero’s lavish getaway. One such critique, Brett Zimmerman writes, â€Å"It is difficult to believe that a symbolist such as Poe would refuse to assign significance to the hues in a tale otherwise loaded with symbolic and allegorical suggestiveness† (Zimmerman 60). Many agree that the s even rooms represent the seven stages of human existence. The first, blue, signifying the beginnings of life. Keeping in mind Poe’s Neo-Platonism and Transcendentalism stance, the significance of blue is taken a step further. Not only does blue symbolize the beginning of life, but the idea of immortality is apparent when considering these ideas. â€Å"Perhaps ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ then, is not quite the bleak existential vision we have long thought it to be†, expounds Zimmerman (Zimmerman 70). Poe’s use of each color is significant to the seven stagesShow MoreRelatedEdgar Allan Poe s The Masque Of The Red Death1300 Words   |  6 Pagesmovement took action during the mid-eighteen hundreds in which Poe wrote his short story, Masque of the Red Death According to Edgar Allan Poe in his short story, â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† â€Å"No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous.† Even though plagues had been common th roughout the years, none of them had been as hideous as society was during the Movement. In his short story â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death†, Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates that people are naturally born evil, during the Anti-TranscendentalismRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s The Masque Of The Red Death1409 Words   |  6 PagesA Literary Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† Edgar Allan Poe is popularly known as a Gothic short story writer. He has produced many gruesome stories, including the short story â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death†. In this short tale, Prince Prospero decides to lock himself and his friends of the court into a magnificently decorated abbey to escape becoming ill of a disease which has caused half the people in his land to perish. The Prince provides indulgences and throws partiesRead MoreA Party To Die For: â€Å"The Masque Of The Red Death† By Edgar1677 Words   |  7 Pages A Party to Die For: â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† by Edgar Allan Poe No one can escape from the grip of death. This simple fact is the only thing that is truly known about any human life on this planet. We can try to live forever but in the end, everything was done in vain. The is a very common theme throughout the stories of one Edgar Allan Poe who was an American author during the mid-1800’s. His gothic style has appealed the masses even into the 21st century due to his dark settings and suspensefulRead MoreThe Romantic Age Of American Literature1725 Words   |  7 Pageswoman s rights. This age brought about American literature which was free from European influence and ties. The writers during the Romantic Age wrote mainly about the person, they included clear and concise descriptions of people and nature. Many writers like Poe wrote about supernatural events like the devil, evil, and horror. This brought on a whole new genre of scary, detective, and mystery stories. While Edgar Allan Poe wrote utterly twisted plots, as seen in works lik e The Masque of the RedRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe1555 Words   |  7 PagesIn his writing, Edgar Allan Poe has multiple uses of direct and indirect characterization. In The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor had rules such as â€Å"I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong† (Poe, 2). Poe used indirect characterization to show the reader that Montresor is an unreliable narrator because he justified hisRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Dark Poems That He Is Famous For?1423 Words   |  6 PagesEdgar Allan Poe Why did Poe write the dark poems that he is famous for? Almost every student has read either one or many of Edgar Allan Poe’s work. Poe is one of the best and most famous writers in American Literature. Professor Gene Doty of Missouri University of Science and Technology explains, â€Å"The meaning which the text has for the reader emerges from the interaction of the reader’s world with the world of the text† (Doty). Anything written is a context that includes the â€Å"writer’s feelings,Read MoreIn â€Å"The Masque Of The Red Death,† Edgar Allen Poe Describes1125 Words   |  5 PagesIn â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death,† Edgar Allen Poe describes how people fear death even though it is inevitable. Fear is a strong emotion where he taps into those feelings through his powerful creation of suspense. This short story took place in Medieval times. The author describes how Prince Prospero encounters death and thinks he can win the fight. His thoughts were concerned with death and show how metaphor ically it’s inescapable, but people continues to behave as if they are immortal. Poe’s shortRead MoreInfluences And Life Of A Tortured Soul1994 Words   |  8 PagesInfluences and Life of a Tortured Soul â€Å"Although dissolute in his personal life, when Poe touched pen to paper, he became a disciplined craftsman.† (Carnes 300). Edgar Allan Poe cemented his place in American literature by publishing countless poems and short stories, including â€Å"The Raven† and â€Å"Masque of the Red Death.† Poe effectively invented the detective fiction genre and perfected the horror story. His style, visionary as it was, was not with its influences. A life filled with tragedy, disappointmentRead MorePrescence of Poe1736 Words   |  7 PagesPresence of Poe Edgar Allan Poe is regarded as one of the great American writers in history. He had a unique way to present his stories, his imagination stretched into the darkest corners of his mind. One can say his characters were developed from personal experiences in his life. His use of writing techniques was ingenious and unsurpassed. These are just a few reasons why he is a permanent reminder whenever horror stories come to mind. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on JanuaryRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe : His Life Influenced His Work1093 Words   |  5 Pages Edgar Allan Poe: How His Life Influenced His Work Edgar Allan Poe was an American author known for his works of depression and misfortune. Throughout his lifetime, Poe would never gain fame. It was only after his death that the true genius of Edgar Allan Poe was discovered. Poe frequently used his life occurrences—as terrible as they were—to influence his writings. It is through his writings that one can delve into the mind of Edgar Allan Poe and discover how his life truly was. Edgar Allan Poe