English Culture and Literature
Jul 18, 2015
The fundamental premises of
Marxism the economic systems structure human
societies
economics is the base on which the superstructure of social/political/ ideological realities is built
all human events and productions have specific material/historical causes
theoretical ideas can be judged to have value only in terms of their concrete applications
Class System in Marxism
The proletariat
○ Individuals who sell their labour power
The bourgeoisie
○ Owns the means of production"
○ Buys labour power from the proletariat
(recompensed by a salary)
○ Exploits the proletariat
The class system in
AmericaUnderclass - the homelessLower class – the poorMiddle class – the financially establishedUpper class – the well-to-do “Aristocracy” – the extremely wealthy
Why don’t the economically oppressed fight back?struggling just to stay aliveoppressed even more effectively by ideology
The role of ideology
Ideology: a belief system/consciousness and perceptions within a society
Often controlled by the ruling class
Determined according to what is in the ruling class's best interests
Confuses the alienated groups
Creates false consciousness - real purpose is to promote the interests of those in power
The role of ideologyAmerican dream - “getting ahead” is thebelief in competition as a natural ornecessary mode of being
Classism - the higher one’s social class, the better one is assumed to bePatriotism - keeps poor people fighting wars against poor people from other countriesReligion - the poor, if they remain nonviolent, will find theirreward in heavenRugged individualism - pursuit of a goalConsumerism - can be “as good as” the wealthy if I can purchase
Ideologies
Human behaviour,
the commodity, and the
familyAlienated laborCapital - values into monetary equivalent
Relationship to the
commodity
Commodi
ficationSign-
Exchange
value
Exchange
value
Use
value
Conspicuous
consumption
Human behaviour,
the commodity, and the
family
Imperialism Colonies
Marxism focuses on the material/historical that shape thepsychological experience and behavior
Marxism and literature
the literary work might tend to reinforce
in the reader the ideologies it embodies,
or
it might invite the reader to criticize the
ideologies it represents
REALISM - the best form for Marxist
purposes/clearly and accurately
represents the real world
How to “do” a Marxist reading: 1. Look for examples of oppression, bad working
conditions, class struggles, etc.
2. Search for the “covert” meaning underneath the
“overt,” which is about class struggle, historical stages,
economic conditions, etc.
3. Relate the context of a work to the social-class status
of the author.
4. Relate the literary work to the social conditions of its
time period.
5. Explain an entire genre in terms of its social period.
6. Show how literature is shaped by political, economic,
labor, and class conditions.