Sociology Lecture 2

What under Capitalism is it that is so anti-human.

Essentials of Marxist sociology:
1) historical sociology
2) economic emphasis
3) inherently macrosociology (look at a totality of human beings)
4) critique & practice
1) society has a distinct past and future develops grand schemes
of historical development (feudalism capitalism).
2) structure of economy determines overall structure of society (if
you want to understand it: look at the labour process, sphere of
production everything else is the berbau superstructure,
causal path down/up, the life of ideas is not autonomous. berbau
therefore has no own history, completely derived from economic
basis monocausality in Marxist tradition (one key fits all, explains
everything else)
certain neglect of politics, culture etc. (less important berbau)
3) capitalism developed in the 19th society in England if you
understand the UK, you can explain the whole society of the world
through it.
4) Marxist scholarship exposes class exploitation seeks to
contribute. die philosophen haben die welt nur interpretiert, es
kommt darauf an sie zu verndern. (Michael boroughway is a
Marxist at Berkeley smuggled public sociology that is not aloof
and academic)
Capitalist class society does not just describe it academically but
criticizes it and offers an ALTERNATIVE. Proclaims the unity of theory
and praxis. Different from just academic sociology.
Of course Marx did not develop this theory out of nothing
Three intellectual main sources :
1) German idealistic philosophy Hegel
2) Scottish political economy
3) French socialist history
1) Hegel argued that history has a meaning, is not a random
occurrence of things has a logic, inevitable laws that underlie it,
has a goal (redemption, bliss, good society, realisation of reason
(verwirklichung der vernunft)). Marx would say yep then we have a
society in perfect harmony but it is not
ideas , that drive history

For Marx: economic drives history

History moves dialectically, form antique idealised society, where
people were blindly equal without any authority, than comes
capitalism and exploitation (Antithesis) and then comes the
synthesis (communism)
deeply Christian thinking
Deeply Christian thinking sin of apple, fall into sinn and shall bear
children and toil, new synthesis of return of the saviour.
Marx is deeply influenced by this.
2) Adam Smith, david ricardo: you have to study political economy
in order to understand society. The anatomy of brgerliche
gesellschaft is to found here. HE inherited what is the source of an
economic value? not demand/supply rather skills and effort
determines the price of a product in the end (labour, theory of
value).
3) history is a succession of class struggle.
Marx theory is a synthesis of this 3 influences three marxes
fighting against each other marx the philosopher, marx the
economist also visible, marx the political historical sociologist.
18th of Louis Bonaparte (napoleon the III) analysis how this putsch
was possible written under the head of being a journalist (had to
make a living).
Materialistic conception of history (wrong in many ways, almost all
of them actually).
historical materialism.
Men make history, but not just as they please.
They do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves
(but vorgegebene umstnde)
This was against the intellectual traditions of the time.
Common people did not figure in the academic history of the time
(marx brought them in history does not happen in the realm of
aristocrats, chivalry and churches, but CIVIL society true source
and theatre of all history).
Societal being determines their consciousness! he studies
ordinary life-process production/reproduction class is fighting
with one another.
Man make history through work.

Mode of production forces of production + relations of production

(with other people) inherent contradiction between forces and
relations of production
forces of production become socialized factory the entire
society congregates (all of society works together). Expropriation of
small factories at the very end a huge society factory at the
end one monopolist controls it all and has the whole profit at the
last then there will be social revolution. Der heiland ist da!
Anthropology + critique
Most important activity of human beings is work! Marx thinks that
through work, transforming nature to beauty we define ourselves
(very romantic view). Real work is taken away from the labourer
through division of labour cretinism.
Work as freie Aktivitt.
Man is a species being: (gattungswesen) true nature of human
beings is cooperation and community (to work with others as
species beings) look at capitalism rupture between individual
and collective individuals. Capitalism through Markets Marx
criticised that and though of it as a violation of human nature
rather interact without intermediation with other human beings.
Goal in future: The ideal society is an association in which the free
development of each is the condition for the free development of all.
he then invisions a society without state/law in communism. Law
is a bourgeois invention.
robots will take care of work of production
Quote: in communist society you hunt in the morning, fish in the
afternoon, criticize in the evening without ever becoming a hunter, a
fishermen or a critic.
BUT if you dont move with the group, the group will probably
crunch you!
Here the problem already enters!
Complete non conflict between group and individuals capitalism
violates this, but after it it will be resolved!