TOPIC: Marxism

WEEK 7

INTRODUCTION:

Marxism owes its name and origin to Karl Marx (1818-1883), a German
philosopher, historian, and economist. Macionis (2007) provides a very interesting profile
of Marx of how he revolutionized both the thinking and theorizing about the state and
society, and whose influence remains today.

The learners demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts

Content Standard
Performance Standard
Most Essential Learning
Competencies (MELCs)
21st Century Learning Skills
Core Values
and approaches in the social sciences.
The learners should be able to interpret personal and social
experiences using relevant approaches in the social sciences.
Analyze the basic concepts and principles of the major social
science theories: Structural-functionalism, Marxism, and
Symbolic Interactionism.
Critical Thinking, Communication, Career learning
Christian Witnessing, Social Responsibility

REFERENCES
A. Printed:
• Dela Cruz A.R, Fadrigon, C, & Mendoza, D. (2016). Disciplines and Ideas in the
Social Sciences: The Padayon Series, Phoenix Publishing House, Q.C, Philippines

• Gonzales, M.P. ((2016). Discipline and Ideas in the Social Sciances. Makati City:
Diwa Learning Systems Inc.

• Tatel, C. P. (2016). Discipline and Ideas in the Social Sciences. Sampaloc,

Manila: Rex Books Store, Inc.

Below are the Learning Targets/ Specific Objectives:

 Describe Karl Marx.

 Discuss Karl Marx Ideas.
 Identify the three broad explanations for the rise of modern Marxism.
 Write a reflection about wages in the Philippines.

Exploration of Prior Knowledge

Directions: Fill in the K-W-H-L Chart below to assess your prior knowledge and
understanding of the topic.
 What I Want to How I Can Learn
What I Know What I Have Learned
Find Out More

Skills I expect to use:

PROCESS QUESTIONS/ FOCUS QUESTIONS:

Below are the key guide questions that you should remember as you perform all the
activities in this lesson. You should be able to answer them at the end of the week.
1. What are the key concepts relevant to Marxism?
2. Is Marxism still relevant in today’s world?
3. What is the difference between classical Marxism and Modern Marxism?

CONTENT DISCUSSION:

: Describe Karl Marx.

Activity: Do you know who Karl Marx was? Identify as many as you can anything that
you can associate with Karl Marx.
 Who is Karl
Marx?

: Discuss Karl Marx Ideas.

MARXISM
 Owes its name and origins to Karl Marx
 Is a sociological, political and economic philosophy that is based on the ideas and
theories of Karl Marx

KARL MARX
  He was a German philosopher, historian, and economist.
 He together with Friedrich Engels co-authored the Communist Manifesto- a seminal
work reflecting Marx’s theory of the state and society.
 Central to his thinking is the idea of social conflict, “the struggle between segments of
society over valued
Resources

CLASS CONFLICT OR CLASS STRUGGLE

 Refer to the conflict between entire classes over the distribution of a society’s wealth
and power.
 Arises from the oppression of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie.
INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM
 The economy being created by the factory owners who are investing for factory
expansion.
2 CLASSES OF INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM
1. Bourgeoisie – the factory owners and capitalists
2. Proletariat – the industrial workers or laborers.
- People who sell their labor for wages
 The relationships between the two is a form of exploitation because the bourgeoisie gains
profit from the labor and services of the proletariat.
CAPITALISTS
 People who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits
 According to Marx, the end of capitalism will be prompted by the proletarian
revolution

CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS
  Workers recognition of themselves as a class unified in opposition to capitalists and
ultimately to capitalism itself.
FALSE CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS
 A mindset wherein the laborers will going to buy goods to the capitalists using the
wages they received from their employers and the cycle continues.
 This mindset allows the rich to further exploit the masses.
 To Marx “it is not people who make society unequal, it is the system of the capitalist
production and False Consciousness hurts people by hiding the real cause of their
problems.
ALIENATION – it is the experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness
Marx identified four ways in which capitalism alienates workers:
1. Alienation from the act of working: capitalism denies workers a say in what they
make or how they make it. Workers are replaced by and/or turned into machines
2. Alienation from the products of work: Workers’ product belongs to the capitalists
who sell it for profit.
3. Alienation from other workers: industrial capitalism creates competition in work
that prevents bonds of community to develop, hence, sets each worker apart from
everyone else.
4. Alienation from human potential: Capitalism prevents workers to develop their
best qualities as human beings
All of these became the foundation of what was referred to as ‘Classical Marxism”.

Classical Marxism
 the version of Marxism that was dominant for the first 100 years after Marx’s death
 consist of four related ‘isms’ namely: economism, determinism, materialism, and
structuralism.

 Marxism is Economist
 because it privileges economic relations
 it determines the superstructure
 Marxism is determinist because:
  it argues that economic relations determine social and political relations
 Marxism is Materialist because:
 it argues that material relations shape ideas and the dominant idea at anytime are
those that forward the interests of the ruling class, that is the owners and
controllers of the means of production
 Marxism is Structuralist because:
 it contends that structures, particularly economic structures, determine the actions
of the agents
 in this way the state has no choice, it acts as an agent of the ruling class.
MODERN MARXISM
 rejects economism; rejects determinancy, emphasizing contingency; rejects
materialism, acknowledging an independent role for ideas; rejects structuralism,
accepting a key role for agents; no longer privileges class, acknowledging the crucial
role of other bases of structured inequality; and to an extent, privileges politics.

: Identify the three broad explanations for the rise of modern Marxism.

THREE BROAD EXPLANATIONS FOR THE RISE OF MODERN MARXISM:

1. Marxists have responded to theoretical critiques from both inside and outside the
Marxist tradition,”
2. Such an economistic formulation has proved unable to explain economic, social, and
political developments
3. Economic, social, and political changes in the world have stimulated new theoretical
development

ANTONIO GRAMSCI
 Has emphasized the role of political or hegemonic struggle, the importance of
ideology, and the significance of agents in overthrowing capitalism.
 He believed that “overthrowing the capitalist state depends on a successful hegemonic
struggle
NICOS POULANTZAS
 Theorized the relative autonomy of the state
 His arguments is “that if the capitalist state was to function successfully as a class state
acting in the long term interest of the bourgeoisie, then it must retain a degree of
autonomy from the dominant class.

 If there is one critique of classical Marxism that significantly contributed to its fall is
its failure to offer a convincing explanation of economic, social and political
developments

CRITICISMS AND LIMITATIONS OF MARXISM

 GENERAL CRITICISM TO Marxist theory is that the ideals of communism- which aim
to establish a society with citizens being treated equally and enjoying a communal
ownership and control of property and resources- do not acquire a revolution to take
place
 Marx’s idea of historical materialism---- a notion which supports that technological
progress in the modes of production results in changes to society– is seen as very
limiting.
Critics argue that societal development takes place not only through material changes but
also through ideas, cultures and other aspects of society.
REVISED KNOWLEDGE: Actual answer to the process questions/ focus questions
1. What are the key concepts relevant to Marxism?
 Capitalist society is divided into two classes
 The Bourgeoisie exploit the Proletariat
 Those with economic power control other social institutions
 Ideological control
 False consciousness
 Revolution and Communism.

2. Is Marxism still relevant in today’s world?

In spite of its limitations, Marxism remains relevant. Marsh (2002, 171) identifies
three main reasons why.

 Capitalism still contains significant contradictions. In this way, it claims to be a

progressive force at a time when conditions in many parts of the world are getting
worse, in large part because of the activities of TNCs and international organizations.
  Capitalism is exploitative as Marx emphasized a century and a half ago.
 Nationally and internationally, societies are characterized by massive inequalities.

3. What is the difference between classical Marxism and Modern Marxism?

 Marxism is an idea which originates from Karl Marx’s views on capitalism, the
economic structure of the society and dialectical materialism whereby the focus
remains on class inequalities and exploitation due to economic hierarchies, the root of
which is capitalism. Neo-Marxists generally criticise the monopolistic and oligarchical
nature of capitalism rather than its competitive nature. Whereas Marxism focuses on a
stateless society, Neo-Marxists emphasise on the imperialistic and militaristic
government to prevent the concentration of surplus capital in the hands of business
elites— China can be more or less considered as an example.

FINAL KNOWLEDGE: Generalization/ Synthesis/ Summary

SAINT LOUIS SCHOOL

 Solano, Nueva Vizcaya
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL 1
_______________________________________________________________________

DBES LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET/GAWAING PAGKATUTO- A

Subject: Discipline and ideas in the Social Sciences

Teacher: __________________________

Name of Learner :
Grade Level & Section:____________________ Inclusive Dates: _________
Week No.: 6 Score : __________

A. Written Work/s:

Write a reflection about wages in the Philippines.

Activity: Reflection. All About Wages
Instruction: You will be given the chance to share your point of view on Resolved: Should
the Philippine government increase the daily minimum wage in the country? Yes or No.
Justify your answer. With the help of the guide question stated below, write/construct an essay
about it using your quiz notebook.

GUIDE QUESTION: What do you find as the most convincing reason or explanation why the
Philippine government should or should not raise the daily minimum wage?
Scoring Rubric for Activity 4
CRITERIA D E S C R I P T I O N

Very Good (3) Good (2) Poor (1)

Student was able Student was
to convey clear, able to
organized and convey clear
CONTENT
complete ideas and
on complete Doesn’t able to convey clear and
ideas on the complete ideas about the topic
the topic.
topic but
organization
could have
been better.
CORRECTNESS He/she gave a He/she gave The answer was out of the topic.
complete and a limited
correct answer answer and
more than what the ideas are
the question not properly
asked. There is organized.
an organization
of thoughts.