aims:
- to introduce a critical definition of ideology
- to introduce some of the basic principles of marxist philosophy
- to explain the extent to which the media constitutes us as a subject
- to introduce 'culture jamming' and the idea of design activism
'The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it' - Marx, K. (1845) Theses on feuerback. (theirs no point in thinking without following it with action)
Marxism is:
-a political manifesto. leading to socialism, communism and the 20th century conflicts between capital and labour
-a philosophical approach to the social sciences, which focusses on the role of society in determining human behaviors, based on the concept of dialectical materialism.
-marxism lead to the rise of the soviet union, also uprising in china and cuba.
WHAT IS CAPITALISM.
-a society where control of the means of production - the role of making money is revolved around a few people, everyone works to make a small amount of people money.
-A marken is where labour power is bought and sold
-Use of money as a means of exchange
-competition/meritocracy - (if you end up at the top of society it is because you were meant to, because you're better off..)
Communist Evolution
-Primitive communism - the tribe society - everyone worked together, everything was free, their was no greed..
however eventually hierarchies would develop, someone has something someone else doesn't.
Marx's concept of base/superstructure
BASE
forces of production - materials, tools, workers, skills, etc.
relations of production - employer/employee, class, master/slave, etc.
SUPER STRUCTURE
social institutions - legal, political, cultural
forms of consciousness - ideology
''The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class strugglers.' - (Everything - art, history, politics all can relate back to class and a certain political attitude.)
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‘In the social production of their life men enter into definite, necessary relations, that are indispensable and independent of their will, relations of production which correspond to a definite stage of development of their material productive forces. The sum total of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation on which rises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. The mode of production of material life conditions the social, political and intellectual life process in general. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but on the contrary it is their social being that determines their consciousness. ' - Marx, (1857) ‘Contribution to the critique of Political Economy’
(-society produces our lives, where we are in life we are forced into relations that we dont really have control of.
The base - determines the superstructure which the determines our lives.
Examples.
At a certain stage in their development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production ...
…From forms of development of the productive forces, these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution. - if you chance capitalism you will change our attitude to each other - ie, change our art and everything...
The State
‘…but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie’ (Marx & Engels (1848) ‘ Communist Manifesto)
- they think that the queen is incharge.
-the state act in such a way as to control the workers and keep them in line, either by controlling the way they think about theirselves of by shooting them. If the workers get out of line the army is called in to shoot them.
- they think that the queen is incharge.
-the state act in such a way as to control the workers and keep them in line, either by controlling the way they think about theirselves of by shooting them. If the workers get out of line the army is called in to shoot them.
Religion - is the ultimate trap for the worker in a sort of marxist reading. - ''religion is the opiate of the masses'' - karls marx.
The way in which a certain set of ideas masks of distorts, allowing you to see only a certain part of the world and creates in people false conciseness - we dont understand the true nature of society and our role in it.
The reason we are in this false conciseness is because of certain mechanisms which are in place.
ART AS IDEOLOGY.
people had this idea how art is one persons free impression however it has never been like that, in old days the only people who made art were the ones who could afford educations, women were never aloud to be artist, only white rich men make art.
Art is only purchase by Kings and Queens, so a culture of art is created for rich people.
Ideology in the medie, newspaper.
Rupert Murdoch claimed he could control politics, when news corp struck a deal with the labour party Rupert told his editors to switch the party they backed to labour and they got in power, then switch back to tories and tories got in power again.
The times is aimed towards the educated people, more politically focused, it even has it owns typeface.
The star is written by educated people but is just dumbed down, they write about things they think lower-class people would be interested in, football, tv and tits.
People read this paper and think it is the way their lives should be lived.
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Our society is unfair,
people had this idea how art is one persons free impression however it has never been like that, in old days the only people who made art were the ones who could afford educations, women were never aloud to be artist, only white rich men make art.
Art is only purchase by Kings and Queens, so a culture of art is created for rich people.
SOCIETY = ECONOMIC, POLITICAL & IDEOLOGICAL
Ideology in the medie, newspaper.
Rupert Murdoch claimed he could control politics, when news corp struck a deal with the labour party Rupert told his editors to switch the party they backed to labour and they got in power, then switch back to tories and tories got in power again.
The times is aimed towards the educated people, more politically focused, it even has it owns typeface.
The star is written by educated people but is just dumbed down, they write about things they think lower-class people would be interested in, football, tv and tits.
People read this paper and think it is the way their lives should be lived.
Commodity Fetishism
A commodity is therefore a mysterious thing, simply because in it the social character of men’s labour appears to them as an objective character stamped upon the product of that labour; because the relation of the producers to the sum total of their own labour is presented to them as a social relation, existing not between themselves, but between the products of their labour. This is the reason why the products of labour become commodities, social things whose qualities are at the same time perceptible and imperceptible.
Marx, ‘Capital Vol. 1’
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Our society is unfair,
-The assets of the worlds top three billionaires are greater than those of the poorest 600 million on the planet
=More than a third of the worlds population (2.8 billion)live on less than two dollars a day
-1.2 billion live on less than one dollar a day
-In 2002 34.6 million Americans lived below the official poverty line (8.5 million of those had jobs!)
-Black American Poverty double that of whites
-Black American Poverty double that of whites
-Per capita income in sub-Saharan Africa =$490
-Per capita subsidy for European cows = $913
Why do people not do anything about this?
Why do people not do anything about this?
