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economic and political philosophy of Karl Marx
philosophy of karl marx on economics in politics
economic and political philosophy of Karl Marx
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Determining Overdeterminism: An Informal Reflection
Economics has always been for me a system of curves. There are supply ones and demand ones and curves that would belly up or down. In every class, my high school Economics teacher, a man approaching his late fifties, would rail on about the wonders of capitalism. Being a two-time divorcee and therefore a man of the capitalistic world, he accredited the bulk of his knowledge through life experiences, particularly those involving divorce. I remember sitting through one of his classes and thinking that he resembled some type of new-born evangelist preaching to us about the awesome power of capital and what joy it can bring. I have always wondered, however, what the world of economics would be like without a system of charts that determine the outcome of lives. College started me off in finding other economic theories that contradicts what my high school teacher has ingrained in me for years: Neo-classic economics is unflawed and absolute.
ECON 100 is my first introduction to Marxian ideals which I find I relate to more than Neo-classic theories. The idea of overdeterminism is one aspect of Marxian economics that I passionately agree with. From the experience of living, I've learned that every action is the reciprocal of all actions in the world. The world is connected and operates for the greater good contrary to what Neo-classic theories state. These relationships are always in flux so narrowing down the determinant of an economic process would be impossible.
A splendid example of overdeterminism is depicted in Mississippi Masala. In the film, I see situations in Demetrius's life that parallel my own. What's interesting about Demetrius's character is that he internalizes a lot of conflicts within himself. For example, given the chance to go to college, he chooses to remain in Mississippi and take care of his father instead. Moreover, he takes on the role as head of the family and is counsel for his younger brother. The breakthrough in Demetrius's life was when he met Mina and fell in love with her. From there the course of Demetrius's life drastically verged because his relationship allowed him the time to reevaluate his life, and with Mina's added perspective, Demetrius was no longer afraid to start anew elsewhere.
The events that led to the collapse of Demetrius's business are examples of overdeterminism. By spending the night with Mina and being discovered, Demetrius got arrested which stained his reputation as a credible businessman.
Classical economics as postulated by the 19th century British economist David Ricardo states – in modern economic terms – that an economy will achieve its natural levels of employment (full employment) and reach its potential output on its own without any government intervention. While the economy may undergo periods of less than natural levels of employment or not yet reach its potential output, it will, in the long run do so. If Mr. Ricardo was still alive, his favorite album would be The Long Run by The Eagles (1979). Using modern economic terms to further describe classical economics, an economy will tend to operate at a level given by the long run aggregate supply curve. While many believe that the concepts of classical economics are for
Before the introduction of Keynesian economics and Milton Friedman’s Monetarism theory, there was classical economics. These economists believed in self-adjusting market mechanisms, however with that the market needs perfect competition. Wages and prices in the market must be flexible. These economists believe that supply and demand pulls would always help the economy reach full employment.
We know that the economic evolution of the contemporary world refutes a certain number of the postulates of Marx. If the revolution is to occur at the end of two parallel movements, the unlimited shrinking of capital and the unlimited expansion of the proletariat, it will not occur or ought not to have occurred. Capital and proletariat have both been equally unfaithful to Marx. - Albert Camus, 1953
Karl Marx passed away before the time where significant political change occurred. Today, we live in a capitalist mode of production where bottom line pressure is a significant and dominating aspect of the society in which we live. The further analysis will focus on how the documentaries, Requiem of the American Dream, The Illusionist, The New Economics 101 and She’s Beautiful when she’s Angry, relate to Marxist theory and prove the argument that Marxism is much more present today than it was in the past.
Before expounding upon these ideas, it is necessary to establish a baseline from which to view these topics. It is important to realize that we as humans view everything from our own cultural perspective. Marx speaks of this saying, "Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of the conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class made into a law for all, a will, whose essential character and direction are determined by the economical conditions of existence of your class."
"History is nothing but the succession of separate generations, each of which exploits the materials, capital, and productive forces handed down to it by all preceding generations." Marx resists any abstraction from this idea, believing that his materialistic ideas alone stand supported by empirical evidence which seems impossible to the Hegelian. His history then begin...
...inevitable triumph of the proletariat and then stop, even though history shows that the class struggle exits, there have been no signs of a global revolution. Another flaw is the suggestion that this would happen first in the most advanced economies as the final stage of capitalism however it has only been detected in less developed economies such as Russia and China. According to Marx’s analysis he claims that developed democratic countries will adapt a communist approach, but it is clear that the majority of countries today still live by capitalist approaches. He claims that capitalism will be eradicated and replaced by communism, but in fact capitalism still exists. Capitalism may however be different to how it was viewed in Marx’s time. This is because capitalism has adapted and evolved since Marx’s analysis but it definitely still exists. Marx’s analysis fails
Marx believed that humans have the want to be in a collective embroidered into their natural instincts. The Marxist thinkers also stated that capitalism needs and requires for the individual to battle other individuals. This leads to constant completion and does allow for a person to flourish in life. It is easy to agree with Marx on this issue. From an early age an American is brought up to believe in business and to do almost anything to make a dollar. We listen to stories of how hard our elders had to work to make end...
At the same time, there is Hedda Gabler, who is a product of social determinism. She was raised in an upper middle class ambient with different ambitions from the women at her time, where they supposed to stay at home and have kids. But just to meet the expectations of the society, she got married to a man that she never loved, and she started to live a life she never wanted.
The main example of this is the sad situation of Helena and Demetrius during the early stages of the play.
...s happened when we as humans tried to achieve the utopia Marx had envisioned, and the biggest question seems to be, will we ever reach that perfect society? In a world where industry has taken a back seat and change into communism still has not taken place, how would Marx change his theories, if at all? How do his ideas impact us now in modern times, arguably completely different from that of two centuries ago, and if not at all, would it be still important to learn them now? Another is that through his work, it seems as if social economics is the only factor in classes; is it really his opinion that no other social factors have an impact on the set up of society (Ollman, 2004)? If this was the case then, would it be any different now, after the development of various other theories to do with sociology? The questions, much like his ideas and theories, are endless.
There are two reasons help us to answer this question. Firstly, as it mentioned above, economics could provide supports to help people make right decisions. Everyone have to make a considerable amount of decisions in life and work, no matter they are politicians or housewives. For example, a wise politician makes use of economics theory to make economic decisions in order to run the country well and bringing prosperities to people. A smart housewife knows that breads’ and vegetables’ prices are economical in the afternoon under economics’ guidance. Some common rules hide incredible economics theories people might never notice because it seems so simple in the normal life. If we known these theories, we can take advantages of it to make right decisions at vital moment. Secondly, economics, as one of the most important subjects in academic circle, playing a significant role and affecting many aspects of our life. Before I study economics, I found many strange things whereas I can not explain by using common sense. For example, why are diamonds so much more expensive than water even thought water has vital importance to human existence than diamonds? Why does government levy taxes on merchandises to increase citizens’ financial burden? Why does the fast food restaurant drink can be refilled for free? After I learned the marginal cost and
Marx believed that the tables of historical change turn in a constant, linear progression. The formation of new classes, followed by their inevitable, natural demise was the story of the humanity thus far. Fueled by class antagonism, this engine of historical change will continue to run until the communist utopia is reached. The Communist Manifesto then is a teleological writing which argues that the "history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."
Marx’s perspective was not based on the conflict of ideas, but rather on the conflict of classes. This conflict is the results of a new mode of production. According to Marx, history would consist of epochs of modes of production. He states that these modes of production are: primitive communism, slave society, feudalism, capitalism, and then socialism and communism.
Neo-Marxists were starting to apply Marxism to the classic monopolistic economy. But there are two reason of the methodological change of Marxist economics.