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Ideology essay
Why is the study of culture important
Why is the study of culture important
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IDEOLOGY SAKSHAM SHARMA The lectures of reading culture have interested me in many topics about the study of culture. My topic is belief and ideologies. This is one of the important element of culture, as this let us know about the origin of ideologies and belief and how people adapt these things. One of the major factor I chose this topic is that I come from very conservative culture where people have different ideologies and belief so wanted to elaborate about it. Starting with one of the question about how the account of our social ideas arises. As I am from India, so people living there have thousand of belief which keeps wondering me about how those ideas arises and how people have accepted that belief. There are some beliefs …show more content…
For the answer of this question I prefer Althusser theory which argues Marx theory and say that in order to exist, a social formation is required to essentially, continuously and perpetually reproduce the productive forces (labor-power), the conditions of production and the relations of production. He further explains that reproduction of production relations is ensured by the wage system which pays a minimum amount to the workers so that they appear to work day after day, thereby limiting their vertical mobility. For the detailed explanation of his theory he classified state apparatuses in two categories Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) and Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). The ruling class uses the RSA to dominate the working class and it includes government, courts, armed forces, etc. social capacity of the RSA is convenient mediation to legislative issues for the interests of the decision class, by quelling the subordinate social classes as required, either by brutal or peaceful coercive means. The decision class control the RSA, in light of the fact that they likewise control the forces of the State. Whereas the Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) have a place with the private space of society — to temples, schools, families, and so on. Rather than communicating and forcing request, through suppression, the Ideological State Apparatuses strengthen the govern of the predominant class, primarily through belief system; individuals submit out of dread of social criticism, instead of dread of legitimate arraignment or police viciousness. We can say that whenever ISA does not work to control people, RSA enters and take its place. Therefore, different ideologies are used in order to control the people. For example – There is penalty of death for killing any human being. This penalty have been imposed in order to control people to kill someone which
Culture has been defined numerous ways throughout history. Throughout chapter three of, You May Ask Yourself, by Dalton Conley, the term “culture” is defined and supported numerous times by various groups of people. One may say that culture can be defined as a set of beliefs (excluding instinctual ones), traditions, and practices; however not all groups of people believe culture has the same set of values.
Marxism is a method of analysis based around the concepts developed by the two German philosophers Karl Marx and Fredrich Engel, centered around the complexities of social-relations and a class-based society. Together, they collaborated their theories to produce such works as The German Ideology (1846) and The Communist Manifesto (1848), and developed the terms ‘’proletariat’ and ’bourgeois’ to describe the working-class and the wealthy, segmenting the difference between their respective social classes. As a result of the apparent differences, Marxism states that proletariats and bourgeoisie are in constant class struggle, working against each other to amount in a gain for themselves.
Marx believes there is a true human nature, that of a free species being, but our social environment can alienate us from it. To describe this nature, he first describes the class conflict between the bourgeois and the proletariats. Coined by Marx, the bourgeois are “the exploiting and ruling class.”, and the proletariats are “the exploited and oppressed class” (Marx, 207). These two classes are separated because of the machine we call capitalism. Capitalism arises from private property, specialization of labor, wage labor, and inevitably causes competition.
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."
Marxism derived from German philosophers Karl Marx (also a political economist/ sociologist) and Friedrich Engels in the middle of the 1800s. ‘Marxism is based on the idea that society is defined by the conflict between the ruling class (Bourgeoisie) and the working class (Proletariat) and these beings the two main classes’ (Hart, 2013). It states that those who have money and power in essence control society, and those without ways and means do not; and are at the mercy of the powerful and wealthy. In addition, Marxism considers the working class inferior to the ruling class as they get paid the lowest kind of pay and are removed from their work and is and exploited by their bosses (e.g. owners of the factory). Marxism also looks at/examines the social structure (structurally) and says that capitalism will ultimately fail (most likely through revolution such as what was seen in France among 1789 and 1799 and in Russia in 1917). In reference to the study of crime, to Marx the law is not something that upholds the interests of everyone but only the ruling class for instance white-collar crime would be encouraged to be ignored. Contrastingly, Functionalism which was first introduced by Emile Durkheim in 1894 and gained momentum in the mid-1900s, and believed that unlike Marxism which is dependent on that of the ruling class in society, e...
Culture is an essential part of every human being. People can fall under the category of one culture or they can fall under many. Values derived from culture tend to reflect in an individual’s or a society’s understanding of what is wrong and right. In culture, there are many significant features. Some are material, such as food and clothing, and non-material, such as beliefs and ideas. These material and non-material objects help to push people into powerful roles and they maintain the power. With the power these people then have a strong influence on the beliefs and ideas of the lower people. They have the ability to alter and change their beliefs at any time and most times, they follow along with it. These ideas and thoughts have been in place for many decades, since cultural theorists, such as Marx and Habermas, began explaining them. They have been a thought for decades
Barker, C. (2000b). The question of ideology. In Cultural studies: Theories and practice (pp. 54-65). London, England: Sage.
The ideology of Marxism, established by German philosopher Karl Marx, is a collectively known set of assumptions of a political ideology, which focuses especially on analysis of materialist interpretation of historical development, or on class struggle within the society. The primarily approach of Marxism, nonetheless, was the critique of capitalism. The strength of his inquiry lies in belief of inevitable shift from capitalism and he aims to advocate the new form of ideology and economy, the socialism. The title of this essay is provocative as in today´s world, there exist many proponents who claim, the core of Marx conception of ideology is still relevant in the 21st globalised world. However, Marxism is relevant to the extent to which is it important to examine every political and economic conception, moreover if we are able to perceive its outcomes after the concepts has been practically applied. This paper is intended to assess key ideas of Marxism with observations of positives and negatives it brought and the reasons why the concepts failed.
In the Communist Manifesto it is very clear that Marx is concerned with the organization of society. He sees that the majority individuals in society, the proletariat, live in sub-standard living conditions while the minority of society, the bourgeoisie, have all that life has to offer. However, his most acute observation was that the bourgeoisie control the means of production that separate the two classes (Marx #11 p. 250). Marx notes that this is not just a recent development rather a historical process between the two classes and the individuals that compose it. “It [the bourgeois] has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, and new forms of struggle in place of the old ones. Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie, possesses, however, this distinctive feature: it has simplified the class antagonisms. Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie ...
Marxism is based on the political, economic and social theories of Karl Marx. His belief that the social class struggle had a major impact in history and that society should move towards a system where there are no classes. Marx believed that people are free, creative beings who have the potential to transform the world. He criticized the free market as being unregulated. Marx maintained that the market economy is coordinated through spontaneous purchase dictated by supply and demand. This blocked society’s ability to take control over both individual and collective destinies. He condemned capitalism as a system that alienates the masses. He reasoned that the market forces, not workers, control things. People are required to work for bosses (capitalists) who have full control over all decisions. The workplace, he said, becomes monotonous, humiliating, and suitable for machines rather than for free, creative people. In the end, the workers themselves become objects and make decisions based on profit-and-loss considerations with no concern for human worth and need. Marx concluded that capitalism blocks our capacity to create a humane society. In order to move society forward workers must reject and advance a market-based society and replace it with a democratic planned society. This is inevitable to advance society through history. Class consciousness is the awareness that a social class possesses and its capacity to rationally act for their best interest. Class consciousness is required before they can effect a successful revolution.
While Marx did not delve deeply into crime and criminal activity, he argued that laws were put in place by the upper classes of society to serve their needs, most important being the suppression of other classes. His influence has been prodigious where governments, including the Chinese and the Soviet Union, and a movement that call themselves Marxists who at some point were more than the number of Christians in the world (Rader, 1979). This illustrates his conventional yet controversial way of thinking that has reverberated across societies and institutions. The opening statement that was made by Karl Marx will be resonated throughout this analysis into the Marxist theories, giving an in-depth scrutiny of the history and background of this theory, highlighting the critics of the theory and providing an example of the theory. The theory’s validity in the modern world and if it can be sustained given the changes on his depiction of society and the society as it exists today.
In conclusion, it can clearly be seen through all of the examples posed that the belief systems of a nation can both directly and indirectly influence a nation’s people and culture. Whether it be negative, such as Legalism’s harsh rule causing revolts and Confucianism’s filial piety causing economic downfall, or positive, such as Buddhism reuniting the people of China and Daoism’s advancement in sciences, the correlation is clear. This influence has occurred in nearly every nation that existed, and likely every nation to come, as it all revolves around a single idea: all of the actions we take, and the products which sprout from them, are rooted from our beliefs.
The political philosopher believed that communism could only thrive in a society distressed by “the political and economic circumstances created by a fully developed capitalism”. With industry and capitalism growing, a working class develops and begins to be exploited. According to Marx, the exploiting class essentially is at fault for their demise, and the exploited class eventually comes to power through the failure of capitalism.... ... middle of paper ...
According to Marx class is determined by property associations not by revenue or status. It is determined by allocation and utilization, which represent the production and power relations of class. Marx’s differentiate one class from another rooted on two criteria: possession of the means of production and control of the labor power of others. The major class groups are the capitalist also known as bourgeoisie and the workers or proletariat. The capitalist own the means of production and purchase the labor power of others. Proletariat is the laboring lower class. They are the ones who sell their own labor power. Class conflict to possess power over the means of production is the powerful force behind social growth.
In the end, what we learn from this article is very realistic and logical. Furthermore, it is supported with real-life examples. Culture is ordinary, each individual has it, and it is both individual and common. It’s a result of both traditional values and an individual effort. Therefore, trying to fit it into certain sharp-edged models would be wrong.