The History of all Hitherto Society is the History of Class Consciousness

933 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social influence of The Handmaid's Tale

Because capitalism is the foundation upon which the rest of society sits, looking at any sociological data with a capitalist/Marxist lens is difficult. Because capitalism is at the root of modern society, all social things have small traces of capitalism. Though, Karl Marx may have said: “the history of all hitherto society is the history of class struggles,” the history of all hitherto society is the history of class consciousness (1848). Class consciousness, class, class struggle, and capitalism are all showcased in the film “They Live.”

The film and the rest of society show that there are classes within a class system. Though, classes have changed over the years, there is conservation in the system: haves and have nots, workers and non-workers (Marx 1844). They Live shows the different classes, through employment, appearance, consumption, and dialogue. This film, though regarded as an underappreciated masterpiece, presents an opportunity for the average movie-goer (I say average regarding the catch-phrases and fight scenes, commonplace in many mainstream movies) to critically analyze the capitalistic system at play. This film introduces the audience to Marxist theory in the same gradual way a formal class would. There exist different classes (squatters, construction workers, television executives, and the city elite) and that each class has different struggles. The struggles of the working class are not the struggles of the non-working class. The non-working class does not worry about “hot food” and “showers.” Once one understands that classes exist, class consciousness is able to occur. As shown in the film, class consciousness is the “rate determining step” of social change and revolution. The five minute 24 second fight ...

... middle of paper ...

.... West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

Marx, Karl. 1847. “Wage-Labour and Capital.” Pp.182-189 in Classical Sociological Theory, edited by Craig Calhoun, Joseph Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff, and Indermohan Virk. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

------. 1848. “Manifesto of the Communist Party.” Pp.156-171 in Classical Sociological Theory, edited by Craig Calhoun, Joseph Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff, and Indermohan Virk. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

------. 1852. “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte.” Pp.172-181 in Classical Sociological Theory, edited by Craig Calhoun, Joseph Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff, and Indermohan Virk. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

------. 1867. “Classes.” Pp.190-191 in Classical Sociological Theory, edited by Craig Calhoun, Joseph Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff, and Indermohan Virk. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

Show More
Related

  • Comparative View of Wealth Accumulation in America

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sumner, William Graham. What Social Classes Owe to Each Other. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1883.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Karl Marx's Writing Of The Communist Manifesto

    2472 Words  | 5 Pages

    Karl Marx 's writing of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ in 1848 has been documented by a vast number of academics as one of the most influential pieces of political texts written in the modern era. Its ideologically driven ideas formed the solid foundation of the Communist movement throughout the 20th century, offering a greater alternative for those who were rapidly becoming disillusioned and frustrated with the growing wealth and social divisions created by capitalism. A feeling not just felt in by a couple of individuals in one society, but a feeling that was spreading throughout various societies worldwide. As Toma highlights in his work, Marx felt that ‘capitalism would produce a crisis-ridden, polarized society destined to be taken over by

    Read More

  • Karl Marx Theory: Bourgeoisie And Proletariat

    2037 Words  | 5 Pages

    Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes, directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat. The Bourgeoisie was of the upper class, shopkeepers, property owners, upper class. The proletariat was the working class, earned minimum wage, labor is their only material value, lower class. Class rankings were apart of the European history as well as the future. Communist wanted to do away with rankings by the country being classless, yet owning nothing, earning just enough to live. This would make each person a paid wage labourer, no matter the title they carried. Marx theory was to live in a classless system and each person have a strong work ethic, as well as

    Read More

  • Marx (The Communist Manifesto) and Rousseau

    2059 Words  | 5 Pages

    Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, and Robert C. Tucker. The Marx-Engels reader . 2d ed. New York: Norton, 1978. Print.

    Read More

  • Unemployment in Australia Through a Conflict Perspective.

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    Temkin, G. (1998). Karl Marx and the economics of communism: Anniversary recollections. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 31(4), 303–328. doi:10.1016/S0967-067X(98)00014-2

    Read More

  • Marx And Marx's History Of Class Conflict In Society

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    For Marx, the society history of class was a history of class conflict. He observed the successful rise of the bourgeoisie, and the essential of revolutionary violence. He says that the heightened form of class conflict securing the bourgeoisie rights that supported the capitalist economy. Marx believed that the poverty inherent in capitalism were a pre-existing form of class conflict. He assumed those wage laborers are in need to revolt to bring about a more equitable distribution of wealth and political power.

    Read More

  • Rousseau and Marx: Property and Inequality

    1831 Words  | 4 Pages

    Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, and Robert C. Tucker. The Marx-Engels reader. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1978. Print.

    Read More

  • Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Simmel: The Relationship between Society and the Individual

    3473 Words  | 7 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • How Power Corrupts in Macbeth

    2635 Words  | 6 Pages

    Mann, M. (1993). The sources of social power: The rise of classes and nation-states, 1760-1914 (Vol. 2). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Read More

  • Social Class

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shortell, Timothy. "Weber's Theory of Social Class." Weber's Theory of Social Class. Brooklyn College, n.d. Web.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Class Status Party By Max Weber

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    This review can be seen in the example of someone who owns a small, local business not being seen as belonging to the same class as someone who owns a nationwide corporation, despite both people owning property. They are not seen as belonging to the same class because the large corporation makes a greater impact on society than the small, local business, and generates a larger income. Those who do not own property are differentiated in the same way by Weber, except this time he analyzes them based upon what kinds of services they offer and if they themselves participate in receiving services. In his final piece about class, Weber mentions class struggle. Class struggles are where people in the same class situation react, in large numbers, in ways that are an advantageous way to materialize and achieve their interests. Weber calls the factors that bring about class struggles, and determine class situations, markets. There are three types of markets that he mentions; the labor market, the commodities market, and the capitalistic market. The labor market is where people sell labor for money, the commodities

    Read More

  • Socialism and Communism Midterm

    2454 Words  | 5 Pages

    "SOCY 151 - Lecture 12 - Marx's Theory of History." Open Yale Courses. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Main Strengths and Weaknesses of Marx’s Sociological Thought

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    To Marx, history d... ... middle of paper ... ... 67 Jon Elster, Making sense of Marx, Cambridge University press 1985 C.Slaughter, Marxism and the class struggle, New Park Publications LTD 1975 Tony Bilton, Kevin Bonnett, Pip Jones etc.. Introductory Sociology 4th edition, Palgrave Macmillan 2002 Gregor McLennan, The Story of Sociology Ken Morrison, Marx Durkheim Weber, Sage publications LTD 1995 Fulcher&Scott, Sociology 2nd edition, Oxford university press 2003 --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] German Ideology, pp.8-13 [2] Karl Marx: Selected Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy, p.150, Pelican books 1963 [3] ibid, p107 [4] Karl Marx: Selected Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy, p.177, Pelican books 1963 [5] Essential writings of Karl Marx; p176; Panther Books Ltd ,1967

    Read More

  • The Industrial Revolution of England

    1659 Words  | 4 Pages

    Friedrich Engels, “The condition of the Working Class in England,” (London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co., 1892), pp. 45, 48-53.

    Read More

  • What Is The Positive Impact Of The Classless Society

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the American Social Classes in the 1950s: Selections from Vance Packard’s The Status Seekers, which was edited with an introduction by Daniel Horowitz, Packard discusses the the social construction of America in the 1950s after the Cold War ended and McCarthyism began to diminish. There was much too cheer about during this time period, but also much to worry about Mccarthyism and the atomic bomb produced fear among millions of Americans. At the time there was much economic growth and prosperity in the United States, and the baby boom occurred. This was a time characterized by fear of communism. Many people were dissatisfied by society and unsure how to create a better one. It was widely believed that this time period created a classless society. It was an era of abundance and economic growth. Packard believed that in reality, there was a drift in society and social stratification. Page 45 in Horowitz’s book shows Packard’s view of the social structure of America at the time, The Diploma elite being higher socially, and the supporting, or working and lower classes being lower. Page 45-48 describes each class in detail, from the “real upper class”, being “people who are likely to be on the board of directors of local industries, banks, universities, and community chests to to lowest group of people on the totem pole, being the

    Read More

More about The History of all Hitherto Society is the History of Class Consciousness

Open Document