English Culture and Literature

The fundamental premises of

Marxism the economic systems structure human

societies

economics is the base on which the superstructure of social/political/ ideological realities is built

all human events and productions have specific material/historical causes

theoretical ideas can be judged to have value only in terms of their concrete applications

Bourgeoisie Proletariat

Class System in Marxism

The proletariat

○ Individuals who sell their labour power

The bourgeoisie

○ Owns the means of production"

○ Buys labour power from the proletariat

(recompensed by a salary)

○ Exploits the proletariat

The class system in

AmericaUnderclass - the homelessLower class – the poorMiddle class – the financially establishedUpper class – the well-to-do “Aristocracy” – the extremely wealthy

Why don’t the economically oppressed fight back?struggling just to stay aliveoppressed even more effectively by ideology

The role of ideology

Ideology: a belief system/consciousness and perceptions within a society

Often controlled by the ruling class

Determined according to what is in the ruling class's best interests

Confuses the alienated groups

Creates false consciousness - real purpose is to promote the interests of those in power

The role of ideologyAmerican dream - “getting ahead” is thebelief in competition as a natural ornecessary mode of being

Classism - the higher one’s social class, the better one is assumed to bePatriotism - keeps poor people fighting wars against poor people from other countriesReligion - the poor, if they remain nonviolent, will find theirreward in heavenRugged individualism - pursuit of a goalConsumerism - can be “as good as” the wealthy if I can purchase

Ideologies

culture, in this narrower sense,

is the primary bearer

of ideology

Human behaviour,

the commodity, and the

familyAlienated laborCapital - values into monetary equivalent

Relationship to the

commodity

Commodi

ficationSign-

Exchange

value

Exchange

value

Use

value

Conspicuous

consumption

Human behaviour,

the commodity, and the

family

Imperialism Colonies

Marxism focuses on the material/historical that shape thepsychological experience and behavior

Marxism and literature

the literary work might tend to reinforce

in the reader the ideologies it embodies,

or

it might invite the reader to criticize the

ideologies it represents

REALISM - the best form for Marxist

purposes/clearly and accurately

represents the real world

How to “do” a Marxist reading: 1. Look for examples of oppression, bad working

conditions, class struggles, etc.

2. Search for the “covert” meaning underneath the

“overt,” which is about class struggle, historical stages,

economic conditions, etc.

3. Relate the context of a work to the social-class status

of the author.

4. Relate the literary work to the social conditions of its

time period.

5. Explain an entire genre in terms of its social period.

6. Show how literature is shaped by political, economic,

labor, and class conditions.

Marxism and literature

Marxist theory helps us see

the ways in which ideology

blinds us