Notesale: Turn your study into money

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MARXISM AND MATERIALISM!

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What is a materialist perspective? Discuss with examples
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Explain the concept of materialism and how it relates to an understanding of social relations and
material culture
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according to changes in material conditions are the primary
influence on how society and the economy are organised!
- how do changes occur through production?!
- social classes and relationship between them/political structures are founded on economic
activity!
- stages of economic evolution!
- primitive— feudal—capitalism—communism!
- nature is acted upon by humans are acted upon by nature- dialectical relationship!
- in production, people oppose themselves to nature by acting on the external world and changing
it, but through dialectical relationship they are changing themselves too!
- theoretical framework to understand human history as a systematic process of social production
and reproduction!
- empirical method used by Marx as a tool to understand history as a succession of processes
which transform, develop and are interconnected all based around production!
Infrastructure and superstructure **KEY**!
The base: all thing needed to produce (factories, material, land etc
...
)!
- mode of production= unity of forces of production and social/technical relations of production!
- thus, interrelated whole between people and nature- the way people relate to nature same
as the way they relate to each other!
- thus mode of production in society is the force with mobilises social change!
- new modes of technology= more effective social relations!
- process of conflict, exacerbating class struggle!
- to understand this better look at dialectical relationships/more specifically!
Anthropology relevance/criticisms:!
- goes against agency based theories in a nth!
- for material culture, fits well, emphasis on agency of object!
- goes against phenomenology, says: universal theories cannot be assumed, only through
individual experience can one understand something!
- criticism: Marx tried to make a theory of everything!
Foucault: post-structuralism rejects theories based on false premise of trying to find universal truth!
Geertz: there is no general theory of culture that can be study in Anthro!
Roseberry: Marx did not attempt grand model, just a materialist conception to events historically
posing questions on class, structure, social relations etc
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looking at capitalist mode of production from standpoint of production!
- in dialectics we find a completely diff concept of analysis!
- dialectical relation is an inner relation, not a causative external relation!
- opposite to Hegelian, Marx revolutionised the method!
- trying to dispel the mystified form of the dialectic purveyed by Hegel!
- using method to establish relations between elements in his system!
- in a way to capture fluidity and motion- impressed by dynamics of capitalism!
- heavily stressed dialectical movement!
- talks about labour process, not labour!
- value only exists in motion!
- capitalism is a process!
- 9/11 everyone had to get back on their feet or capitalism would stop!
- Jack Keroac- capitalism is perpetually on the road!
- dialectical materialism is a conceptual apparatus to try and understand motion!
- his concepts are about relations, transformative activity!
1) Subjects—objects- commodity fetishism!
- first dialectical relationship to look at, characterises all others!
Roseberry: main point of Marx’s materialism that men as they imagine themselves and are
imagined by others cannot be separated!
David Harvey:!
The dialectic:!
- relationship is an internal one, objects form part of subjects and vice versa but not the same
thing!
- mutually entangled!
- we know who we are, we use them, they use us!
- we live in a material world of things, entities, all materials impact us!
- materiality is pervasive, the elements= the clothes we wear!
- the way we think about the world is not free floating and boundless it is related to the material
conditions in which we are being brought up!
- Marx stresses impact of material world on the way we think about what we can do in the world!
- we are not free individuals!
Miller’s theory of objectification:!
- consumption as the exercise of defining oneself!
- expression of normality and normative values, structure emphasis over agency!
2) Production—Consumption:!
- links to the next dialectic!
**this is key**!
- impossible to start with money or labour, they come later, Marx starts with commodities!
- onion starts from the outside to go in, then comes back to the surface!
- economy at the heart, marx privileges the outside over the inside!
Production:!
- this mode of production underlines the whole of society and social relations!
- system of mode of production based on labour, theory of value, social value, economic value!

- base for which people live!
- the whole dialectic is based on the idea of the exploitation of the worker (proletariat) by the
owner (bourgeois) which creates the class struggle- exacerbated by increased production!

- labour thus becomes a commodity!
- and the world becomes divided into 2 spheres:!
- 1) social relations- world of home, kinship, personal!
- 2) world of work, all that counts is value!

- human essence is the ensemble of social relations!
- this creates an alienation of the worker from the product allowing commodity fetishism!
- objectification: process of creation through labour!
Commodity fetishism:!
- we are alienated through this relationship!
- forced relationships with things!
- our relationship with commodities is fetishised- any commodity we might buy doesn't have a
value, only value it has can be created through the human labour!
- profit that whole capitalist system depends on is basically just unpaid labour!
- the class divide is between bourgeois (the people who set value) and the workers!
- alienation of worker from product results in distorted values!
- value contained within object itself!
- no one knows the true value of anything, everything becomes distorted!
SIMMEL- economic objects that resist our desire are considered more valuable!
- its about space between pure desire and immediate enjoyment!
- the idea of commodification thus extends into ideas on property!
- Marx/Rousseau: property is the means to stable and legitimise inequality and unequal
access to resources!
- Woodburn- egalitarian societies overcome inequality by allowing everyone direct access to
resources/knowledge/skills!
- the whole system perpetuates inequality and is perpetuated by inequality!
Positives:!
- (although not at first) Marx later condemns the class system, in that the acquisition of misery
responds to the acquisition of wealth!
Criticisms:!
- go over Roseberry!

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Cultural materialism:!
- expands on structural explanation of materialism!
- defines culture as primarily formed by productive forces of infrastructure!
Structural Marxism!
Godelier- father of!
- the state as the direct servant of the capitalist or ruling class!
- the state works as a mechanism to regulate class tensions!
- institutions of the state must function to ensure longevity of capitalism!
- the state must function to reproduce capitalist system as a whole!
- does this reproducing the logic through social institutions i
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economic, legal, political etc
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subsides etc
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g
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- keeping them just about happy!
- this was meant to be a dev
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common sense banalities expressed with the help of unnecessarily complicated neologisms; 2
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some striking historical inexactitudes
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In 1980, sociologist Axel van den Berg described Kołakowski's critique as "devastating,"
proving that "Althusser retains the orthodox radical rhetoric by simply severing all connections with
verifiable facts
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Claus Offe averred that the class-character of the state could only be observed in an ex
post perspective
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Because of this, he criticizes structural theories
which attempt to prove the capitalist character of the state, claiming they do so on an unfounded
basis: because outcomes of the state's policies are empirically capitalist, it does not make the
State a capitalist enterprise in its nature!
Cultural materialism (focusses on using the material to understand ideological cultural
institutions):!
Marvin Harris (1968) The Rise of Anthropological Theory!
- influenced heavily by Marxism, more specifically structural Marxism!
- the infrastructure or base, determines the superstructure (organisation, politics, religion etc
...
g
...
g
...
!
- superstructure can also influence the base but the foundational economic structure is dominant!
- emphasis on idea of economy in Marxist theory!
Ethnography: The Tallensi (Worsley; 1956)!
- certain types of kinship are set by the fixed farm and the need for cooperation in agricultural
labour!
- study of culture through mode of production!
- cultural variation can be explained using ecological/technological differences!
Ethnography: Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches (1975)!
- Harris claims too simplistic that Hindus don’t eat beef because religion prohibits it!
- answer can be found in examining material conditions of the production and utilisation of cattle
in India!
- Infrastructure: lack of food for cows as India had a poor economy!
- Structure: Cows have economic importance in India as they are used to produce oxen
which are plough animals!
- Superstructure: cows are made sacred in Hindu religion to protect poor peasant farmers
against meat production industry!
- benefit of this: acts as a barrier between farmer and his cattle when there is a drought!
- evidence: farmers manipulate sex ratio of cattle!
Criticisms:!
- can’t explain the idealist of society very well, its far too materialist!
- Egocentric, places emphasis on the etic instead of the emic !

- too simplistic simply using infrastructure/structure/superstructure and disregarding Marx’s
dialectics and mutual causality between the two structures!

- doesn’t acknowledge the affect of the superstructure on the economic base of society!

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Utopian theory:!
- One can produce a better world through theorising – “the philosophers have only interpreted the
world, the point is to change it” – academic work should have a direct social and economic
impact !
- all research should help the world – research is morally grounded!
- Marxism gives grounds for change!
- utopian goal was to correct understanding of false relationship between people and commodities!

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Positives:!
- influenced people like LS in structuralism!
- historical materialism analysed structural forces engaged in change rather than events on
the surface!
- heavy emphasis on underlying structures!
- dialectical relations can be seen to influence use of binaries!
- at a time of neoliberalism and extensive and uncontrollable commodification, looking at culture
through the commodities we create and consume becomes very relevant!
- a commodity acts to stand in or replace relationships between people!

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Criticisms:!
- problems in application of Marxism in actual world!
- no society has ever done well under Marxism, e
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Soviet Union- this was followed by Stalin!
- counter argument: this wasn’t actually Marxism, Roseberry- due to error in interpretation!

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Roseberry!
Marx and Anthropology!
- began not with material conditions but the collective reproducing and transforming nature and
thus material conditions!
- Marx’s framework as structure of society and history- subsumed within wider range of
evolutionary philosophies and politically defeated!
- historical materialist framework to understand social structures in terms of labour and power is
valuable and creative!
- aspects that still stand:!
- forms/relations in society—>material existence—>creates (super)structures!

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Mintz (1986)!
Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History!
- Arabs began to cultivate the sugar cane, dev
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as when capitalism gains momentum, can
actually be seen here in feudalism!
- even if not capitalistic itself, plantations are an important step towards capitalism!
- developments integral to rise of capitalism:!
- creation of a system of world trade!
- colonisation!
- dev
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- for slaves its not just their labour that becomes a commodity but the human itself is bought
and sold!
- thus plantations cannot be categorised as capitalist- dependent on slave labour rather than
proletariat!
- Marx, writing on West Indian colonies, saw them as capitalist, arguing that the ‘business in
which slaves are used is conducted by capitalists’, although he follows that up by claiming that
these ‘capitalists’ are ‘anomalies within a world market based on free labour’ !
- It would be incorrect to assume that the plantations are ‘capitalistic’ in the same way 19th
century British factories were capitalistic, however it is also incorrect to disregard their
contribution to the accumulation of capital in world centers !

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Roseberry!
Yuppie coffees!
- Marxist understanding can help with relation between contemporary forms of consumption and
relations of commodity to consumer!
- e
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modern coffee market- shift from generalised coffee to a specialised market!
- proposes coffee can be used as a window into the relations and social transformations that take
place in the workings of the capitalist system!
- Appadurai: the trend shows emergence of new fetishism of the consumer!
- agency comes from the producer/forces of production!
- thus notion of agency of consumer is illusory!
- we do not form our tastes, they are formed by marketers!



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