Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Social sciences

Marx's Theory of Labor Organization Under Capitalism

Transformation of Capitalism

Marx proposed to transform capitalism and its organization of work to establish a classless society. He believed this was possible because capitalism, despite its inherent structure of domination, had dismantled feudal institutions and the traditional organization of labor and trade.

From Trade Organizations to Industrial Production

Traditional trade organizations, focused on craftsmanship, gave way to industrial production. This shift aimed to produce goods quickly and efficiently, leading to mass production, lower prices, and wider accessibility for the population.

Taylorism and the Individualistic Mentality

The rise of industrial production also led to the emergence... Continue reading "Marx's Theory of Labor Organization and Engels' Interpretation" »

Homonymy

Three Ways in Which Homonymy Can Arise

1.1 Phonetic Convergence

Under the influence of ordinary phonetic changes, two or more words which once had different forms coincide in the spoken language and sometimes in writing as well. For example, meat and meet.

1.2 Semantic Divergence

When two or more meanings of the same word drift apart to such an extent that there will be no obvious connection between them, polysemy will give place to homonymy and the unity of the word will be destroyed. For example, pupil, meaning ward or scholar, and pupil, meaning the apple of the eye. Another example is collation, meaning comparison or light repast. It is difficult to say in particular cases where polysemy ends and where homonymy begins:

• If two words identical

The Application of Science and Policy

Marxist historical materialism investigates human society without ideological assumptions, based on empirical individuals and the relations established between them.^[7] Unlike approaches that show capitalism as a static system or as a product of natural evolution, historical materialist research reveals its historical character and therefore transitional nature in the development of mankind.

Marx and Engels applied this new conception of history to analyze political and social events of the past and their time. This led to a new wave of socialism, where the taking of sides by communism and proletarian class struggle compounded the scientific study of bourgeois society and the transition from this to a communist... Continue reading "Science, Policy, and Marxist Historical Materialism" »

What seems irreconcilable with the French Revolution—historicism and individualism, in that case identified respectively with societal privileges and rights, now naturally belong to the same family: constitutionalism, understood as the doctrine of priority rights and therefore the limits to government security purposes.

Individualistic natural law and historicism in America share a common path, essentially because they have to fight the same enemy: statism, i.e., the European synthesis, which also applies to England, joining power to make laws and sovereign power. The union for the opposite perspective of the American revolutionaries means valuing the legislator's position, and not a specific public authority authorized by the constitution,... Continue reading "The Interplay of Individualism and Historicism in the American Revolution" »

Peripheral Nationalisms

Throughout the nineteenth century in Spain, intellectual and political groups publicly differentiated the characteristics of the peripheral areas of the peninsula from the traditional state unit. These peculiarities were designated with the concepts of regionalism and nationalism, questioning the territorial structure of the state. The state model adopted by Spanish liberalism was centralized and unitary, continuing the model imposed by the Bourbons in the eighteenth-century Decree of Nueva Planta.

Faced with this standardization, a series of peripheral nationalisms arose, opposing it and defending their peculiarities as a people. They posed a new way to see Spain: diverse and multinational. Their origins lie in a cultural

Ancient Astronomical Observations

Early astronomers peered into the sky month by month, as part of a religious ritual. They noted that certain stars appear just before the sun and disappear immediately after it. These observations were repeated over the years, with meticulous measurements and annotations of the times and positions these phenomena occurred in the sky. This led to the conclusion that these cycles were repeated cyclically with each season. The sky, in essence, provided a large celestial schedule that allowed them to predict seasons favorable for hunting and navigation.

For the Egyptians, when the star Sirius appeared above the horizon before dawn, it signaled the approach of the planting season. The Babylonians, meanwhile, developed... Continue reading "Cosmic Chronicles: A Journey Through Astronomical Discoveries" »

Power and Politics

Politics is an activity by which people are socially organized, creating and modifying rules of coexistence that seek common objectives for all members of the community. Therefore, politics seeks to understand the ideal of life.

The Concept of Power

Power is the ability to change the behavior of others to impose one's will, even against their resistance. This influence can be exercised because it makes those who obey under threat or has been manipulated.

Levels of Power

• Firstly, power is the individual capacity or the strength we need to act. This is in order to make something.
• Secondly, at the interpersonal level: Power is the ability of someone to change the behavior of another person.

Power can be understood as a tactic or strategy... Continue reading "Understanding Power and Politics in Society" »

Spanish Enlightenment: Context and Characteristics

The spread of Enlightenment ideas in Spain was relatively slow and late, although it presented essentially the same features as elsewhere in Europe. Enlightened thinkers (ilustrados) were always a small minority among the Spanish population, and their actions were often more theoretical than practical. Despite this, they drew attention to significant problems. They cannot be blamed for the absence of a powerful bourgeoisie capable of adopting their ideas.

Characteristic Features of Spanish Enlightenment

The characteristic features of this ideology include:

• Employment of reason and criticism as a method for analyzing and improving social reality.
• Promotion of the national economy, seen as necessary

Understanding Materialism

Materialism refers to a set of theories that, throughout the history of thought, have argued for a fundamental principle: "there is only matter" or that "everything is reducible to matter." Since the concept of matter has varied over time and has not always been clearly defined, various kinds of philosophical materialism have emerged.

Materialism in Ancient Greek Philosophy

In ancient Greek philosophy, different manifestations of this philosophical trend are evident. Classical ancient atomism, embodied by Leucippus and Democritus, posited that there are only atoms and void. All of nature and the changes that take place can be explained by random shocks occurring between these indivisible, smallest units of matter, which... Continue reading "The Philosophical Journey of Materialism" »

Understanding Citizenship

Dimensions of Citizenship

Citizenship defines the relationship between citizens and the state. It expresses the defining characteristics of membership in the political community, involving rights (which the state must recognize, guarantee, and protect) and duties of citizens.

Cultural Identity and Citizenship

Cultural identity offers individuals a way to be recognized as belonging to that culture. The cultural dimension views citizens as members of differentiated groups within a state, raising the issue of minority rights.

Integrating Political and Cultural Aspects

The union of political and cultural aspects must maintain this distinction, as it is essential for a thorough comprehension of the modern democratic state of... Continue reading "Citizenship and State Power Legitimacy" »