Marxist Social Theory: Key Economic and Political Concepts

Key Concepts in Marxist Social and Economic Theory

Process of Social, Political, and Intellectual Life

Regarding the Superstructure: With this process, Marx insists that the superstructure is something dynamic that changes historically, just as the economic structure does. Social and political life refers to the political-legal superstructure, while intellectual life refers to the social forms of consciousness.

Social Production of Existence

This is the process by which man, through his workforce development, obtains a product to suit his needs.

Property

The right to enjoy and dispose of property.

Protection

An expression that refers to protectionist economic measures. These are used to protect the products within a country or region through the implementation of tariffs.

Social Reality

For Marx, the only reality is social reality; that is, the material or economic conditions in which men live. This reality determines the other elements of society and the individual.

Production

This involves foreign relations established between those involved in the work process, specifically in terms of whether they are owners of the means (social relationships), and how these agents work with the media (technical relations).

Foreign Ownership Laws

These laws jointly guarantee the legal and legitimate social relations of production.

Legal Relations

Relations regulated and guaranteed by the state legal system. These relationships are established between natural or legal persons. For Marx, legal relations, far from being an expression of freedom, legitimize relations of exploitation.

Social Revolution

A period that opens when the development of productive forces leads them into conflict with the relations of production, which until then had led to their development.

Civil Society

For Hegel, civil society, family, and the state are the three manifestations of the human spirit as it relates to others. Civil society is the link that families provide for their needs. For Marx, however, civil society does not arise from cooperation, but from exploitation.

Legal and Political Superstructure

The set formed by the institutions and laws designed to regulate and control the functioning of society.

Wage Labour

The factor which, along with capital and land, is involved in the production of goods.