Marxist Theory and Post-Marxist Perspectives on Society

Marxist Theory

Human beings are trying to cover basic need, biological necessities. Men are compelled to produce those things. Life from a Marxist point of view is the process where human beings first make products to satisfy their needs, and secondly make themselves making products. Marx defines us as workers. We express ourselves in labor, working. When the product of workers' labor belongs to other people, the workers' humanity is stolen or abducted. In private property, his product is separated from workers, he looks himself alienated. In human history, human life has had:

1. Material needs and scarcity poverty
2. Alienation

He is following Feuerbach to establish his idea of original religion, is the fact that human beings live with basic necessities, alienation, etc. human beings in history horrible conditions. Given this horrible existence, human beings create a perfect world, perfect imaginary emotions feelings behavior, and this is the original religion, this perfect picture of ourselves is god that we create for their consolation. Religion institutions establish moral rules, and these moral rules legitimize social order. For example, is the case of prohibition of violence, is a classic moral rule for Christians. Marxist approach to society in the second manifesto. All human society from the beginning has had the same structure, has two different parts: one oppressive majority and one repressive. National/social unity is false. Nationalism/national unity according to Marx is another opium to the people. Nation is used by oppressors to enslave the oppressed. In the modern age, industrial age, productive forces, the capacity of production grows faster than political institutions. While productives changes quickly the status of property remains the same, and it is a small number of people possesses all productive forces.

1. HUMAN HISTORY oppressive minority/oppressed (Bourgeoisie, proletariat workers)
2. MODERN SOCIETY thanks to technical advances there's an increase of production of products and faster. But the status of property remains the same, a minority owns all means of production.
3. Working class realizes what the situation is, and then the working class will rise against the oppressive minority and the system.

According to Marxist point of view is necessary, when they realize about its situation, the revolution comes. And then workers establish a dictatorship of proletariat. This revolution will be global or international. The first problem is that the working class was not realizing about its own situation, they didn't discover the poverty, injustice. The WWI shows everybody there wasn't an international working class and that the workers or working class didn't have a social order. The second problem is that revolution never happened and never happens, capitalism is not self-destructive. The solution is:

1. Social democracy. Capitalism is not self-destructive. We must recognize that the working class can't get together. Capitalism is susceptible to reform, we are able to improve the proletariat. We can solve the problems regarding proletariat conditions through trade union or political parties.
2. We recognize revolution won't come and there's no unity. Because the working class doesn't realize and revolution never happens. We need political action and one political party is Communist Party, we need a small group of people of professional preparing the revolution to destroy the capitalist system. This is necessary to teach and educate and mobilize workers.

FIRST SOCIALISM

First International 1864-1876 marx engles and classic, they created the national league of communist parties. It was fine, but  socialist                  around                the        world    started                the second  international. It was interrupted by the WW1, and it’s the moment here socislist family divides into two branches Breakup: 1.            Social-democracy still lives today was formed after the war.2. Communism “third international “, with the fall of the Soviet union it disappears. Marxist theory along 19th cent and early 20 the problems with the theory problem how to success in revolution

a. “Revolutionary theory”  provide ideas and practices in order to archive revolution and take power. Lenin theory (explains how to gain power in western societies; industrial and parialmentary societies. Mao (wondered the same problem of how to do it, he was working in another different circumstances. Tactics and methods must be different from Europe. Mao was a revolutionary war against the system and liberation war against the colonial power, communism in undeveloped countries includes one revolutionary meaning and one nationalist goal b.     the revolutionary action takes place in two different realms: 1.In political realm by political parties we can participate in elections but the sense is destroying the system. Another is Syndicalism creating leganl uions in order to archive revolution or political goals, or newspaper, every communist party have had it own newspaper in order to spread its ideas. 2.Non political/ legal activities. In Europe every country have had its own terrorist gropus, in itale for exsmple there was a communist terrorist group Red Brigadesin Spain was GRAPO. These must be adapted to the cirmustances.In Europe use political parties, syndicalism, and newspaper and propaganda.  POST-MARXISM According Gramsci, main political factor is the cultural factor what sustain political institutions, and social institutions . the true revolution is not political/military,is the cultural revolution, cultural wars” against the system. in order to change people's way of thinking to change the political system later. first author “post-Marxist”, 2 reasons, for him economy has less importance and cultural forces raise up. POSTMODERN THEORIES  Group of authors compounded by: -Frankfurt School (development in the 60s): famous authors such Adorno, Fromm, Marcuse. In these authors we can find three different elements: 1.                Post Marxism theory: not economical but cultural forces/revolution, Gramsci ideas. Problem of anomie/alienation, the lack of personality, lack of meaning of life, typical in societies which are hyper technological, bureaucratic, ruled by absolute free market, people being oppressed by the system moral problem.2.The second elements comes from Sigmund Freud. According him, human nature is based on instinctive and basic impulses ,instinct, or the libido. human moral, religion, culture and society stops this basic instinct; so Western institutions produce neurosis, because as we are limited on our nature. To solve it, the method of psychoanalysis. 3.The third is the behaviourism, all human behaviour is caused by external stimulation. Cultural and political environments determine the way people think and act in their lives. In public and private events, human behaviour is pre-determined. According this theory, two consequences: Current social order is causing human behaviour and More striking. from cultural institutions, we can change human behaviour. Revolution in cultural framework, adapting it to human nature. With these three elements, the authors built the critical-social theory. According to them: 1. The social, moral and cultural western traditional institutions are based on the idea of authority. authority is which leads human being to obey the cultural rules, the key concept in order to explain the social alienation and the oppressed libido. authority, it is the great obstacle from liberation. Inside family children learn obedience. So, from family the idea of authority is extended to society . Obedience in society has its roots in family. The problem which has to be changed is the family. Because changing it, we can change the whole society.