Few philosophers inspire more vitriol and enmity across the political divide than Karl Marx. Nowadays, the epithet “Cultural Marxism” is invoked by people who have never read a word of Marx’s work to explain what they perceive to be “woke” politics in universities.
According to this criticism, university professors are fixated on race, class, and gender. And this is a problem, how? Social scientists study “social groups” and “social problems.” Not surprisingly, the social factors that provide the most explanatory power for those problems are social identities (race, class, and gender are the strongest of all). When this critical academic disciplinary focus is further directed toward group power dynamics (social inequality), it tends to be dismissed as “political correctness.” Not surprisingly, we find that it is precisely when members of groups who have historically not enjoyed dominant social positions (access to social power) actively challenge speech acts that reinforce the unequal power dynamics that oppress them, this is met with cries of “cancel culture.”
Conflating Marx with liberalism distorts his work in a way that actively undermines one of the aims of his work, which is to call attention to the material basis for power relations in society (the “materialist conception of history”).
To read Marx, it is often said, where one might argue that society doesn’t always offer everyone a fair chance to get ahead is nothing short of a communist plot. Some of the stock arguments against him and his theories of economy and society tend to fall along the lines of “he’s the father of Communism” or “he’s the guy that says everyone should be equal and not own private property.” Crucially, Marx emphasizes here that ordinary people, even those that feel exploited and oppressed, can act collectively to make history–a better history–provided they are willing to exercise their agential capacity to do so.
The videos posted below, each in their own way, address issues in connection with social organization, wealth distribution, and social inequality. In the first video, you are presented with an RSA animation short narrated by David Harvey (your professor’s professor), Distinguished Professor of Geography at the CUNY Graduate Center. Harvey explains how Marx’s work continues to be relevant in the present day in terms of its ability to explain the contemporary crisis(es) of capitalism.
Continuing with a critique that is not unlike Marx, another video introduces Carl Gibson, who gives us a college-aged person’s take on how the governing system works (warning: adult language).
All of the videos are addressing the same important problem: social inequality and its relation to capitalism, social organization, and change. They all echo the basic sentiment that lies at the heart of Marx’s argument: people need to wake up and get on with the business of re-making our social world – because capitalism is not the solution, it’s the problem.
Discussion Questions
What do you think about the issue of social inequality? Are unequal outcomes and social differences “natural,” which is to infer that they are a simple product of individual drive, talent, and effort? Is it fair to assume that all poor people are poor because they did/do not work hard or smart?
Do you think that policies aimed at wealth “redistribution” are an example of Marxist/socialist efforts to take money away from people who earned it so that it can be given as a “handout” to people who did not earn it (i.e. welfare recipients); or do you think social welfare policies and aid to the poor might are necessary to help counteract the disproportionate influence that wealth and power exert on the political process?
Do you think capitalism is helping or hurting people?
How might Marx’s work be used to help explain contemporary social problems? How does the Occupy Movement’s message resonate with Marx’s thinking?
How do the arguments of Brand and Gibson resonate with Marx? What are they saying about the “fetishism” of channeling our social collective energies into non-violent electoral politics? Is this form of direct action in our present day politics merely a symbolic acting out of citizenship as Brand implies?
Do you think voting matters anymore, or does the current state of affairs call for a more direct, and some would argue (Marx and Gramsci among them) violent overthrow of the current system?
Do you think people who are comfortable with the status quo don’t like it when others come along and challenge the system of rewards in society – and even worse, when they advocate reforms that would help people born outside of that system have a chance to access its reward structures?
What do you think we might do to reform the current system?
Where does social change/reform come from in society–from “above” or “below?”
Do you think it might be in the interest of some members of society to keep others (particularly young college students) in the dark and confused about the actual substance of Marx’s political philosophy?
Question: Do you think capitalism is helping or hurting people?
David Harvey’s video on the Crisis of Capitalism beautifully illustrates what capitalism is which is a bunch of greedy people who do not care about not only the people, but the economy itself. Capitalism is hurting people even though it is not physically (yet, there could still be a revolution), it is hurting them as human beings. People work hard everyday JUST TO SURVIVE and capitalists are just being greedy and wanting some extra profit by exploiting the lower class of their labor! They will soon see that it will hurt them in the long run when the economy fails. And the economy fails is when they’ll just extort more money and we will be left with nothing! Forget about them hurting us, they are also pinning us against each other.
In Weber’s “Class, Status, and Party”, he states that there are types of “Class Struggles” and one that pertains to this topic is the fact that “class does not in itself constitute a community”. Which is true, while McDonald workers are about to get a raise of $15 per hour, paramedics (I believe) are complaining that it is not fair! They save lives and people who flip burgers almost get paid as much as they do. This creates conflict of two professions that are in the proletariat class against each other. Even though they are both in the same class, they are more concerned about butting heads instead of getting more money themselves.
I have also looked into the Taylor law that you mentioned in class which prohibits strikes by public employees, and it is horrible! They are basically keeping working class people as slaves! We are all slaves and making their life (bourgeois) better!
https://www.goer.ny.gov/GOER_Information/Taylor_Law.cfm
We really need to stand up, not for each other but for the world too! David Harvey displays this in his video that what effects us,effects the world! Don’t let capitalism win!
I couldn’t agree more with Soren Goard, in his video ” Shit Does Not Just Happen”. He argues that people have that sort of mentality when something bad happens or as a response to the exploitation, inequality and oppression. The: ” Well, that’s life”; is the current state that accepts to be part of the dysfunctional mechanisms of capitalism in a modern society. Situations not just happen and are formed of thin air. For everything there’s a cause and effect. I agree that people need to look at history first to understand why and how we got here.History is a weapon indeed. By learning our history we can end up with a collection of facts that are necessary to make smart decisions as well as take action into make change. History influence our world perceptions and without a doubt allows us to relate to change. History is one of the best weapons we have to empower. We have moved from hunting and gathering, through an agrarian society, to an industrial and commercial society. Knowing which are the causes that led to the economic development of our society, understanding class, authoritarianism, monopolistic tendencies, private property, wages, etc; is how we will be able to take the blindfold off our eyes to finally, unite to fight for change, freedom and equality.
Q: Do you think that policies aimed at wealth “redistribution” are an example of Marxist/socialist efforts to take money away from people who earned it so that it can be given as a “handout” to people who did not earn it (i.e. welfare recipients); or do you think social welfare policies and aid to the poor might are necessary to help counteract the disproportionate influence that wealth and power exert on the political process?
A: I would like to think that people who are advocating for wealth “redistribution” are doing it for pure reasons. There is no way to know if each and every person who supports reform and policies to continue to aid social welfare is in actuality a socialist or communist. Those are political labels that have historically been reviled as dangerous and anti-American. At the same time, I can understand why diehard supporters of capitalism are threatened by the idea of their wealth being reduced. Our country was founded on freedom, independence, and individualism. Along with those ideals naturally comes the desire to better ourselves. Some of the ways we seek to do that is, of course, by gaining wealth through ownership of capital – whether in the form of property holdings or tangible funds/stock ownership, etc. I don’t think capitalism is a bad economic system, but allowing our political system to be influenced by the richest people in the world is, on its face, dangerous and patently unfair. It is naïve to think that we have a completely unbiased and democratic political government when votes are clearly bought and paid for by dominant, powerful individuals/corporations/organizations that have massive wealth and thereby can, behind the scenes, influence policies that benefit their goals. I strongly believe that the United States is in poor condition because there is such an imbalance between the minuscule population that holds most of the wealth, and the ever-weakening middle class, lower class and poor. The poor and lower classes are marginalized and segregated into the worst areas and unless things change in a major way I fear there will be increasing social unrest that could lead to violence. Rome didn’t fall in a day. For the last 20 years, our economic situation has been bad – not for Wall Street, tech companies and big business – but for the rest of U. S citizens. A strong country and a just society should have concern for all of its citizens as much as possible. Everyone should have health insurance; socialized medicine in this country would be a good way to start. Sure, there are people who will work the system and shamelessly collect welfare benefits when they are able to work, but that is not enough reason to turn our backs on our fellow citizens when they need assistance. During the Depression, some economists like John Keynes said there are times when government must step in and help or else things could not get better. The New Deal basically created jobs for people who then had some money to bring to the market, which then stimulated the economy. At the risk of sounding corny, most people just want a decent place to live and enough money to provide for their families without constant worry about paying their bills and affording to go to the doctor. Satisfied and content people make for a stronger society. So does compassion for each other. I believe in humanity and what makes us alike and our policies should reflect respect for everyone.
My answer to this question would be a hard “yes” that social welfare policies are necessary because of the disadvantages those at the wrong end of the social ladder endure. It seems simple to me that those with power and money get what they want to further their agenda, and the rest of society suffers as a result. It is over-simplifying to accuse social welfare proponents of taking away from earners to give handouts to bums. That is just rhetoric to keep people indignant against the less advantaged.
Of course capitalism is helping some and hurting others. Capitalism is designed that one gains at another’s expense. This constant conflict between the wealthy (owners of the means of production) and the working class (works for the means of production) is essential in capitalism. So as the wealthy gain tons and tons of wealth, the masses suffer from low wages, minimum benefits, etc. Russell Brand brings an extremely important point about voting. He doesn’t vote because he says it never ends, the two candidates are always people who don’t want to help the workers. I never saw it that way, but I understand where he’s coming from. It still is important to vote otherwise we have no choice and will probably get the worse of the two candidates. The interview with Brand was interesting because the interviewer did not show much respect for Brand being a spokesman for the cause. He felt that because he’s a comedian, he doesn’t know what’s best, what’s going on, and not qualified to access the issues. This relates to the masses in the sense that, I do not think that the wealthy want us to be informed. Because they control the media, they can easily manipulate the people to believing their perspective. It’s difficult to be well informed by only watching one news channel, for it usually will only tell one side of stories. I do not think that people who are comfortable with the status quo system of rewards in society are likely to advocate for reforms that would help people born outside of that system access its reward structures because that would take away some of their rewards. The wealthy are making tons and tons of money; their greed only increases, wanting more and more. They don’t care about the well being of their workers because we can be dispensable. This is why I think it’s in the interest of some members of society to keep others in the dark and confused about the actual substance of Mark’s political philosophy. If everyone knew the truth about how capitalism works and how much the wealthy exploit us, they would agree with Marx that we must unite and revolt. That is the only way for change!
Capitalism hurts people because they are able to take advantage of the other people’s misfortune. The middle classes are struggling while working longer hours but still gets the minimum wage. The “American Dream” is hard to achieve while everyone is struggling to pay bills on a daily basis. However, for the capitalists, they are already living the American Dream so they don’t have anything to worry about. As the wealthy gets wealthier, the poor and the middle class has very little to no opportunity to either move up in the wells or grain any possible wealth. I agree with Russell Brand that people who are wealthy has more power than others. Because they are wealthy, they simply have power. It is ironic because Russell Brand is an actor who makes a lot of money to speak up about these issues that is happening in our country. Also since the wealthy control mostly everything, they have opportunities to grow more by investing and using that money and gain more wealth but the middle class and the poor do not have that opportunity to constantly keep investing or having the ability to circulate our money to gain more money.
1. What do you think about the issue of social inequality? Are unequal outcomes and social differences “natural,” which is to infer that they are a simple product of individual drive, talent, and effort? Is it fair to assume that all poor people are poor because they did/do not work hard or smart?
2. Do you think that policies aimed at wealth “redistribution” are an example of Marxist/socialist efforts to take money away from people who earned it so that it can be given as a “handout” to people who did not earn it (i.e. welfare recipients); or do you think social welfare policies and aid to the poor might are necessary to help counteract the disproportionate influence that wealth and power exert on the political process?
3. Do you think capitalism is helping or hurting people?
I believe that being raised in this society, it is easy for people to fall into the trap of believing that people who are wealthy have drive, are intelligent and earned it, and that those who are poor are so because they don’t want it enough, are lazy, and/or not smart. However, how many rich people are rich because they were well funded by their rich parents? People assume that rich people all work hard for their money. That isn’t to say there aren’t any that do, but certainly not all of them. More often than not, rich people are friends with rich people, as Marx would say, they’re working in their class interest. So when someone falls, there’s enough money in their social circle to lift them back up. However that isn’t the case with poor people. Poor people, while there may be few that fit the stereotype, more often than not, they’re alienated from their jobs, plagued by the everyday struggles rich people don’t have to worry about; like where their next meal is coming from. I think it’s a flaw in the system that this paradigm exists because rather than giving everyone an equal chance to prosper, it keeps all the money in one corner leaving those who have little to nothing to fend for themselves. Sometimes poor people can be so smart, but have to opportunities readily available for them to better themselves. Everyone says that if you want it bad enough, if you work hard enough, you can work your way up the ladder. But realistically, that doesn’t happen. Capitalism is in fact hurting people more than it is helping them because in the endeavor for more profit, wages get lower, hours get longer, and workers are treated like tools rather than people. People can work hard every day, but at the end of the day, their money goes to things like bills and their children. Poor people usually live paycheck to paycheck trying to just get by. Marx said that there ought to be a revolution among the proletariat against the bourgeoisie, but by the time workers get home from their long hour, little pay jobs, they’re too tired to do everyday chores much less revolt. You have people saying things like welfare recipients are lazy, and that they only use welfare so they don’t have to work, etc… but a lot of the recipients on welfare are people with felony charges that can’t get jobs, or women who’s husbands/ partners are in jail and they’re raising children alone; things of that nature. People who can’t afford to own the means of production get blasted work for capitalists who pay them little, then complain that they need government assistance. I don’t think welfare is considered a handout. I consider rich people getting bailouts from loaded family and friends to be more of a handout.
Do you think that policies aimed at wealth “redistribution” are an example of Marxist/socialist efforts to take money away from people who earned it so that it can be given as a “handout” to people who did not earn it (i.e. welfare recipients); or do you think social welfare policies and aid to the poor might are necessary to help counteract the disproportionate influence that wealth and power exert on the political process?
I think in this day and age with the distribution being so one sided, its hard to say how to fix it. I agree that these social welfare policies are necessary to aid the poor. For the most part, a lot of poor people want to make a good income and support their family but lack the opportunities to do so. By helping them more, it can benefit not only them, but the people and community around them. The un even distribution of wealth is something that has been problematic for awhile now and needed to be paid more attention to for it to change. On the other hand, I don’t think the poor people should be able to rely on this money for their rest of their life. I think it should be more like a stepping stone to help them adjust into making a living on their own.
Do you think voting matters anymore, or does the current state of affairs call for a more direct, and some would argue (Marx and Gramsci among them) violent overthrow of the current system?
In my opinion, I agree with what Marx says about the overthrowing of the current system. We have been voting for how long now and there hasn’t been much of a change. The people with the majority of the wealth are paying off people who stand up for a change and preventing a movement from happening. Even though an overthrowing of the current system might cause chaos, there is little change being done as of today and it might just take this chaos to bring equality back into the system.
Do you think it might be in the interest of some members of society to keep others (particularly college students)in the dark and confused about the actual substance of Marx’s political philosophy?
I think it only benefits the wealthy to keep college students in the dark about Marx’s ideas. We as a society need to be knowledgeable and have the right to know whats going on. We are the future of the world and maybe by knowing the philosophy Marx talks about, we can make a change. Marx brings up good points and valuable ones. I think it goes to show how important his philosophy is because the wealthy are scared of people learning about his ideas. There is truth to what he is saying and we deserve to know/learn about it.
I do not think that social inequality is natural, but rather an effect of policies which continually support those who are already secure in society. This is the case as such policies are effectively promoting a particular lifestyle and set of norms, which thereby set the ideal standard for members of the society to work towards. It is not rational to say that inequality is purely the product of drive or talent, as those who are in lower classes certainly do not wish that kind of life upon themselves. Seeing as this situation is the case, I do believe that capitalism is harmful. By establishing a culture that values the larger system and the structure above the individual workers, it is too easy to lose the goal of fostering community and humanity amongst society members, and instead focus on the goal of expanding capital and markets by any means necessary. Consequentially, smaller, suffering populations are left to figure out means of survival while capitalism continues to grow in favor of those at the top.
To broach the topic of voting, as Russell Brand did in the interview, I do largely agree with the points that he makes. The system of government and electing officials that is currently in place is doing little to nothing to make a change in the places that a change would be more immediately needed. While I do agree that the only real way to make a point is to remove yourself from the system entirely, I also believe that making a dramatic point is not nearly as effective swaying policy makers could be. Our nation is too entrenched in the current system of representation for any rebellion to do little more than create a period of uncertainty. Also, I find it concerning as capitalism is much stronger than simply those holding current successful positions, therefore ousting wrongful “leaders” is far less impactful than a gradual redesign of society would be, in the ideal situation.
I belive that capitalism is definitely hurting people. Not to sound too cliche, but the rich continue to get rich while the poor continue to get poor. The behaviors of capitolist are left unchecked, which end up having massive effects on the rest of society. Marx’s thoery of surplus value essential describes to us that when capitolist make a profit they are srealing stealing value whch is produced by labor that is produced by the working class. Capitolism produces jobs however wages payed to employees, especially at the minimum wage level are not substantial enough to survive off of comfortably. The exploitation of labor by major coorporations causes workers to become isolated and alienated. Those who are at a disadvantage are basically forced to succumb to capitolism because they become complacent in there work positions because their wages are stagnant and there is no social mobility, which causes them to work check to check hoping not to drown in the huge sicial inequality gap that continues to grow. Capitolism forces adults to work their fingers to the bone trying to provide for thier familes, earning not even a forth of what their CEO’s and company president do. Capitolism forces people to concentrate on nit losing thier jobs so that they do not ban together, recignize the errors in social and economic classes and like Marx theorizes, have a “revolution” to break from thier capitolist opressors.
I would consider myself in all aspects part of the middle class. Because my parents are divorced, I see myself as mostly upper middle class because of my step dad and his successes. However, when I am with my dad I consider myself just regular middle class. This leaves a very confusing position for my sisters and I, since we would not get the opportunity to go to private colleges or even go to college at all if it was not for my step father. I know for myself I do not blame those who struggle, because as a student studying sociology and for how I was raised I know you need to work hard to obtain success in life, however I know that sometimes people in a lower class do not ever see the opportunity to do that. I think that it does make it difficult for me to relate to those who feel exploited by their own economic standing because I do not know what it feels like to feel “stuck” or to be in a position for the soul fact that you were born into it. People think that it is so easy for those in the lower class to just take themselves out of those positions, and that if they do not, they are being lazy. However if somebody does not have the proper education, for example, how to speak at interviews, they are not going to get hired even in a low paying job. If they do not have the proper money, they are not going to dress appropriately for these interviews, and if they were going to get a job, they would be paid less than desirable wages because their employer can get away with that because they are so desperate for money. These problems then result in these people not feeling that such a low paying job is even worth it, thus resulting to quick, uneducated easy money, and the vicious cycle continues. Although I can not relate to these people, I can see that it is a continuous issue based on our countries capitalism, and in order for those in higher power to stay in higher power, they need it to continue to stay this way. When the economic structure of our society is so flawed, it gives those with the upper hand more reason to continue to keep it that way, because they do not feel this struggle and they have the power to continue to live the lifestyles they desire. In my opinion, nothing is going to change any time soon; those who struggle will continue to struggle and those in power will continue to pretend that it is their own fault.
Do you think capitalism is helping or hurting people?
To be honest I’ve never put much thought into these issues until now. From what I think capitalism is I think its hurting people. I may be wrong or I might be right but I say that because when things are controlled by private owners first off it takes away jobs. They control who works and most of the time they past their business down from generation to generation making it hard for anyone who isn’t born in the 1% as them to get there. When there is not enough jobs that leads to more poor people one of the biggest problems America is facing today. Not only are they taking away jobs but the jobs they do provide a lot of people don’t pay that well another way they make it hard for people to survive.
Do you think voting matters anymore, or does the current state of affairs call for a more direct, and some would argue (Marx and Gramsci among them) violent overthrow of the current system?
I do think voting still matters but in a way I don’t. I don’t because why does it matter when neither of the people your voting for have the same views as you or fights for your people. on the other hand I do think it matters because one is always going be better than another and if those are your options of course your going to go with the better candidate.
I think that social inequality is evident in our society for the mere fact that social classes exist. Not everyone is presented with the same opportunities. Marx’s theory shows that individuals’ behaviors and opportunities are a result of their structure and economy. It is clear that one’s economic status determines one’s class. If someone does not have a lot of money then they are placed into the lower class and vice versa for the wealthy and middle classes. If there were no social inequality then everyone would be able to obtain the same job, housing, education, etc. However, not everyone can afford to send their children to private schools therefore they send their children to public schools. These unequal outcomes are not natural. Some people can strive to get out of poor conditions and overcome the stereotype they are categorized as but it is hard to do when our social structures are socially constructed. Most people do not want to be poor. Even if someone has all the effort and talent in the world if they are poor their economic and social structure will prevent them from getting as far as they could be. If someone is poor and goes to public school but cannot afford to pay for college then they most likely will not receive a high paying job due to lack of credentials and a higher education. If one does not have a high status they will most likely be overlooked regardless of their talent and drive. A high paying job would most likely look for wealthy employees or middle class who have a higher education. Therefore, it is not fair to assume that all poor people are poor because they do not work hard enough or are smart enough. Sadly, an individual’s capability does not determine their ability to exceed out of their social class. An individual’s level of consciousness is also a reflection of their structure because they become accustomed to being catagorgized into a certain social class so much that they might not challenge their categorization within their social class. A poor person might settle with being lower class instead of striving for middle class privileges. We tend to settle with our social classes because we do not see the opportunities that the wealthy have and it is hard to strive for something you are not presented with and cannot see.
When viewing the social inequality problems in America and other countries it is easily identifiable that inequality is not a naturally occurring event but rather a consequence of the capitalistic system. It is possible that an extremely small portion of the wealthiest people worked hard to gain their status but majority of these people gained there position by manipulating the flaws of the system. I do not believe that social policies are handouts. Positive and productive social policies strengthen the country as a whole but I do not believe they affect the influence the wealthy has on the political system. Capitalism is hurting people. Like mentioned in the video by David Harvey capitalism never really solves its own crisis problems but rather moves them. It is a constant cycle of building up problems and exploiting them through financial ingenuity. Through this process lower class people are hindered with the negative outcome of this system while the wealthy continue to exploit and avoid the problems.
Capitalism helps the capitalist greatly, but hurts the average worker greatly. It can also be argued that capitalism helps and hurts people at the same time, for instance under capitalism working class people are constantly being exploited, even though they are provided with jobs that caters to their survival. capitalism is not a government controlled entity, it is private investors who controls. A capitalist society does not provide equality of opportunity, and therefore it’s hard and rare for an average worker to excel to a certain level that increases their financial position and causes them to increase their standard of living. Working very hard doesn’t always means that a person is going to become wealthy, remember investors are greedy and always working out plans on how to get more labor in exchange for cheap wages.
In regards to voting I agree with Russell Brand, people usually vote with the hope of seeing better changes, but do they see change for the better? Politicians usually make promises to voters, but guess what, they usually come through for the capitalist, not the average worker, as Carl Gibson rightly states, congress looks out for Wall Street and wall Street looks out for congress. Sometimes politicians promise voters that they would upgrade their communities after an election, but what do some do, they oftentimes force low income workers out, as investors build expensive homes that enhances the community, but are not affordable by these workers. workers. Social Inequality will always be a factor in a capitalist society, but people become so complacent that exploitation is hardly noticed by the average worker.
I think social inequality is natural, but I think in today’s society we should have some sort of control over how much social inequality there can be between the upper class and the lower class. For example let the people who want to work harder than others be in a higher social class than those who rather not work as hard. But with that said there should not be crippling disadvantages if you are in the lower class. These disadvantages have been put in place by the capitalists in our economic system. Through exploiting wage laborers, buying out politicians, and controlling vast sums of capital. I feel our society today has taken the idea of survival of the fittest to the extreme through the idea of capitalism, and by taken to the extreme I mean only 1% of our population is the fittest. I think we can still have the survival of the fittest attitude but we can also control the disparity in social inequality with the idea of “no one should be left behind”. One way we could start to change social inequality is through education. If we could turn education into a government funded program that would give the same quality education to all of the students, and give the opportunity of college to everyone this would take away some of the disadvantages that lower class faces. Also another idea to help close the gap in social inequality is to give the upper class and corporations higher taxes to redistribute the wealth through our social classes. I don’t think it is justifiable to say someone is smart/not smart or lazy/hard working due to their class status. The lower class definitely has people who are talented, and driven but sometimes that is just not enough to help them achieve social mobility. In contrast there are some people in the Upper class who’s families have accumulated so much wealth that they will never have to work, but there are also some in the upper class who are talented and driven as well. In the big picture capitalism seems to be a ticking time bomb. Some can think that it is what drive us to be “the best” but really the greed of capitalists are going to be the downfall of our economy. Capitalism is only benefitting the capitalist and those who are in control of policy making. The rest of the population may get jobs, and survive off of capitalism, but I do not see capitalism being sustainable.
I do agree with Marx that change must come from “below”. I believe that effective social change can never come from the top, because as we have mentioned in class that those who speak of Marx or social equality are immediately tuned out. Furthermore, to run on a platform of social inequality is political suicide. I personally believe that politics has become a business where those who have power will do what they can to perpetuate the status quo. I do not believe that the “revolution” needs to be violent. However, an effective vehicle has to be found where it can break through all the political/social/economic bullshit that has been being force-fed to the masses through the 1% owned media.
The issue of social inequality is an issue that is truly troublesome. I do believe that unequal outcomes and social differences are “natural” in the sense that if left to our own devices, social inequality is an inevitable result due to the greed of most people. Truly, most people, at least in terms of the wealthy, do not care about others—it’s all about getting theirs. While, undoubtedly, social inequality oftentimes is a byproduct of individual drive, talent, and effort, this is not always the case with many people being virtually gifted what they have due to connections such as having wealthy parents or relatives. I do not believe it is fair to assume that all poor people are poor because they did not work hard or are not smart because I do not believe that wholesale characterizations such as stereotypes are ever accurate—there are always exceptions. Moreover, I find it impossible to put a number on how to attribute the blame. Definitely, poor people deserve some blame because there have been many instances when people have been able to climb the social ladder and I truly believe that everyone has the potential to do so, but at the same time, it can be very hard and circumstances can make it even more difficult. Thus, circumstances are to blame too. However, at the end of the day, I do believe the onus is on us to make the changes we want in our lives, regardless of circumstances, so I suppose I tend to lean more to that side of the argument, but I understand acquiring wealth is not that cut and dry.
After partaking in class lectures, reading class materials and watching the videos on social inequality and Marx, I believe that it is absolutely the in the interest of particular members in society to keep others uneducated or mislead about the actual meanings of Marx and his political philosophy. Being a member of today’s society many people are born into a life of unequal opportunities before they even have a chance to make a difference in the world. That is, people usually maintain to be members of the social class that they were born into. This thought is upsetting because people are given limitation on what they will be able to do. Certain members of society, those that control the means of production would not want other to truly grasp the meaning of Marx’s work. Marx talks about the Bourgeoisie and the proletariat class. Marx believed in power in numbers or masses, meaning the proletariat class had many more people and therefore could start a revolution if they came together and found the courage. These same concepts are relevant in today’s society. The working class is a very large group, and could bring upon a revolution. However, certain people in todays society want the working class to have this ideology that if “they work hard enough” they too will be apart of the upper class.
Saying this it makes perfect sense that certain people in society would not want others to be educated on Marx or even want to give these people the wrong impression on what Marx theories have to say. College students in particular are a group that the upper class or the “one percent” would want to be uneducated on Marx. To start, there are many people enrolled as college students. Second if these people truly understood Marx they may fight back against how our social system is set up. For instance maybe college students would form a group and fight against something they truly believed and create a small movement. It would also be beneficial to the upper class if college students were confused about Marx because in a couple years we will be the people entering the work force. Large corporations will employ college students. Understanding Marx could give college students the incentive to fight for the rights that they have not only as an employee of a company, but as a member of society and attracted more people to fight against certain inequalities.
Social Inequality is a topic that everyone is turning a blind eye too. This social stratification system is based on power. With it comes privileges and prestige. This has led to the inequality, where who get what matters. There’s an unequal distribution among the rich and the poor when it comes to money, power and resources. Its sad that we live in a society where wealth and power is favored over an honest living. Better yet if your a white rich educated male everything is in your favor for success. Has anyone every wondered why we are categorized occurring to our SES? We can not send our children to this school because its not in our district or we can live in this neighborhood because these kinda of people live here. Why is that? Society brain washes us to think if we don’t have the latest phones, sneakers, cars, big houses we do not fit in with the rest of the world. So they separate us occurring to our social class. Society promotes education but yet there’s thousand of college graduates that can not find jobs in their fields. Individuals that attended a 4 year institution; now has twice as much debt in student loans and they can pay back in a life time. I agree with Russell Brand’s video a resolution needs to happened, like yesterday. We elect politicians that sell us a fault dream, but in reality they don’t really care about working class in their mind its every man for themselves.
I watched this Russell Brand interview around the time it first aired and knew of Brand’s awareness on these social issues. The interviewer, Jeremy Paxman at first was playing the devil’s advocate because it is his job to get to the source and to treat Brand as he would any other interviewee. I must admit that it annoyed me that Paxman didn’t seem to take Brand seriously for his statements and was trying to coerce a retort that would discredit anything Brand had to say. Though near the end of the video you see a change in Paxman demeanor as if he was finally starting to realize that this is something the Brand new about and cared for dearly. Paxman even points out that Brand can stay so facetious when he is so angry.
I believe social inequality is not normal as stated in all videos we as one should wake up and realize we are get screwed by the government and the 1%ers. I don’t believe unequal outcomes and social differences are natural I believe everyone should be offered the same opportunities it sad many Americans are tricked and brain washed to believe by voting for a politician can make a difference but over and over again where seeing the same issues repeating itself no matter whose in office Because most if not all of the Politician’s are paid by the rich and wealthy Its very unfair to assume all poor people are poor because they don’t work hard or not smart the people that believe that statement is a fact are truly not in touch with reality you have to ask your self who choose to be poor. Capitalism in my opinion is hurting America because it causing the economy to crumble.
Social Inequality does and will always be unfair in the world. For many years the poor and median have been in the dark about how the government and politician run this country. Voting in this country doesn’t always mean that changes will happen. Politicians sometime make promise that they plan to never keep get to in office and to give us people hope. Some politicians are people that care about the rich and themselves, they may say that they care about the poor class but they really do not. In the Paxman vs. Brand video, actor and comedian Russell Brand say the we need a resolution and I agree with him. But I feel that make people are afraid of resolution. It’s crazy to see how people will stand outside on a line on Black Friday or when apple release a new devices just like this past Friday. But they will not stand outside for something like a great cause that can help our society today. If people could just stand outside for a few weeks and protests and demand the government chance, then maybe society have hope. Capitalism is for the rich class and they will always be suppress to the poor class.
Well first I want to start by saying I had no clue Russell Brand was able to speak and think in the way that he did. I totally agree with him, especially where he said that drug addictions arise out of poor communities. I love how he analyzed where most of poor persons problems arise from. I too have also wondered what is the purpose of voting when it barely helps my community, and the people in the same class as I am. There has always been a large gap between the rich and the poor, but currently the gap is larger than can be imagined. Something needs to be done but what?! We need a system that will address every problem, especially the problems that are being shoved under the rug!!! Go Russell!
From reading the blog and watching the videos, I could relate to what we are living now. I already heard this problem with our economy so many times! “The fat men in Wall Street are paying off politicians to stay in the rich social status,” “the poor are not being heard,” “history is repeating itself.” These statements are part of a repeating cycle that we hear every single _insert insult_ day. This issue is exactly why I never want to work in the financial district because of the sleazeballs in corporate who love to manipulate the weak, and therefore it was common to hear Professor Harvey mentioned the genres of the crisis of capitalism. His video was informational and yet a bit perplexed of connecting who did what to cause the crisis. His message does come out clear as saying here’s what the problem is: which is that financial people got super greedy and decided to squeeze the living hell out of the middle and poor class. Professor Harvey talked about financial innovation, which I am not sure if that was what Marx’s talked about. What if we eliminated the greedy financial people out of this financial innovation equation, will that system work? And how so? Researchers will need to work on that.
The other videos stated the similar problem to the first since the first video showed the genres of each crisis. Russel Brand’s not wanting to vote is an understandable argument, if he was American. I am unclear of what the political system is like in Britain, but Brand would have the right to vote and have the right to choose whether he can vote or not. The reaction that the interviewer had was priceless when he heard Brand doesn’t vote. As Brand said, “It’s not because of apathy, but to show indifference…” He did have a point when he talked about how the democracy failed by having people’s voices be silent. It’s true, look at the Obama campaign. Personally, I voted because I have the right to vote, and it is rare to see Hispanic/Latino Americans voting. Even if my voice was heard or unheard, at least I had a right to do some change, some increase in the numbers of people who voted. If researchers saw those numbers, then they can see more clearly the problem and hopefully find ways to eliminate the crisis.
I heard this in my last semester’s Sociology 333 class, about Marx solution with the extreme revolutions. Soren Goard talked about the history of revolutions, and Carl Gibson talked about how “s**t won’t change without a revolution.” My initial response as inspired from my Soc 333 was that successful revolutions occur in few, and even if we do enact on Marx’s idea, the outcome change would not be much. Don’t get me wrong, people revolting for what they believed in like the Civil Movement and Feminist power has made an impact, but for what price. The jail time, the killings, the bruises, the assaults, the continuing discrimination, is this what they want? Gibson ended that people like us are afraid to revolt because of their fears to go against the aggressor and be punished. “Either accept this s**t, or overcome it,” he said. People did speak up with Occupy Wall Street and you see what happened? It ended with not much solution or no solution at all (I don’t look much into it.)
The idea of a revolution seems like a good idea, here’s the problem. Activist thinks that we as the people don’t listen to the issues, but we do. As Gibson said, some of us, like me, are afraid to go against it. I can walk and participate in anti-economy walks, but I would be too shy to say anything at all. What we need are intellectuals who know and understand the problem, who can risk their lives (like in the army) and speak up for us that politicians like our President could not have done.
I believe that social inequality is something that will never be fixed. Yes it may be tweaked from time to time but never to the point that the poor will ever benefit from. The government seems to make it impossible for the poor and working class to become wealthy or even obtain a little more of the country’s wealth. When ever someone attempts to make something of them self to become successful they get pushed back down and reminded that they will never do so. For example if we look at just the amount of college graduates that are unemployed or working minimum wage jobs. These people took the time and invested their money into their future hoping to see a better outcome, but the reality is that even though they say now a days you need a college degree to obtain a decent job, more half the people with degrees are either unemployed or working minimum wage jobs. On top of that those graduates most likely are in debt from going to college to obtain that degree. So it’s like the government puts this idea in our heads that we can get out of the poor or middle class category but in reality very very very few of us can. For everyone else that tried and didn’t succeed is stuck paying for a dream that never came true.
Social Inequality always has existed. The rich will always suppress the poor. It’s that simple. Capitalism favors the rich. Voting in this country or any country does not guarantee changes. We are dealing with greedy humans that always want more and like Brand said they do not care for the poor. It is all about oppressing the poor and making sure the poor makes the rich richer. Capitalism makes the “American Dream” even harder to accomplish. To make an assumption that the poor is poor because they are lazy, is just the riches way of taking the attention off them and focus on the poor and blame the poor while they pocket the money. Social Inequality and the greedy rich people go hand in hand. It’s a form of oppression. Slavery is not gone, it is still here. It’s just a different form of slavery.
Social inequality is an issue that has not been completely or correctly dealt with. It is often perceived as non-existent because we have been forced to believe that it is the way things are supposed to be. Yes, it is natural for people to be different form one another, but it is not right to use that difference to actually separate them from others. To reform this current system we must first wake up and realize what is going on around us, as mentioned in Gibson’s video. Social change can start with the people in the society first. If the communists and politicians are not willing to make the change then we the people must come together to demand this change ourselves. I believe that the only reason this has not happened is because we have no known leaders powerful enough for us to actually get up and do something about it.
After watching these videos, I have learned a lot. I agree with Marx’s argument that people need to wake up and do something to make changes. Social inequality has always been a big issue and continues to be so. everyone has become so used to this inequality that we don’t even see it as something that needs change. We realize that we, are not treated equally as higher class people. However, we do not do anything about it. Unequal outcomes are not natural but they seem natural because it has become an ongoing issue. Everyone works hard to earn the money they do and this does not mean that we do no deserve to be rich. it also does not mean that we are not rich because we did not work hard enough. This is just a statement that higher class people use to put us down. I think capitalism is hurting the people. Like the video showed, voting just seems as if we are getting a say in what is going on. We really do not have any control of what the government does or the actions its takes. Once we vote, the whole story changes. the person standing in election does not even do half the things that were promised. I agree with the comedian because we need to open up our eyes and do something to change inequality that exists today. Most of us see what goes on but we do not put any effort to make changes. Even if one person starts, others will see the difference and continue to follow. Bringing about change in the world is not impossible but you have to have the motivation to want the change.
It may matter if Marx’s work is intended to convert those who don’t recognize an obligation to achieve a more equal society. To do that, Marx has to argue that exploitation in a strong sense is the source of inequality, not that capitalism for whatever reason tends toward inequality.
I always thought, in general, that Marx’s work works best as an immanent critique rather than as positive theory–it challenges the liberal and the capitalist to defend the undefended moral position they attach to the given of capitalist economics.
I think the social form of capital is the most interesting part of Marxist theory. This is where the claims about instability etc really come to the fore. If we view Capital as a set of social relations, then it has dramatically changed while remaining based on the sale of labor power over the past centuries. We have the rise of mercantile empires, industrialization and imperialism, the welfare-state, and neoliberalism all as very distinct social forms, but all capitalist. By contrast the old forms of life were totally distinct: even as they shared the basic division into castes, a Western European monarch was very different from a Chinese Mandarin. Capital is the first society in which everyone is a social equal, in which rich and poor alike have the same rules of behavior
Marx discusses his Conflict theory where the bourgeoisie (capitalist) own all the means of production and controls the proletariat (workers). The proletariats (workers) sell their labor to the bourgeoisie (capitalist). There is conflict from the workers wanting more freedom and the capitalist wanting the workers to stay oppressed. The individual class in the hierarchy is determined by their role in production. Marx also argues that argues that political and ideological consciousness is determined by class position. “Ruling ideas are ideas of the ruling class –Marx” This statement from Marx explains his ideology theory; whoever is in control of the production of labor controls many other functions and institutions in society. The society we live in now is capitalism. The discussions and polices made by the governing body does not reflect the demographic of this country. Polices that are being made now benefit the wealthy and continues to oppress “Average Joes”. The only important concept I believe Marx’s left out was how culture affects conflict. Conflict doesn’t have to be mainly from economy but also inequality of sex, race, or educational opportunities. I agree with Modern Marxist who see conflict that might not be resolved. The capitalist have too much control in our society, down to the news we receive.
One thing was made very clear through watching all these videos, that a change is necessary to address social inequality in all institutions. Specifically in the video “Paxman v. Brand” I was able to see how something such as voting may not have the impact we may all attribute it to having. Brand also takes the time to address some very important issues that many other celebrities do not take a stance on. Brand empathizes with the majority when affirming that large corporations should be heavily taxed. He also speaks about the exploitation of the poor. By Brand openly addressing his major concerns with the political and economic systems set in place he has also attracted other individuals who would not otherwise pay much attention to such issues without it being spoken about by a celebrity. Another good point raised by Brand was that profit is a “filthy word” because “where there profit, there is deficit.” Many do not give this any further thought and continue to contribute to this ongoing idea that there is equality. The video featuring Carl Gibson displays him agreeing with many of Brand’s points by bringing to light that money is needed in order to bribe congress to pass many bills that are absurd and contradictory to the needs of the majority [poor]. Gibson specifically refers to congress as a brothel. Furthermore, he is addressing the idea that congress will only produce as much as it is given [paid]. Therefore those with little to no money or influence are left powerless.
I think that capitalism is hurting people. It is a trap to make the ones who aren’t in power feel that they are at a stand still. Even though the American Dream tells us that we can do anything with hard work, a capitalism society does prevent that. Most middle-class people work ten times harder and longer than the few wealthy who have all the power. While voting is supposed to be a way we can voice our opinions and make choices I feel that is also a trap. I think in our capitalist society voting is a way to make us feel better and to blind us to the fact that we don’t really have a say. Politicians are even sponsored by the people with money the ones in power. The only way they can run is by getting sponsored and these sponsors have money they are not middle-class workers. In Marx’s views and theories there is at least an option for equality. So it’s funny why capitalist just rule it out as communism and bad. They have to make us all believe that its the only way they can stay in power.
After watching the videos I was reassured of my sentiments that capitalism is the root of most of the problems that we are facing around the world. The USA has been built on the the backs and corpses of African Slaves and Native Americans. Capitalism is a corrupt and greedy system that disregards the humanity of people and primarily focuses on profit and social hierarchy. I agree with professor David Harvey when he says that capitalism doesn’t solve its problems, instead the problems are being half solved and ignored. Capitalism is a financial innovation that is purely being fueled by greed. Professor Harvey states that industry is being left at an disadvantage to keep investors happy. A common theme that i have noticed is that all of the speakers in the videos believe that in order to combat capitalism we must join to create anti capitalist groups. According to Marx organization amongst the working class to combat capitalism is imperative. I agreed with Russel Brands’ sentiments about voting, we are essentially voting for the lesser of two evils who will not improve our quality of life. I agree with him when he said he is looking for a political system that doesn’t promote economical and environmental disparity, and ignore the needs of the people. The government is under serving the people that belong to a lower socioeconomic status. I completely agree with Marx when he says that the emancipation of the working class has to be the act of the working class. The working class are the ones feeling the negative outcomes of capitalism therefore they have to be the ones to fight against it. Also i agree that if we want a revolution we must organize ourselves in order to make clear what we demand from the government, and also get out the congress officials that are self serving.
I think social inequality is a major issue right now and I always new it existed. However, I never looked into it more because I feel there is nothing I can do to change things. No it’s not fair to assume all poor people are that way because they don’t work hard or are not smart. I am very smart and have worked hard since I was older enough to work and I am still struggling to make ends meet. I believe capitalism is hurting people.
To me voting does matter because how can u complain about how things in the world are going if your not trying to change them. I don’t think people like the interviewer wold advocate for reform that would help people born outside of the system because it doesn’t effect them. After watching all the videos and reading I truly realized just how many working class people work hard to survive & make everything is easier & better for the upper class & rich. I feel everyone should be given the opportunity to advance in life.
Since voting is a right that we have in this country, you would do think that it would be something that does matter. Even though it is a right that we have, I believe that even when we vote it really doesn’t matter all the time. After listening to everyones story that they try to entice you with can sound all great in the campaigning stages. However, after it is over and if they win election, there often is a 360 change in their original story before they even won. It really makes you wonder if anyone you vote for is really for change and helping people of all social classes, or is it just a front in the beginning to get in and cause more social injustice. I agree with Russell Brand’s on wanting a revolution, I believe a revolution is possible and should happen. With that being said, I also think that many are afraid of revolution just like Gibson said in his argument. Many people are afraid of losing their 9-5 jobs and the fear of being arrested. It amazes me how people will stand outside on a line for two weeks to wait for the new Iphone but won’t stand outside for even an hour for something that could benefit society. Imagine if all those people plus everyone else standing outside for two weeks, protesting and demanding change. That would be something amazing if we could rally everyone together that could benefit all, instead of feeding into peoples materialistic needs and wants. Like Russell Brand says “We Need To Wake”, we seriously do need to wake up. Change can’t happen if we continue to stay put and just complain wanting this and that. We need to go out there in the world and demand for what we want. At the end of the day we the people have the most power, but we don’t know how to utilize. In my opinion capitalism hurts people because we continue to have people with “higher power” controlling the system. They do not care about the people or social equally, they only care about getting more money that they do not need. I mean honestly, how much money does one person need before you are satisfied? Reality is when you die, you can’t take it with you, unless of course you want to be suffocated in a coffin with it, then so be it.
I think that capitalism is hurting people. Especially lower and middle class people. There is no room for equality and/or fairness based off of just money (not hard work). So this idea that you can work hard and have anything is not natural or even semi- true. I agree with Soren Goard’s point, “shit does not just happen”. He makes good points that a lot of the reason things are the way they are in society is not just because of economics but because of history. History is a weapon and proof that makes it almost impossible to change anything. As a society we have sat back and accepted what we are told. Capitalism is not beneficial. Since the middle-class out numbers the “1%” like Goard points out we do have the power to step up and change history. I believe it is vital to step up and make changes in the best and most effective ways possible.
I think social inequality is unfair! This is definitely something that many of us are brain washed and uneducated about. Many of us believe that because we vote every few years we live in this free democracy country, that’s ran by the people. When in all reality it’s a façade. As said in the videos money = power, so the ones with money has more voice than our underserved population. I know it may seem unfair and unjust but I do think it is necessary to take from people that earned and give to those in need (welfare recipients) because those in need will always remain in need without the extra help. I agree that this will be something that one person alone can’t fight to change, and it something that might not ever happen because we are scared of losing the little that way we have. Not thinking of how much we can gain.
One of the major points that Marx talked about is the aspects of economic reproduction under the capitalism. They control what is produced and how, especially in the contest of their exploitation and profit. The capitalist compels the working class to produce more and more while the capitalist command, control, and retain the surplus. His works provide interesting answers to important questions affecting large numbers of people. I would thank Marx for his input and embraced his critics on capitalism and the articulation between distinct aspects of this economic system. He insists, and throws light upon problems that we are facing the limits of their possible solutions. Marx believes that there are no answers to the urgent problems of today.
I think that it would be in the best interest of some to keep people, especially college students and the poor population in the dark about Marxist views and policies. I believe that as soon as someone realizes they are oppressed and are getting screwed over and that it is not natural, it begins to start a a forum of ideas for change. The authorities, both political and corporate, love to keep the poor or young and inexperienced in the dark, we are easier to control that way. We are more likely to accept the social inequality and perceive it to be ordinary, natural when it is not, ever. We would never question it or feel that it can never be changed. But that is the wrong attitude. It should instead ignite a push for change in our society. A push for better conditions of living and wages for all, instead of continuing to line the top 1% pockets.
In the videos shown, Marx addresses the capitalism and class division in our society. The only comfortable way of living it seems is if you you fit in the upper class section. We need a change in society where everything is equal and not favored for one specific class, which is the rich of course. The rich should not be able to have power and rule the lower classes because then it looks as though the rich is controlling our economic system. In the video about Paxman vs Brand, a comedian named Russel Brand stated some clear and evident information. Americans are being treated unfair and are not comfortable in their living situations. They accept what they can get just so that the bills are paid. When voting comes into play. I believe that no matter who is voted into office, there will be no change into making society better. There will just be more benefits coming right along that are only going to help the upper class and hurt the middle and lower classes. Social inequality has been around for some time now and it seems to be increasing more and more. A redistribution of power needs to be taken into place thats beneficial for the middle and lower classes, not just to the upper class. Why is it hard to accept the idea that we live the American Dream, when were living the nightmare of american survival.
I think that social inequality is extremely unfair. We should not assume that these inequalities stem from the individual person themselves. Those that are employees strive extremely hard and sometimes they are only working to make ends meet. They could be living from paycheck to paycheck but be the hardest workers ever. I think that social welfare policies are necessary because if no one else is going to look out for the needs of those of the lower economic strata then the government should definitely ensure that the basic needs for living of everyone is met. Capitalism is hurting people having an economic system which is mainly privately owned only seems to benefit to the private owners. Also in the first video with David Harvey he was talking about if they diminished wages then they would just give everyone credit cards which would only cause debt. He also says that capitalism solves its problems it moves geographically.
Marx’s work could be used to help explain the problems we are facing now by trying to see how ineffective this system of exploiting workers truly is at times. Brand arguments would resonate with Marx because he wants a revolution and he wants a change to bring about the solutions for the current system. Gibson resonates what Marx would say because he says unless you have money a petition would not be enough to get congress to hear what the people have to say. Also that this government is not exactly representative that is what he is saying. I think if the government were to actually hear us out there wouldn’t be so many problems. It is true what Russell Brand says for his reasons of not voting and the current political system is not meeting the needs of everyone and that is why some people don’t vote because they don’t believe that if they did there would be a say. The interviewer in the Brand’s video doesn’t seem like the type of person who would advocate because he doesn’t even believe that there would actually be a chance for a change. It would be of interest of some members of society of keeping many people in the dark about the philosophy of Marx. This is because if more people were to know about Marx there would have been more reforms made by now. It is also true what Gonard says in his video of our understanding of history and how that relates to our choices. If we were had more self-awareness we would fight for change.
We have the power. The problem is we do not know how to use it. Many of us are not educated enough, and simply do not have the means to shut down the enemy. It’s true we are afraid to get locked up, or lose our minimum wage jobs to fight for what’s right , as someone stated in one of the videos. I think many of us are comfortable, and just simply lack the interest to do what is right. Maybe some feel that if we show opposition to the congressman, who can get our message across to the right people, that it would just fall on deaf ears, so why bother. There is power in numbers, but if we keep pulling each other down like crabs in a barrel, we will get no- where fast. We need to educate each other, spread the word and fight, or just wait for the astronauts to find water and natural resources on the moon, so the rich and wealthy can all move up there, and live in a utopian society, and leave us peasants here on earth to fend for our selves…
I do feel that social and economical inequality is at an all time high. To me the way the government and laws are set up is a form of social control. Thus, keeping certain people on the top and certain people at the bottom. Not wanting to help hose in need and not bothering to help their issues. Its a pecking order, those on top have the say so on what stays and goes and the “insignificant” individuals go unheard. But strangely enough the lower class/ or poor is what drives these companies to success and but are forgotten about. And they are lead to believe if they keep working hard great success will come there way. The brain wash and lie to the inferior that things will change but it doesn’t. It’s as if us as the people are on a hamster wheel going faster and faster. We keep running on the wheel thinking we are going to win or its going to finish but in all reality it does not.
I think the issue of social inequality is a serious problem that should be talked about and looked at in ever angle so the best results can be given to the problem. unequal outcomes and social differences(inequality) are a direct result of the unequal distribution of wealth, In very early societies people survive off of division of labor which doesn’t create inequality so inequality cant be natural. I agree with Russel Brand about the need for a revolution in order for changes to happen because with the way things are going currently going and the discrepancy of the wealthy versus the middle class/poor is going to continue to grow exponentially and might cause the economy to collapse.capitalism hurt more people than it helps so for the reason it is hurtful. if there was a more reasonable distribution of wealth among Americans and more concern with their well being things would be a little bit better but i think this change will happen from the people eventually not the government.
In Marxs video he shows capitalism and class division and that this helps no one but the ones In higher power. We don’t need people in higher power to take over our economic system but power should be given to everyone. In the video with Russell, his views were very logical and factual. He knows what he is talking about and his views are very realistic. We the Americans are letting ourselves being treated unjustly and we are voting for people who are not looking interested in what’s best for us. Russell is right to express how he feels about the country’s economical system there is indeed need to be a change in which middle and lower class citizens are not in poverty.
I agree there needs to a redistribution of power so that middle and lower class will have right to determine what the government is initiating or what they are doing and also a change to
All of the videos that I just viewed open up my eyes that a change needs to happen as soon as possible. Of course I noticed that a changed needed to happen before but the question is where do we begin. In the second video Paxman vs. Brand I agree with comedian Russel Brand with not voting. I personally think that no matter who you vote into office would not change the way that the “leaders” run the world. The candidates will sell you a story and at the end of the day probably would not be able to do half of the things that they said they were going to change or fix. At the end of the day politicians are just selling the dream to get what they want which relates to the historical materialism video. I sort of agree with Goard that ordinarily people could come together to change history for the better but every time people come together the same act of kindness easily turns into violence rather it be from police officers or the same ordinary people. I think that social inequality is unfair. Of course they are some lazy poor people but you can not group everyone in a category and call them lazy just because they are poor. The government tries to make the people think that social inequality is normal because it has been going on in history for as long as we can remember but just because it is a common trend in history does not mean that it is the correct trend that we need to carry on with us in the future. Capitalism only helps people who are on the rich side of the spectrum but not everyone else.
After watching these videos, I am shocked at how corrupt the system is. United States is known as the land of opportunity and a place where the government is always there to help its people. These videos however, show us what is going on behind the scenes and the reality of capitalism. As we saw in the last class, the wealth distribution is not proportional and in fact the top 1 percent has almost 40 percent of the nation’s entire wealth. The poor or the middle class can only be seen on the income distribution graph through a magnifier. This is sad because those that are rich are only getting richer while the poor and middle class individuals are working hard day and night to have enough money to pay their mortgage or send their kids to school to have a better education. It is not fair to assume that poor people are poor because they do not work hard or smart because they are working hard, but they are just not presented with the same opportunities. Another reason could be because their opportunities or resources are limited based on their environment. Russell Brand makes an important point though his video. He states that there needs to be a redistribution of power where not just a group of individuals are given all the power and authority, but rather it is distributed amongst everyone. This is important because if the top 1 percent have all the power then there is no way they will reach out to the poor or middle class people, but if some of the middle class people have the power, then they would help the poor people. I think that policies aimed to help the poor such as food stamps and welfare should continue to be funded. Marx argued for a socio economic change and eliminate the class system. He believed in equal distribution of wealth and power. He does not agree that individuals who are rich had all the power while the working class did more work and still were not granted any rights. All the ideas relate to Marx because they all state that there should be a redistribution of wealth and power. This retribution will give poor people the power to improve their socio economic status and also give them the right to have a say in what the government does. I think voting is important and it matters. I understand Jeremy Paxen’s reaction to Brand’s idea of not voting because he thinks his opinion does not matter. I think voting is a right that all citizens should use and if we give up that right then the rich people are waiting to take over that as well. In order to improve our society, we need a reform where there is a redistribution of wealth and power.
Social inequality is definitely unnatural. You have people at every socioeconomic level with the same drive, the same skills, and the same amount of potential. However, the money that they have, or lack, can either afford them opportunities or limit opportunities. The families that they are born into, or marry into, can open up doors that remain locked to us “common folk”. For example- The wealthy can afford to send their children to the best schools where they earn degrees that put them in line for more lucrative careers. Not because their degree levels are necessarily higher than that of a CUNY graduate, but because their degree comes with more prestige. That’s not to say that the CUNY graduate did not apply him/herself as much, study as hard, or even have the same amount of intelligence.
I believe that social reform should come from below before we ever expect for it to come from above. Besides, the people at the top are only concerned about their position in life and securing it. We at the bottom have to fight for ourselves. We have to advocate for change (and yes this includes voting). We have to educate ourselves so that we know what we’re fighting and how to fight it. We have to wake up and realize the we (the poor) are in the same sinking boat. Unfortunately we succumb to thinking that we don’t matter, so our voices and votes don’t matter. The poor have been pit against the poor. There is so much division among us that those who choose to do nothing never realize that they block the success of those who take stands. So many of us are worried about improving our own situation so we don’t contribute to the fight as a whole. We settle for the scraps that are handed to us- and instead of fighting those who feed us the scraps, we fight each other for whatever is left.
Carl Gibson’s video really intrigued me and kept me watching. It reminds me of when people say, ” Money talks.” If you don’t have money the rich does not care about your struggles and they only care about how your attributes can aid in getting them richer. Ice Cube’s video was very exciting and I think people can relate to what he is saying in his music video. The images are images I’ve seen in the media and from other Youtube videos. It scares me to see how wealth distribution and social inequality can lead to oppression and so much misery. When I look at the welfare programs and food stamp distribution in America, I see a need for it and the need for it to keep going. Welfare/food stamps is starting to become the household income for some families in our society. They call this “the land of opportunity” but I see opportunities being limited, especially for lower class, low income people. Someone once told me,” If your willing to work, you”ll find work.” This is NOT true in my opinion because not everybody who is willing to work finds work in this country, that’s why it upsets me when people say people who take “hand-outs” are lazy and just don’t want to work. .
I agree with you Dymon that the Ice Cube music video was very interesting. For people who want to know how corrupt the world is and don’t want to learn about it in a scholarly way could get a taste of the talk from the music video. To comment on the quote that you said ” If your willing to work, you”ll find work” I agree with you also that it is not true. I personally think its just a quote that was thrown around by the rich folks that worked its way down to the poor people to make them feel bad about about not having a job for those who were looking for one.
I think capitalism gives the appearance of having more when it really takes from everyone, even the government, except for the super wealthy. Yes it seems like we have all the technology, best goods, more home ownership than other countries but most of it has come at an expense which increases personal debt and credit. It seems that even credit itself, was established as a way for the 1% to increase profits by having people buy with money they don’t have. From these videos it’s easy to see how capitalism has run so rampant that it’s power goes beyond the power government. In the video of Russell Brand being interviewed, Russell talks about how he refuses to vote because the government doesn’t work for the underclass except for those who are wealthy. Jeremy Paxen seems almost insulted that Brand decides not to vote ever and considers his opinion as not valid because he doesn’t vote. I don’t think voting is what gives a person permission to care or the right to want to change the system. I think Paxen’s reaction shows how much society has bought into voting for change when change never really happens and the cycle of making things easier for the super wealthy continues. I think all of these videos echo the same argument that Marx made, redistribution of wealth will make lower classes matter again. Right now the underclass is irrelevant at all to the 1%, which, in turn makes them irrelevant to the government. Personally it’s hard for me to say voting doesn’t matter. It’s been so ingrained as an American that the right to vote is almost a sacred right, on the other, I can see how I contribute to the damaging cycle of choosing lesser of two evils who don’t work for my benefit. I don’t know if I could honestly say I would be behind a radical, violent overthrowing of the system, I do know I would be for real change. Maybe Russell Brand is right, maybe if we stop voting, we are actually taking back our only power and that will make us relevant again.
I agreed with Russell Brand that the people who are in power don’t care about the people who are not in power and they only care about themselves.He felt like we need to wake up and we need to look outside the box in order to change the way we are being treated by the government.For someone who has a lot of money, but is still trying to fight for other people ,it shows me how unselfish he is. He is actually speaking for other people who don’t have the opportunity to speak for themselves. As for the voting part, I understand what he meant by telling us not to vote because when we really look at it every time there’s a new president coming up, they offer us a lot of change but there’s no change so why should we vote for someone that can’t keep his or her promises and why should we take the next president seriously? Why should we vote for the same people that’s not being fair to us? However, I think he’s really upset about the way the government is treating us that’s why he decided to not vote.If we don’t vote they are going to take over.In other words, we are giving them more power therefore,it is going to be worse than it is right now .In my opinion,we all have a voice so we need to use it;we need to fight for ourself because it is clear that no one is going to fight for us.we need to come as a group to end this.
In order to understand Marx’s ideas, you have to understand his outlook on society. Marx believed in a class division system. The class division system is kind of similar to the caste system. However, the caste system is determined by birth. Meaning, if you’re born into poverty, you will mostly likely stay in poverty. That is what Marx believed in, an individual is separated from other individuals based on their wealth.
I understand where Russel Brand is coming from, he does not believe what the system is providing and he refuses to vote for what they are offering. He also states, that he is not sharing his opinion on what is really going on. He does not have to vote to share his political view, with that logic, every person who voted should run for president. Brand was being honest and relatable when he brought up his past drug addiction problem, he used that as a way to show people what the system could really do to people who are living in bad conditions.
With everyone being exploited by government, who’s at fault? Is the government wrong for lying to the people who help them run a nation? Or is it our fault for believing them and letting it happen? Only the working class cares about what’s going on because they are the main targets and victims that the capitalist pick on. Why would the rich even care? Why would they help the middle class become equal to them? They want to avoid any competition that might jeopardize their wealth. At the end, the message is pretty much saying, why is the poor struggling for themselves but still helping to benefit the rich?
The videos are a shocking revaluation of the reality of capitalism and its beliefs. Everyone works so hard to obtain “The American Dream” while its all just a trap to make someone else richer and more powerful. It is totally unfair to those who go to school for eight years of their lives and are struggling to make ends meet at the end of the day. There is no joy in going to work when you are drowning in debt from buying a luxury that is required to have a “status” in the community. While everyone wants to live comfortably, we are all just competing against each other to reach a higher position. Darwin was 100% correct when he spoke of survival of the fittest. If you are not ready to give up your values and principles for the sake of money and comfort, you aren’t getting anywhere.
Social inequality is clearly a problem. Unequal outcomes are not a simple reflection of social differences that derive from individual talent and effort. Well, some of it is. Ralph Lauren has all of his wealth because of talent and effort. I want to note that in our society being poor is more expensive than being rich, and getting richer is a lot easier when you’re already rich. For example, if I can’t afford to buy an apartment, I have to keep renting month after month. If I have a good enough salary, then I can own a home with a mortgage. I can also take out a second mortgage on my house and invest that money. The idea is that proportional to wealth, being poor is more expensive than being rich, and it’s a lot easier to make more money if you already have a lot of money, than if you’re poor.
But, I want to point out that the idea behind “money” and who deserves how much and in what proportions is very vague and philosophical. One way of thinking of money is as a representation of what society owes you for your positive benefit to society. In other words, maybe Jay Z isn’t working 1000 (or whatever the number may be) times harder than a janitor, but his positive effect on society, and what society owes him in return, is arguably 1000 times greater than that of a janitor.
Everyone in this country can agree that we need to redistribute wealth, but the question is to what extent? At what point is it not fair to the individual being taxed? A vast majority of policy makers and people in general don’t believe in a completely free market, nor in pure communism. Democrats and Republicans, the green party, libertarians, and everyone in between, are different shades of grey. Yes, the rich have to be taxed more than the poor. But how much taxing of the rich is too much, 45%, 50%, 60%, of total income? How much of it is just not fair anymore to the work they put in to establishing the success they have? And the question is how much is taxing the poor too little? Is it fair that they pay no national tax, or should they contribute something, and if so how much.
Regarding handouts, I’ll again reiterate that this nation does and should give out handouts, but the question is of what kinds and how much, and at which point is it not fair anymore. Handouts are good, as long as they are used for necessities. I watched on the news yesterday that welfare recipients were buying marijuana in Colorado, which I wouldn’t like if I was being taxed heavily. And policy makers should make sure that people getting handouts have the opportunities, and take advantage of them, so they don’t stay living on handouts for too long, but rather increase their wealth to be independent.
Karl Marx was a conflict theorist who believed in a utopian society. He supported a classless society and considered capitalism to be the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, which only benefited the wealthy class. Many people criticized Marx and went against him, without making an effort to understand his reasoning. Despite all the criticism he received, Marx’s book was the number one seller during the market crash.
Today, the U.S. is run by a capitalist economy. After watching the video on the crisis of capitalism, I was extremely shocked to see how corrupt the system has become. As a result of this failure, many people may begin to support Marxist ideas and beliefs. With that said, I do believe that the bourgeois members of society make it their duty to keep the actual substance of Marx’s political philosophy hidden. If we take Marx’s approach of an uprising of the proletariat as something that overturns the political economy by destabilizing the markets and power of investors, then it would make sense that the people who benefit from capitalism, would want to stop college students from understanding this truth. An example of this is Huey P. Newton, the leader of the revolutionary Black Panther Party. He went out of his way to understand Marx’s philosophy as a college/law student and used that to create a political platform strong enough to be called “the biggest threat to national security”. If college students never really learn about Marx they think every Socialist/Communist to be the same as North Korea or China, when none of these countries are true followers of Marxism.
I am in total shock after i watched these videos. I never thought capitalism was such an issue here in the USA. I always thought it was an advantage to live here and the government really helps the poor. I never realized how much they take away from the poor until these videos. It’s so sad to see all these working class people (including myself and my family) to work their butts off but only make minimum wage and to see these filthy rich people do nothing and just get richer. What’s even worse is that the government should cut down on the poor people and their benefits and just leave that top 1% who has all the money alone. It’s really not fair especially for students who are drowning in loans. Some people don’t get an education just because they can’t afford it. Yes, I do think it’s in their full interest of the rich society members to keep people like college student in the dark about capitalism and marxism. College students are young and thier in debt and when they see how things really are here they can make a change possibly.
I was shocked, overwhelmed, and somewhat depressed after watching these videos and better understanding wealth disparity in this country. Prior to my return to college, I worked *very* hard and was relatively successful in a retail management and buying career. I am intelligent, analytical and creative and those attributes served me well. I was making a lot of money for a high school graduate, but came from a middle class highly educated household, so I had some advantages. However, after many years of hard work I did not own a home or have a comfortable savings. I began to notice that most of my friends were in the same position or a worse potion than their parents were a their age. However, quite frankly, I had been working 60+ hours for 15 years. I didn’t watch the news or read the newspaper in my spare time. After 9/11, I became more tuned into international news, but still felt lost and confused when trying to understand macroeconomic issues, congressional budget negotiations or financial policy issues. When I could devote time to understanding an issue, I often felt that there was no “right” answers… just divergent paths, either of which could improve things or lead to catastrophe.
I share this because I think that what truly terrified me about the videos we watched is that the people who need to revolt, who need to understand and band together to understand these issues do not have the bandwidth to do so. They are so busy trying to hang on with white knuckles to the bottom tier of Maslow’s pyramid that it would be hard to get their attention long enough to understand the issue. And if you did, I think perhaps if you did there would be a certain amount of denial, because if you have lived your life working super hard so that your family would move up just 1 notch up the socioeconomic ladder in this generation, it would be hard to admit that the philosophy that made you work so hard was a lie. If you convinced them, I can imagine that an even greater anomie would set in, and there would be a lot of paralysis and overwhelm. This isn’t a good enough reason not to try to spread the word and take action, just a very real, very human obstacle to change. This occurred to me: as discussed in class the 1 great success of Occupy Wall Street was to raise awareness about “the 1%”; the only reason that Occupy Wall Street happened was because there was so much unemployment that many people had the time and energy to read, to understand, to get involved.
I do feel that many people aren’t working hard or smart, and I do feel that both are important for upward mobility. However level of apathy/disillusionment, social skills, time management skills, intelligence, and work ethic are all things heavily influenced by family, environment, or socioeconomic status. Furthermore, it is also very clear to me that working hard, having talent and intelligence does not equal success and certainly does not equal wealth. I feel that welfare, food stamps, and all of our “hand-out” programs are vital and should be better funded (not questioned, not defunded) for so many logical and obvious reasons… but to me perhaps the greatest one is hope. Hope for the individuals and hope that we haven’t lost what I view as one of our core values as americans: humanitarianism.
I think Marx’s values are good ones, I still feel that unfortunately his ideas are a bit idealistic because not everyone has the initiative, the drive to do their best, to be their best. I think Marx had great foresight about the failures of capitalism. I *do* feel that perhaps a hybrid of capitalism and socialism plus a renewed sense of empowered citizenship might be the right path. I look forward to learning more, hearing new ideas on how we can create a better country and I plan to be a be a better, more educated , less ostrich-like citizen.
Very well said…and extra points for references to Maslow!
As I watched these videos and started to become more educated on the economy and financial system that is established here in the United States, I realized that I really knew nothing. What I’ve learned before may have given me an idea of how the United States is doing financially or an idea of what is capitalism and Marxism, but never actually allowed me to fully comprehend or even know what is going on. I am probably, still, not even fully informed of how this system is set up and how much it is truly affecting everyone. Looking at the actual economic curve and seeing how much the top 1% is making compared to all the other classes, is completely and underly shocking; not to mention completely disappointing and a wake up call. In school, specifically high school, you are given the impression that democracy and capitalism are great and that any other form of economic of political system are just terrible. The majority of the wars fought in the past were to implement democracy and capitalism in other nations. The main goal in these wars were to keep communism out; communism being associated with Karl Marx. When one hears “Marx” they immediately think about communism and is disregarded. What people fail to understand (me being one of those people before watching these videos and taking this class) is that Marx never gave a “blueprint” on how to run a government but simply said, this is how capitalism functions, this is what is happening and this is what will happen. Marx simply gave an idea of how a government should be run or set up. However the U.S, maybe more specifically those with higher power, know that Marx was not crazy and that he makes sense but they do not want everyone to see it that way. Why would they want to change a system where they are benefitting? So that top 1% or those getting all the money do not want those suffering economically aka college students, to really know what Marx is saying because in reality they are the ones who can make a difference.
These videos and Marx’s theories of capitalism have enlightened me on the reality of the social standings between the rich and the poor. It clarifies the government as a system that enables the rich to profit and constantly rule over the low and middle class individuals in a constant exchange between the corporate executives and the workers. While at the same time keeping poor citizens in a state of debt with heavy taxation and blinding them from the reality of their situation: the economic differences between the rich and the poor. A system that neglects the effort and ability of an individual, but rather supports people whom are born into wealthy or famous families in achieve higher levels of profit and publicity. The corrupt government unveiled in Marx’s theories contradicts the very notion of what the “American Dream” tries to establish. Although even if I am enlightened by the data yielded from the unnamed Harvard business professor I still believe that vertical escalation in a capitalist society is not as improbable as Marx states it to be.
Watching all three videos, widen my eyes to a higher extent. I think social inequality will forever remain the same. I’ve also come to accept that in this country or maybe in even in this world, that will rich will forever remain rich and the poor will remain poorer. No rich individual EVER imagines to become poor in this lifetime. He/she would fight till his/her last breath to not lose a dime or a penny of his money. In my opinion being rich is a concept, it’s the idea of massive authority over the poor.
Also I don’t necessarily think that poor people are not smart or do not work hard, poor people work hard and aim to gain more because they understand the situation their in is easy.Capitalism is hurting people, the only people that benefit from wealth are rich people. In America’s view, the rich Republicans create jobs for the middle class or lower class while the middle class have to pay a high wage of taxes. T
As much as I agree with Russel Brand in the need for change and a revolution, I just don’t see it happening. This country is corrupted in so many different levels that any amount of change wouldn’t help. It is sad and nerve racking to know that and not being able to change it now. This country has a class of minority that out numbers the wealthy but it is just as Brand puts it there not in “reality”. They are brainwashed to think away from the problem this country has which is the famous saying, ” the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer”. As small as the wealthy are they overpower the lower classes not because they are rich but because they know how to stay rich even if it means the poor has to suffer more then they already do I believe They work together as for the lower class fight against each other. Also nothing in this country is for the good of the people, EVERYTHING is just a business. Schools, hospitals, jails, everything. and most of the country is too busy giving there money away for the latest gadgets to realize that.
Russel brand puts it perfectly when he countless times exposes the weaknesses of the so called “democratic” system. The way capitalism works is there will always be a winner, someone who managed to cheat the system to reach the top and capitalism allows them to secure that position. We need change that will prevent such concentrated wealth from being controlled by a few. The 1% have more wealth then they will ever spend and this stops the process of “tricking down” which is a fundamental pillar of capitalism. If a billionaire has 60 billion dollars how much of that do you think he will spend?. This is a big issue with capitalism, wealth is collected by the elite and the poor never see it. Another major issue is corruption, it is clearly evident that politics is ran by the elite. From funding candidates to handing out money for their gain the elite know how to trick the system to always come out on top. We need to adapt ideas from Karl Marx because he always knew that the class system was flawed. We clearly see that today, the elite are extremely powerful while the poor are weak. We need change and we need it before the system becomes too powerful for us to stop.
Marx beliefs weren’t accepted because they weren’t fully comprehended. Rich people opposed his sayings because he uncovered their deceiving tactics especially regarding the marketplace. It was messages that were for the mostly middle class to see where their tax dollars were going. They didn’t listen to it at the time but as time is going on people are starting to realize his beliefs and sayings are true and made a lot of sense. #Marxism
Marx wasn’t really talking about his “beliefs,” rather, he was advancing an argument about capitalism and supporting it with evidence…that is important to distinguish. Rich people (Marx uses the term bourgeois to refer to the ownership class) are opposed to these arguments and opposed to change because they like the capitalist system of social organization as it stands now…because it’s working for them!
Rusell Brands view on marxism is a very passionate concept. He made me realize that the government is truly trying to pull the wool over our eyes. In this case, it is for the less fortunate people. There should be no reason why people who are unable to supply money like the rich, be ostracized and their image diminished. I believe the point that Rusell was trying to make is, regardless of a poor persons circumstance, there is no reason that government should imply injustice within the system. Everyone deserves the right to equality and that is the voice that Mr. Brand speaks upon within his interview.
I was never really interest in knowing what was going on in the economic world. After listening to Brand’s interview, it made me wonder, what is going on? Why isn’t the government making the effort to change? We have been in this economic crisis for years already, so whats taking the government so long to make change? JP Morgan is making 200 million dollars a year off of the food stamp program, so why is half of the world suffering economically? Why cant money be distributed to people who are in need of money for a living. Why SHOULD we vote? Vote for politicians who are not making the effort to change the economic mess we are in. Our votes don’t even count. Why should we support politicians who are not helping the citizens who struggle everyday to make a living. Our votes wont make any changes. Thank you Brand for opening my eyes! I should be more aware of our social dilemmas.
I agree with Russel Brand. We definitely need a huge change in the political system. The real problems in our country are not being addressed, and they most probably never will be. All those people who work in the government are just interested in their own wants and how to make more money. I don’t think well see beneficial change anytime soon. And the other video about how we think wealth is distributed, its crazy how only 1% of Americans have so much money and there are people living out in the streets. Why do they need so much money? Even if they donated some money to the poor, they will still be living in luxury. Its ridiculous how that 1% has way more than 99% of us.
In the video, Russel made some important points on how the people in power dont really care about the important problems that we, as Americans face but his approach on how to address the problem in my opinion is completely ineffective because those politicians still find ways to obtain power through either money or by telling the people exactly what they want to hear. In my opinion, in order to address the problem, we have to come together by expanding on the number of parties available as a nation and decide what problems that should be addressed like poverty, jobs, and education rather then have the government control what type of people who have the potential to lead america and deciding that we should spend our valuable money on the elected officials needs. Then after coming together, we should choose a group of representatives who we can “truly trust” to carry out these goals.
As it stands, Calvin, our present two-party system has a firm grip on the electoral process that decides how other groups can enter/not enter the political stage…they make it very difficult for third, fourth, etc. parties to present viable candidacies. I think there may be a bigger question to look at, which relates to “who is the government?” Can we tell the difference anymore between “government” and “private corporations?” What happens when the system of checks and balances between the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches of government is so corrupted by the corrosive influence of money that our concept of the separation of powers no longer serves a purpose, as it has been thoroughly undermined and rendered a mockery. What does this say about our system of government? I’m not certain that merely launching a new party will fix the problem, when the entire system is profoundly broken.
Russel Brand clearly says and explains what goes on in his country. He makes it very clear because his thoughts are clear as well and he knows exactly what he is saying. I do agree with him when he says that the people are destroying the world, and that voting does not really make a change in the country. But i do not agree that fact that they mention that Brand wants revolution.
Russell Brand argues to not to vote any political candidate. In society, it is the citizens responsibility to choice a Politian who cares about poor people or middle class. Every one needs to vote for good because if people will know who they are voting, they can change society. But mostly many people are not aware properly from the Politian’s. Mostly poor people work more than the rich people, because most people who works hard in society are poor people. I think rich people getting more and more benefit from poor (uneducated) people. The wealthy people uses poor people’s money and getting more and more rich. The only way to erase this difference between the poor and rich is first to get good or higher education, because educated people will be more aware, with education everyone will has chance to be successful in life. But to provide good education to everyone in a country, it is very important to choice a right candidate by our votes. Russell Brand said that he never vote but then how the society will change if we are just sitting and talking about these problems.
Russel Brand mentions something along the lines of people being better qualified for certain jobs. Its absolutely true. I related this to a discussion we has in class about “Legacies”, and I can’t help think about the inequality of the current system. There are people who get jobs just because they went to a certain school, and they don’t deserve any of it. They’re piggybacking of their parents hard work, or they could even be the second generation of piggybackers. It makes me think if I want to go into my major – Mathematics. Knowing that there are people that could be automatically given my future job just because they got into a brand name college is disheartening.
Russell Brand knows what he is saying and actually clears out what goes on in his country and those that a re corrupt. basically everyone is a puppet and government just cares about themselves, and as long as there getting through there daily basis without a problem. no one cares about the people voting, matter of fact even that can be a set up as far as that goes. He makes it seem like it has to do with class almost because of the way people are treated. Both jeremy and Brand are right in there own place. Karl Marx knew that with capitalism, some people worked so much, while the other class were just getting anything they wanted. Marx shows that the division of labor is because of increased production. As Marx says “The division is characterized by the unequal distribution of labor and its products. Further, the division implies the contradiction between the interest of the separate individual or family and the communal interest of all individuals”.
Assuming the interviewer from the Brands video is someone who benefits from the current system in society and has social connections and opportunities that the average person doesn’t, I would say yes, of course he’s comfortable with the current system of rewards in society. You can tell just by the way he speaks and his tone towards Brands statements. Compared to Brands’ frustration and eagerness in his tone and dialect, the interviewer seems merely entertained while asking Brands these questions and listening to his feedback. I believe social change comes from people who control the system now, who are those in charge and above us “mere mortals” who don’t have the money and choice of changing anything to our favor as they do. As pessimistic as it is to say, I don’t believe we have the power our option to change anything. Too many are uneducated on this topic and just plain lazy.
I’ve heard that people participate in politics mostly through voting. However, one of the most common reasons that they don’t vote is because they as the public don’t feel that their vote will make a difference. I think that is what Russel Brand is trying to point out. Even though candidates promise to serve certain needs of the people, they almost always don’t get around to fulfill those needs. The population that votes believes in this system that guarantees change whenever the public asks for it but a time will come where they realize that its taking the government too long to go through with that change and that in itself is a major issue. As this current trend continues, more and more people will stop voting; Russel Brand is just one step ahead of them.
Your first impression of Russell Brand might be well he was on drugs for a while and just with that assumption you can change your perception on a person forever. A reporter is sitting in a hotel room interviewing an actor that had a dramatic past and is quite not looking the same as the reporter (Hair style wise/ Professional wise). To some Russell Brand might come off as someone not too intelligent because obviously the past catches up with you. The (arrogant) reporter is asking the same questions in a different manner and Russell Brand is just feeding him information while owning him. Interesting topics arises in the political systems which Russell Brand acknowledges and states he has never voted and probably wont ever. Now as we are growing up and going to school, we are taught that voting matters and it could make a difference and you should let you voice be heard. Russell Brand states that the systems are unfair and voting is based on lies, deception, exploiting poor people, weapons of mass destruction, destroying the planet and this has been going on for generations while problems are just continuing. The current systems are not engaging with many problems that we as a nation as facing and honestly Russell Brand just raised my awareness and proved to me that you should think outside the box and understand what is going around you. Do you believe in everything in the newspaper? How does the media portray a person to society. Is there internal connections in the government? Should there be a new systematic approach? One quote that stood out to me was when Russell Brand stated that wherever there is a profit, there is a deficit, thats basically a theory of cause and effect. After watching this video, it definately changed my thoughts of Russell Brand and my thoughts of systems and media. #KnowledgeIsPower #KatyPerry #ThinkOutsideTheBox
That is my favorite quote too!
Marx ideas are sometimes viewed wrong because people dont exactly know his ideas. Marx belived in capitalism/ class division. Marx basically believed that the society is divided based on one’s class whether a person is poor or rich. The main conflict in many countries is the way the class and economic systems are set up. The point that David Henry brought across with the credit cards show capitalism in the way that when bank issues out credit cards and we have to pay them back, it’s like the bank is somewhat exploiting us because we do the work, and we basically work to pay the bank back. Moreover the people who most credit cards are issued to are the poor or the working class, which is a way of the bank to have power over the working class. That is an example of Marx idea where the working class and the lower class are will always be a victim to exploition by the capitalist class.
Marx’s viewpoint of capitalism is something that may have seemed to never happen back then but looking at our society now I can’t help but agree with him. The Russell Brand video was a viewpoint that I would partially agree on. The reason for that? Well because not voting is a bad choice as its showing how we give in and are allowing these politicians to take over without us speaking up for it. We have a voice and we could use it. The video was shown as if the interviewer was mocking Russell’s point of view. He’s completely right in how he feels towards the country and economical system because the minority is put as less than and not even thought about. the first video of course shows how capitalism helps no one but the ones with power. You can easily say all they care for are themselves making them more than selfish. A hard working person couldn’t receive any of the benefits that this person with power and of course wealthy is receiving. The system is simply divided as two those who are rich have power as well as benefits vs those who aren’t rich don’t have power nor benefits. Voting should be used positively as we the people get the opportunity to say what we want. And we become aware of who we want to put up as the head of our government.
First of all I take my hat off to Russel Brand. Through that short video i felt every bit of anger and frustration he had to the way the world is working. He constantly has to repeat himself to the interviewer, who asked the same irrelevant questions over and over again, to get his point across. What i got from this video is that we as a society and a country need to start getting angry! we are letting ourselves be treated unfairly by voting for those who are far less than ideal. Our planets dyeing, our distribution of wealth is completely unbalanced, and our government and political system is full of corruption. We constantly try to enforce a competitive market but sadly there is no competition at all. Our government may be trying to stop monopolies from forming but they do not stop giant corporations from abusing the majority working class citizens. Is putting a dog to fight a lion fair competition? Marx was completely right about capitalism. Its an evil system that focuses on profit and profit only. Companies research on not how to make their products better but how to make them cheaper and more profitable. This was shown in the first video talking about the implication of credit. Credit serves as a way to get more from those who have nothing. We instill virtual money to poor individuals and when they can not pay it back it results in widespread debt. The needs for the buyer is hardly ever taken into consideration outside a courtroom. The 1% will do whatever it takes to stay there and the 99% are too busy being swindled and trying to survive to realize what is really going on. It makes me angry and I hope others can wake up and save themselves before its too late.
I completely agree with Marx ideas about capitalism. I believe the people are blinded by the misconceptions they heard about Marx. People just listen and agree and usually do not do research on what they are agreeing about. Marx never wanted a society like U.S.S.R or anything that had to do with a communist society. He simply pointed out the main issues about capitalism and how it would affect our world today. Communism may not have been to restrict freedom of individuals but history did show us otherwise which is why Marx pointed them out and he was accused for going against government ideas.
The wealthy will never advocate for any reform to the system that maintains their economic health. I believe heavier regulation of corporate earnings is just, because the current system does not motivate corporations to care enough about the damages being done to the world and society. I also agree heavily with Russell Brand on the notion that the “Wall Street Occupants” have successfully established that there is in fact, a 99% versus a 1%, giving clarity to the magnitude of division in America. Truth is no one likes competition, when the wealth and well being of wealthy families are endangered through ideas such as “redistribution of wealth”, they will stop at nothing to maintain their status. It is impossible to think that the answers lie in politicians and corporations. I partially agree with Russell Brand because through voting we aid in the long term this established government that does not help us. Although, not voting directly impacts us on the short term, allowing the “darker” side of society immediate control of government. There is an obvious problem in government, and i believe assessing it would require intellectual, unbiased, and well intentioned individuals.
Yes, there is something to be said for voting I think, even if it means you are exercising a choice against the worst of what is often (sadly) a choice of two candidates who are less than ideal.
The main reason for social inequality is The Class Divission.
Marx saw classes as defined by people’s relationship to the means of productions in two basic ways: either they own productive property or labour for others.
“Marx decries the division of labour”. This is just wrong. Marx thinks the division of labour is essential to capitalism, and that capitalism is the best political system thusfar because it is the closest to fully actualizing our labouring capacity. I agree with you I think its a problem that reflects fundamental inequalities in terms of our social organization the majority group establish a system of inequality by dominating less-powerful groups. This system of inequality is then maintained and perpetuated through social forces.
Marx understands the division of labor in society in terms of how it organizes human social relations. The division of labor organizes class relations: bourgeois (owners) vs. proletariat (workers). Marx does not think capitalism is the best system and argues quite the opposite: that it is the source of great misery and oppression in the world.