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Ideology
A perception of reality or way of thinking. With relation to Marx, it refers to a fake sense of reality or false consciousness.
The dominant ideology serves to at the same time explain and justify a societies political and social structure.
Marx?s Theory of Social Change
Progress
With reference to Hegel?s notion of the Zeitgeist, or Spirit of the Age.
Hegel believed that changes in ideals caused changes in society.
Marx argues that fundamental changes in the mode of production sweeps away older less efficient modes of production.
With each new means of production comes the owners of those means, establishing a new rising class. Creating a struggle between the old and new power structure.
Marx believed in PROGRESS.
Primitive communism
The Ancient Mode of Production - Slaves
Feudalism
Capitalism- surplus production and capital, or economic profits.
Capitalism
Capitalism favours large scale producers, therefore driving the small scale petit bourgeoisie into the ranks of the proletariat.
Monopoly Capital Accumulation
A smaller and smaller number of large companies dominate. With so few rich individuals and so many poor individuals unable to by products revenues drop.
In order to maintain revenue the bourgeosie try to rescue profits by retrenching staff, resulting in less people being able to buy the produce.
The situation gets so bad that the proleetariat cannot survie and the bourgeoisie are so weakened tht they cannot control the workers. Leading to...
Class-Consciousness
Class consciousness resulting because the owners have also lost ideological control.
Class consciousness would replace false consciousness.
Marx argues that at this point there would be a revolution resulting in socialism. Leading to...
Socialism to Communism
Socialism is the public ownership of the means of production - or Capital.
Finally resulting in Communism - which is...
The complete abolition of all private property. The final stage of society.
Linking the Theory to the Methods
Materialism- Man is a social animal.
The most important aspect of the SOCIAL,
(relationship) being that of private property?MONEY. Another aspect being labour, or working to get money.
Dialectic - Seeking contradictions in history and there overcoming or transcendence. Thesis + antithesis = Synthesis.
Other commentators argue that this is not a method, merely a method of presentation.
Marx?s methods were empirical and therefore based on observation of facts and figures. Facts and figures that have been interpreted.
Theory to Method
Marx used English statisitcs which he believed were properly compiled.
Historical Statistics on economic and trade figures. Tracing the the accumulation of wealth in early capitalism and the industrial revolution.
To counter problems with statistics in general he used report and documentary sources
Epistemology
Marx was viewed as a Positivist because of his search for Natural Laws.
But because he acknowledged the historical development of societies and therefore these laws he is currently viewed as a realist.
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