Money & Power

1. Money & Power HSB4M1 – Mr.KoWednesday March 20th 2013By: Warda Shahbaz, NaliniBalliram, Krishna Herman, SevdeKaran

2. Conflict occurs because of social inequalities. Social theorist Karl Marx examined the inequalities between the social classes as a way of understanding of whom we are and the facets of our social situation. He believes that social class is shaped by conflict and to understand ourselves we need to understand where we fit in society. Introduction

3. There are two major social groups which include the Bourgeoisie (owns property) and the Proletariat (working class). There is also the Petty Bourgeoisie (middle class) who are made up of small shop owners and small scale producers. The Bourgeoisie controls and exploits the working class through the mechanism of Capitalism. They own large scale operations and corporations that produce the goods that society consumes. The working class includes people who work for the ruling class (Bourgeoisie) and consume their products. Social institutions like governments or legal systems are tools used by the ruling class to keep the subject or working class under control while the Bourgeoisie furthers their personal goals. The Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat

4. Marx attempted to comprehend how unemployment, poverty, and other monetary crisis were formed. Basic necessities became a popular topic of discussion and shaped our perception of the environment. Marx claimed that the cost of goods and services is related to the value of production needed to create and acquire it. Final product prices and limit/access to purchase the products are decided by the Bourgeoisie. The rich class are the only people that have the opportunity of using these items. Workers become alienated from the product, they make take less pride in the final creation and may not see themselves reflected in the economic system; only when the parts are assembled does the product have value. Profit is maximized, the necessity for skilled labor is reduced and the gap between the Bourgeoisie and Proletariat increases. Marx believed that a person’s entire fate was determined by his or her social class position. Marx’s Labor Theory Of Value and Alienation

5. Antonio Gramsci was a Marxist theorist who believed that the capitalist state controlled society. There were two parts, the “political society” rules through the fore while the “civil society” rules through consent. He also believed that early education is the key to changing the future. A culturally diverse society can be dominated by one ruling class. This is accomplished by securing the consent of certain ideas by persuading other groups to accept the dominant group’s values, which become the social norms. Also, cultural hegemony is not exclusively created and maintained by the ruling class Members of the ruling class want consumption to increase to earn more money. Therefore, to keep up with the demands of consumption placed on us by our society, more income is necessary and thus society becomes a slave to its own ideals. Antonio Gramsci and Change