1. A key concept for Marx is ‘alienated (or 'estranged')
labor’. Why is it important for understanding his conception of human ideals?
The opposite (more or less) is the realization of the man's 'species being".
(That phrase is a pretty literal translation of the German, Gattungswesen. What would be a more
useful translation?)
2. Are the bourgeoisie evil for Marx? are the proletariat
good?
3. Hegel’s dialectic is seen as ‘Idealist’, while Marx’s is
‘Materialist’. Marx himself says that he has ‘turned Hegel on his head’. Marx
claimed that this made him more ‘scientific’. In what sense is he right?
4. Marx’s theory of history was dialectical, implying that
the ‘thesis’ and the ‘antithesis’ would ultimately clash and produce a
‘synthesis’. What ‘synthesis’ is Marx looking towards, and why does he think it
will bring about conditions that will make the realization of his ideals
possible?
5. How are the French Revolution and American Revolutions different from the socialist
revolution Marx thinks is coming. Does
Marx condemn the older revolutions?
6. His evaluation of capitalist society includes a
condemnation of the 'fetishism of commodities'. Explain.
Application 1: Do we ‘fetish-ize’ commodities now?
Application 2: Are
you ‘alienated’ from your ‘species being’? As a student, or on a job you have
or had?
No comments:
Post a Comment