The Coal Miners in France During the Second Empire Essay -- World Hist

The Coal Miners in France During the Second Empire In this paper I will explain why revolt by the labor against capital in Second Empire France failed. To explain the situation, I will use Marx's theory of capital accumulation as he presents it in {Capital}. Also important in the theoretical description of this phenomena is the role of tradition and the way its restraints deviate from those of the economy in this French society. Based on this description I will discuss how the function of management is enforced by the economy and traditions inherent in a society. From these considerations I will suggest additional elements and relationships necessary for social relations change to transcend the institutional conditions in which they exist. Terminology relevent to a theoretical account of an event is given by Talcott Parsons in {The Structure of Social Action}. Here, action is described as a system that may be divided into unit acts. The unit act consists of four elements. First there is an agent, or actor. Second, the act has an end which is a future state of affairs or goal towards which the action is oriented. Third, there is a situation where the trends of develop- ment differ from the end towards which the action is oriented. The situation is composed of two elements; the conditions are that which the actor cannot manipulate in accordance with his end, and the means are that over which he does not have control. Finally there is a relation between these elements; where a situation allows alterna- tive means to the end, the course is selected from the normative orientation of the actor. (Parsons, 1968: 44) In order to account for the interrelationships in the historical event ... ... change. Events will subsequently no longer happen but attain meaning in the light of the source that the charismatic element advocates. This change in normative orientations relative to the change in other elements of the process must be reflected in the ideology. The ideology of social change may not simply be a reiffication of the old in a reactionary form. The substance of the ideology, in being a response to the divergence caused by the economy and polity, must be such as to transcend that which came before it. This final condition, specifying the relations between elements necessary for revolutionary change, may only be derived in a society which is neither an organic, composite whole nor one of random atomistic ends. Rather, the society must be one where the normative orientation for mediating between conditions and means is one of consensus.

Louis Althusser

In his essay, Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses, Louis Althusser demonstrates that in order to exist, a social formation is required to essentially, continuously and perpetually reproduce the productive forces (labour-power), the conditions of production and the relations of production. The reproduction of productive forces is ensured by the wage system which pays a minimum amount to the workers so that they appear to work day after day, thereby limiting their vertical mobility.The reproduction of the conditions of production and the reproduction of the relations of production happens through the State Apparatuses which are insidious machinations controlled by the capitalist ruling ideology in the context of a class struggle to repress, exploit, extort and subjugate the ruled class. The Marxist spatial metaphor of the edifice, describes a social formation, constituted by the foundational infrastructure i. e. , the economic base on which stands the superstructure comprising o f two floors: the Law-the State (politico-legal) and Ideology.Althusser extends this topographical paradigm by stating that the Infrastructural economic base is endowed with an â€Å"index of effectivity† which enables it to ultimately determine the functioning of the superstructure. He scrutinizes this structural metaphor by discussing the superstructure in detail. A close study of the superstructure is necessitated due to its relative autonomy over the base and its reciprocal action on the base. Althusser regards the State as a repressive apparatus which is used by the ruling class as a tool to suppress and dominate the working class.According to Althusser, the basic function of the Repressive State Apparatus (Heads of State, government, police, courts, army etc. ) is to intervene and act in favour of the ruling class by repressing the ruled class by violent and coercive means. The Repressive state apparatus (RSA) is controlled by the ruling class, because more often than n ot, the ruling class possesses State power. Althusser takes the Marxist theory of the State forward by distinguishing the repressive State Apparatus from the Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA).The ISAs consist of an array of institutions and multiple realities that propagate a wide range of ideologies such as Religious ISA, Educational ISA, Family ISA, Legal ISA, Political ISA, Communications ISA, Cultural ISA etc. He accentuates the differences between the RSA and the ISAs as follows: 1. The RSA functions as a unified entity (an organized whole) as opposed to the ISA which is diverse and plural. However, what unites the disparate ISAs is the fact that they are ultimately controlled by the ruling ideology. 2.The RSA function predominantly by means of repression and violence and secondarily by ideology whereas the ISA functions predominantly by ideology and secondarily by repression and violence. The ISA functions in a concealed and a symbolic manner. He declares that the School has supplanted the Church as being the crucial ISA which augments the reproduction of the relations of production (i. e. , the capitalist relations of exploitation) by training the students to become productive forces (labour-power) working for and under the Capitalist agents of exploitation.The Educational ISAs, which assume a dominant role in a Capitalist economy, conceal and mask the ruling class ideology behind its liberating qualities so that their hidden agendas become inconspicuous to the parents of the students. Althusser compares â€Å"ideology† to Freud’s â€Å"unconscious†. In the same sense that Freud had stated that the unconscious was eternal, he hypothesizes that ideology too is eternal due to its omnipresence. Therefore, ideology in general has no history.Althusser posits that it is not possible for a class to hold State power unless and until it exercises its hegemony (domination) over and in the ISA at the same time. The importance of ISAs is unde rstood in the wake of class struggles because ISAs are not only a crucial stake in class struggle but they are also the site of class struggle. The resistances of the exploited classes are able to find means and opportunities to express themselves in the ISAs to overpower the dominant class.An oppressed class can end its oppression by over powering the dominant/ruling class by utilizing the contradictions within the ISAs or by conquering combating positions in the ISAs during struggle. The crux of Althusser’s argument is the structure and functioning of â€Å"ideology†. Althusser explains the structure and functioning of ideology by presenting two theses. Firstly, he posits that ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence.This distortion of reality is caused by material alienation and by the active imagination of oppressive individuals who base their domination and exploitation on the falsified representations of the world in order to enslave the relatively passive minds of the oppressed. Secondly, he posits that ideology always has a material existence in the form of concrete entities or apparatuses (ISAs). Hence, an individual’s belief in various ideologies (imaginary realities) is derived from the ideas of the individual who is a subject endowed with a consciousness that is defined by the ISAs.This (false) consciousness inspires and instigates the subject to behave in certain ways, adopt certain attitudes and participate in certain regular practices which conform to the ideology within which he recognizes himself as a subject. The ideas of the subject are inscribed in the ritual practices based on the â€Å"correct† principles of that ideology. Hence, despite the imaginary distortion by ideology, a subject derives his beliefs from the ideas which become his material actions and practices governed by material rituals which are all defined by material ideological apparatus and derived from the same.Althusser’s central thesis states that ideology transforms individuals as subjects by a process of interpellation or hailing. The Family ISA is at work even before a child is born because it predetermines the identity of the child before its birth. Hence, an individual is always-already a subject. An individual is subjected to various levels of ideological subjection and each level of subjection or each ISA that subjects the individual influences the individual’s day to day activities and thereby determines his real conditions of existence.Further, Althusser demonstrates that the recognition of oneself as a ‘free’ subject within an ideology is only a misrecognition because the notion of a ‘free’ subject in ideology is only an illusion. In reality, the subject is subjugated, limited, restricted and controlled by ideology to such an extent that he has limited freedom and diminutive individual agency. Due to this misrecogni tion the subject acts and practices rituals steeped in the dominant ideology that are detrimental to his/her own welfare.

Feminism The Face Of American Politics - 983 Words

Feminism is a word with a wide variety of connotations. For some it brings to mind images of strong, influential women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony—women who changed the face of American politics for women. To some it is just another word, but to far too many, feminism is a hated word and therefore a hated cause. It stands for man-hating, excuse-making, manly women who play the victim to gain advantage over men. This negative image of a movement intended to fight for equality prevents both men and women from receiving the benefits moving the cause forward would reap. If people made feminism what it was intended to be then men and women would be empowered to rise above gender stereotypes. Why does the word feminism have such negative connotations? According to the New York Times, eighty-two percent of Americans don’t identify as feminists, though eighty-five percent of those polled said that women and men should be treated equally, which is the basis of feminism (The New York Times). This schism happens in part because much of the media highlights radical feminists, or â€Å"feminazis† as some refer to them, and they become the face of feminism. People tend to focus on quotes from extremists such as Valerie Solanas, who created a manifesto for a hypothetical feminist society â€Å"Society for Cutting Up Men.† In her â€Å"SCUM Manifesto,† Solanas said, â€Å"The male†¦.is trapped in a twilight zone halfway between humans and apes, and is far worse off than theShow MoreRelatedThe Definition Of Modern Day Feminism1116 Words   |  5 PagesMegan Thompson Ms. Butters AP Language 13 November 2014 The Definition of Modern Day Feminism â€Å"Feminist: a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.† This is what Beyonce, one of the most famous and influential Women of Color in the past decade, claims in her 2014 VMA performance, with a large, shining backdrop of the word ‘feminist’ behind her. This quickly became one of the most direct and most widely-known displays of her feminist beliefs, and Beyonce isRead MoreBlack Oppression By Huey P. 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