What is Marxism? | Literary Theory: Marxism | Base & Superstructure | Capitalist & Communist Society

Summary

In this educational video, the concepts of Marxism are explored, focusing on the base and superstructure, and the division of society into two classes: the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The video explains how the bourgeoisie class exploits the working class, especially after the Industrial Revolution. It contrasts capitalist societies, characterized by private ownership and profit maximization, with communist societies that promote equal wealth distribution and a classless structure. The video concludes by highlighting the support of Marxism for a cooperative, rather than competitive, society, and mentions 'The Communist Manifesto' by Marx and Engels.

Takeaways

• 📚 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the founding figures of Marxism, which is a critical perspective on socio-economic conditions.
• 🏭 Post-Industrial Revolution society is divided into two main classes: the proletariat (working class) and the bourgeoisie (wealthy class who own the means of production).
• 💼 The bourgeoisie class exploits the proletariat by paying low wages and maintaining oppressive relationships, leading to a divide where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
• 🏢 The concept of 'base' in Marxism represents the economic infrastructure, including the means of production owned by the bourgeoisie, and the relations of production between the two classes.
• 🏬 'Superstructure' refers to social institutions like education, family, religion, politics, and mass media, which are used by the bourgeoisie to maintain and legitimize the unequal power relations of the base.
• 🌐 The superstructure serves as an instrument of power to convince the working class that the status quo is normal and acceptable.
• 🏦 In a capitalist society, the means of production are privately owned, operated for profit, and the government's role is minimal, focusing mainly on tax collection.
• 🌍 Marxism opposes capitalist society due to the inherent exploitation and oppression of the working class by the bourgeoisie.
• 🕊️ A communist society, exemplified by places like Denmark, is characterized by equal wealth distribution, government ownership, and a focus on collective advancement over individual gain.
• 🔄 In communism, there is no class distinction, private property is prohibited, and cooperation is emphasized over competition.
• 📜 The Communist Manifesto, written by Marx and Engels in 1848, outlines their vision for a communist society and the principles of Marxism.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video on 'Marxism'?

The video focuses on explaining the concepts of base and superstructure, the two types of classes (proletariat and bourgeoisie), and the differences between capitalist and communist societies as per Marxist theory.

Who are the founding figures of Marxism?

The German philosopher Karl Marx and the German sociologist Frederick Engels are the founding figures of Marxism.

What does Marxism believe about human beings in relation to socio-economic conditions?

Marxism believes that human beings are mainly divided by their socio-economic conditions, leading to the creation of different social classes.

What are the two main classes that emerged after the Industrial Revolution according to the video?

After the Industrial Revolution, two main classes emerged: the proletariat class (working class) and the bourgeoisie class (rich people who owned the means of production).

What is the role of the bourgeoisie class in the capitalist society as described in the video?

In the capitalist society, the bourgeoisie class owns the factories and means of production, hires the working class, and often oppresses them by paying low wages.

Can you explain the concept of 'base' in Marx's architectural metaphor?

In Marx's architectural metaphor, 'base' refers to the ground floor of a building, representing the economic structure of society, including the means of production and the relations of production.

What is 'superstructure' and how does it relate to the 'base'?

Superstructure is the first floor of the building in Marx's metaphor, representing social institutions like education, family, religion, politics, and mass media. It is shaped by the base and is used by the bourgeoisie to maintain and legitimize the unequal power relationships.

What is the main goal of a capitalist society according to the video?

In a capitalist society, the main goal is profit maximization and wealth accumulation, with privately owned and operated means of production and minimal government intervention.

How does a communist society differ from a capitalist society?

A communist society is characterized by an equal distribution of wealth, government ownership of all resources, and a focus on the advancement of the entire nation rather than individuals. It is a classless society with no bourgeoisie or proletariat classes.

What are some examples of communist society in literature mentioned in the video?

Plato's 'Republic' and Thomas More's 'Utopia' are mentioned as early examples of communist society in literature.

What significant document did Karl Marx and Frederick Engels write together in 1848?

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels wrote 'The Communist Manifesto' in 1848, which outlined their vision for a communist society.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Marxism and Socio-Economic Classes

This paragraph introduces the topic of Marxism, focusing on the concepts of base and superstructure, and the division of society into two main classes post-Industrial Revolution: the proletariat (working class) and the bourgeoisie (wealthy class). It explains how the bourgeoisie owns the means of production and exploits the proletariat by paying low wages, leading to a system of oppression. The paragraph sets the stage for a deeper exploration of Marxist theory by discussing the impact of industrialization on class division.

05:02

🏛️ Base and Superstructure in Marxist Theory

The second paragraph delves into the architectural metaphor of base and superstructure to explain the economic and social dynamics in Marxist theory. The base, representing the ground floor of society, includes the means of production owned by the bourgeoisie and the production relations that define the exploitative relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The superstructure, likened to the first floor of a building, encompasses social institutions such as education, family, religion, politics, and mass media, which are used by the ruling class to maintain and legitimize the existing power structure. The paragraph also contrasts capitalist and communist societies, with capitalism being criticized for its inherent class oppression and communism being praised for its classless and cooperative nature.

Keywords

💡Marxism

Marxism is a social, political, and economic theory originated from the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It focuses on the struggle between social classes and the historical materialist interpretation of societal development. In the video, Marxism is the central theme, with the discussion revolving around its critique of capitalist society and advocacy for a communist society.

💡Base and Superstructure

Base and superstructure are concepts in Marxist theory that describe the relationship between the economic base of society, which includes the means of production and production relations, and the superstructure, which encompasses social institutions like politics, law, and culture. The video uses the metaphor of a building to explain how the economic base shapes the superstructure, with the base being controlled by the bourgeoisie to maintain their power.

💡Proletariat

The proletariat, or working class, refers to the class of people who live by selling their labor and do not own the means of production. In the script, the proletariat is depicted as being oppressed by the bourgeoisie, highlighting the class struggle that is central to Marxist theory.

💡Bourgeoisie

The bourgeoisie is the capitalist class that owns the means of production and employs the working class. The video describes how the bourgeoisie exploits the proletariat by paying low wages and maintaining an unequal power relationship, which is a key aspect of capitalist society according to Marxism.

💡Means of Production

The means of production include the physical and financial resources used to produce goods or services, such as raw materials, land, factories, and machinery. The script explains that in the base of society, the bourgeoisie owns the means of production, which is a fundamental aspect of the capitalist system criticized by Marx.

💡Relations of Production

Relations of production refer to the relationships between people in the production process, particularly the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The video emphasizes the unequal relations of production where the bourgeoisie controls the means of production and exploits the working class.

💡Capitalist Society

A capitalist society is characterized by private ownership of the means of production and the pursuit of profit. The video contrasts capitalist society with a communist society, highlighting the oppression of the working class and the accumulation of wealth by the bourgeoisie in a capitalist system.

💡Communist Society

A communist society is one where wealth and resources are distributed equally among all people, with no class distinctions. The video describes a communist society as one that supports cooperation over competition and is free from the oppression seen in capitalist societies, aligning with Marxist ideals.

💡Class Struggle

Class struggle is the conflict between different social classes, particularly between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The video script discusses how industrialization led to the operation of the working class and the enrichment of the bourgeoisie, exemplifying the class struggle central to Marxist analysis.

💡The Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto is a political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848, laying out the principles of communism. The video mentions this work as a foundational text for understanding the concepts of communist society and Marxism.

💡Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution refers to the period of rapid industrialization that began in Britain in the late 18th century and spread to other parts of the world. The video script uses the Industrial Revolution as a context for the emergence of the two main classes in Marxist theory: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

Highlights

Introduction to the topic of Marxism in the context of literature and learning.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels identified as the founding figures of Marxism.

Marxism's view that human beings are primarily divided by their socio-economic conditions.

Post-Industrial Revolution emergence of two classes: the proletariat (working class) and the bourgeoisie (wealthy class).

The bourgeoisie class owning the means of production and exploiting the working class.

Industrialization leading to the oppression of the working class and the enrichment of the bourgeoisie.

Explanation of the base and superstructure as an architectural metaphor for economic production and its dependencies.

The base includes the means of production and the relations of production, controlled by the bourgeoisie.

The superstructure encompasses social institutions used by the bourgeoisie to maintain power and legitimize the base.

The capitalist society characterized by private ownership and profit maximization, opposed by Marxism.

Communist society described as having equal wealth distribution, government ownership, and no class distinction.

Marxism's support for a communist society due to its classless nature and cooperation over competition.

Historical examples of communist society ideals in literature, such as Plato's Republic and Thomas More's Utopia.

The Communist Manifesto of 1848, co-authored by Marx and Engels, outlining their vision for a communist society.

Announcement of a new online course on literary criticism and theory, featuring 32 recorded lectures and extensive notes.

Invitation to subscribe to the channel and hit the bell icon for updates on future videos.

Closing remarks with a promise of more topics on Marxism in upcoming videos and a thank you to the viewers.

Transcripts

hello everyone welcome to learning

literature with porba in today's video

we are going to look at Marxism we are

going to talk about base and

superstructure the two types of classes

and we are going to talk about

capitalist society and communist Society

so if you haven't yet subscribed to our

channels then do subscribe to it and hit

the Bell icon so that tune level is an

update the German philosopher Karl Marx

and the German sociologist Frederick

Engels are the founding figures of

Marx's criticism so Marxism believes

that human beings are mainly divided by

their socio-economic conditions so after

the Industrial Revolution we have two

types of classes so we have the

proletariat class the Working Class

People who worked in the factories that

were owned by the second class that is a

bourgeoisi class the rich people who

owned the factories who owned the means

of production that means the raw

materials land factories machines

Etc so they were the rich people so the

bourgeoisie they owned these factories

and they hired the Working Class People

to work for them and they used to give

very low wages to this working-class

people and that is how the operation

started so the bourgeoisie class people

they kept on oppressing the proletariat

class people and this division of

classes it happened after the Industrial

Revolution so we have two classes the

proletariat class the Working Class

People who were oppressed and the

bourgeoisi class people the rich people

who oppressed the Working Class People

so as you can see industrialization

resulted in the operation of the Working

Class People the rich became richer and

the poor became poorer now we're going

to look at base and superstructure so

Karl Marx gave us a beautiful

architectural metaphor in order to

explain the means of economic production

and other elements that depended on it

so we can consider base as a ground

floor and superstructure as the first

floor of a building

so what is there in base economics is

the base

so what do we have in base we have the

means of production

so the raw materials land machines

factories these are the means of

production and these are the means of

production that are owned by the

bourgeoisie class people so the

bourgeoisi class people they own the raw

materials they own the factories they

own the machine stay on the land right

the factories are built so this is the

means of production and then we have the

relations of production that means the

relationship between the bourgeoisie

class people and the proletariat class

people so the bourgeoisi class people

they own the means of production and

because they own the means of production

now they hire the Working Class People

to work for them so the Working Class

People they need money that is why they

work for the bourgeoisie glass people

but they are given very low wages and

they are constantly oppressed by the

bourgeoisie class people so we can see

this unequal relation ship that exists

between the two classes the bourgeoisie

class people and the proletarian class

people so economics is the base and in

the base we have the means of production

as well as the relationship between the

two classes and who controls the base

the base is controlled by the rich that

is the bourgeoisie class people

no base shapes the superstructure so

what is there in the superstructure all

the social institutions such as

education family religion politics and

mass media so superstructure is used as

an instrument of Power by either rich

people that is the bourgeoisie class

people to convince the Working Class

People that this is how things should be

that this unequal relationship between

the two classes is the most normal thing

so superstructure is used as an

instrument of Power by the ruling class

people to make the Working Class People

that nothing wrong is happening at all

so superstructure maintains and

legitimizes the base it naturalizes the

unequal power relationship between the

two classes so if base is a ground floor

of a building superstructure is the

first floor of the building and both of

them are controlled by the bourgeoisie

class people

now we are going to look at the two

types of society based on the economic

system so at first we have the

capitalist Society so here the means of

production are privately owned and

operated for-profit there is no

government intervention the only role of

government is to collect taxes from the

privately owned companies

so as you can see the main goal is

profit maximization and accumulation of

wealth the customer can choose the best

company out of many companies so this is

a capitalist society and Marxism is

always against capitalist Society

because in capitalist Society the

bourgeoisie class people can hire

working-class people and they can

oppress them so in a capitalist Society

Working Class People are constantly

oppressed and that is why Marxism is

against capitalist Society

next we have communist Society the type

of society we can see in Denmark

so in a communist Society there is equal

distribution of wealth government owns

everything and distributes equally among

all the people it is a classless society

people cannot own any private property

there and government focuses on the

advancement of the entire nation rather

than advancement of an individual a

communist society believes that human

beings should cooperate with each other

not compete with each other so it

believes in cooperation not competition

so Marxism supports Community Society

because it is a classless society so

there is no bourgeoisi class and

proletariate class people here and the

Working Class People obviously cannot be

oppressed here because it is a classless

society that is why Marxism always

supports communist Society

Plato's Republic and Thomas most Utopia

are the earliest examples of communist

Society in literature

also you must remember that in 1848 Karl

Marx and Frederick Engels together wrote

The Communist Manifesto but they talked

about the Communist society and what

they believe when they talk about

communism communist society and Marxism

so that was all about today's video

where we looked at Marxism where we

looked at base and superstructure where

we looked at the differences between

capitalist society and communist Society

in the next video we will continue with

some more topics related to Marxism

if you found the video helpful then do

like it and share with your friends I'll

be back very soon with a new video

and also I want to announce that we have

launched a recorded course of literary

criticism and literary Theory so this

course comprises of 32 recorded video

lectures and PDF notes of

1414 pages also in each recorded lecture

we have discussed important mcqs so do

check out this online course of literary

criticism and literary theory on our

Online Academy

www.learning literature with porba.com

thank you so much for watching I will

see you soon

[Music]