The material and ideological conditions of our society is important to understand our social situation. This essay outlines the material and ideological conditions and how it signifies our social situation. Material condition means production, exchange and the organization of society. Ideological condition means ideas that are common in society. This essay will focus on the following reading: “The End of Work” by Jeremy Rifkin, “Where the Wasteland Ends” by Theodore Roszak, “The Making of Economic Society” by Robert Heilbroner and “The Tyranny of Work” by James W. Rinehart.
The material conditions in our society are very important. The introduction of machines reduced the number workers in the workforce. The commodity was produced mainly by machines with a little help of humans. The technology has developed which lead workplaces look into new ways in reducing cost and efficient products.
In the “Where the Wasteland Ends” by Theodore Roszak it stated that knowledge grows and how tomorrow’s knowledge is enormous. Today’s knowledge would always be the base for tommow’s knowledge. (Roszak,149) Today’s people know more than people in the past. This relates to the “The End of Work” by Jeremy Rifkin article which states that the people in the past had their own knowledge of producing their own things for their own needs and than these workers had to make the products for other people which than lead to inventing machines to get rid of the workers. This demonstrates the fact that “the workers” were the old knowledge and the “machines” are the new knowledge. As technology, in other words “science” grows new knowledge would develop and this would lead today’s young generation to become smarter than the previous generation. The jobs that are present today in our society is related to technology and therefore the work people do shows what they are worth. If you have more knowledge on the recent technology you would have a higher value. (Rifkin, 17)
In the “The Making of Economic Society” by Robert Heilbroner it mentions that in order for humans to earn their daily bread they must work. (Heilbroner,1) In our world, the well developed countries depend on other countries to provide them with their daily needs and other products. They do not make their products instead they ship materials in and out the country for their citizens to use. (Heilbroner, 3) Countries like U.
Diamond discusses the importance of ideology and the ways in which they “pave road” for society to appropriately organize upon. Diamond specifically outlines the ways in which changing an ideology can alter society in Chapter 14, From Egalitarianism to Kleptocracy, as society evolves through the spread of an ideology. Both Diamond and Hunt agree about the importance of ideology in society, but their standpoints are critically different in their perspectives. Diamond focuses on other aspects just as well, such as immunity to germs or resource production, whereas Hunt specifically focuses on the ways in which changes in ideology impact the development of capitalism. Thus, both Hunt and Diamond have different thought’s on economic history, but converge in the ideal of signifying ideological
Capitalism, is among one of the most important concepts and mainframe of this application paper. According to the 2009 film “Capitalism a Love Story,” capitalism is considered as taking and giving, but mostly taking. Capitalism can also be defined as a mode of production that produces profit for the owners (Dillon, 72). It is based on, and ultimately measured by the inequality and competition between the capitalist owners and the wage workers. A major facet of capitalism is constantly making and designing new things then selling afterwards (Dillon, 34).Capitalism has emerged as far back as the middle ages but had fully flowered around the time o...
The rapid development of global economy with the opening of new markets worldwide gave way to the development of new means of production and also to the change of ideologies across the world. Alongside with that, the division between different groups or classes within societies became more apparent as some people got richer and other poorer. These two phenomena, the worldwide development of industries and consequent class struggles, have been analyzed by two major thinkers of their times, Karl Marx and Robert Reich. Their essays have been influential and are similar in sense that they analyze existing conditions of societies and give projections on future fates of people, or more specifically, fates of classes. In this paper, the main focus will be on the fate of the wealthiest people; these are the bourgeois for Marx and symbolic analysts for Reich. More specifically, it will be argued that the rich people will be in the worst position according to Marx and this position will cover two aspects: material aspect, which is how well the rich will eventually manage their properties, and the inherent antagonism of classes and its consequences for the wealthy.
Before expounding upon these ideas, it is necessary to establish a baseline from which to view these topics. It is important to realize that we as humans view everything from our own cultural perspective. Marx speaks of this saying, "Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of the conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class made into a law for all, a will, whose essential character and direction are determined by the economical conditions of existence of your class."
Much of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto discusses the relationship between how a capitalist society produces its’ goods and how this affects the social structure of the society. Throughout the manifesto, Marx used the term mode of production to refer to how a given society structures its’ economic production, it also refers to how a society produces and with what capital the society produces. Human capital plays a large part in Marx’s communist manifesto, concerning himself with the relations of production, which refers to the relationship between those who own the means of production (bourgeoisie) and those who do not own the fruit of their labor (proletariat). This is where Marx believes that one can find the causes of conflict, asserting history evolves through the mode of production. The constant evolution of the mode of production toward a realization of its’ full potential productivity capacity, creates dissensions between the classes of people, which in capitalism, are defined by the modes of production (owners and workers). Marx believes that one such dissension is that since Capitalism is a mode of production based on private ownership of the means of production, and entities within a capitalistic economy produce property to be exchanged to stay competitive, these entities are forced to drive the wage level for its’ labor as low as possible so as to stay competitive. In turn, the proletariat must create means with which they can keep the interests of the bourgeoisie in check, trying to avoid being exploited to the point of extirpation. Marx holds that this example shows the inherent conflicting nature of the social infrastructure of production, which will in turn give rise to a class struggle culminating in the overthrow ...
The latter part of the nineteenth century was teeming with evolved social and economical ideas. These views of the social structure of urban society came about through the development of ideals taken from past revolutions and the present clash of individuals and organized assemblies. As the Industrial Revolution steamed ahead paving the way for growing commerce, so did the widening gap between the class structure which so predominantly grasped the populace and their rights within the community. The development of a capitalist society was a very favorable goal in the eyes of the bourgeoisie. Using advancing methods of production within a system of free trade, the ruling middle class were strategically able to earn a substantial surplus of funds and maintain their present class of life. Thus, with the advancement of industry and the bourgeoisie's gain of wealth, a counter-action was undoubtably taking place. The resultant was the degradation of the working-class, of the proletarians whom provided labour to a middle-class only to be exploited in doing so. Exploitation is a quarrel between social groups that has been around since the dawn of mankind itself. The persecution of one class by another has historically allowed the advancement of mankind to continue. These clashes, whether ending with positive or negative results, allow Man to evolve as a species, defining Himself within the social structure of nature. Man's rivalry amongst one another allows for this evolution! through the production of something which is different, not necessarily productive, but differing from the present norm and untried through previous epochs.
Communism, socialism, and capitalism are the three basic forms of economical systems, each evident in the world. Although Karl Marx is portrayed as the father of communism, Marx is able to provide a substantial amount of information about the capitalistic world. In his work, “Capital (1867)”, Marx discusses the nature of commodities, wages, and the relationship between a worker and the capitalist economic system. As a result, Marx portrays workers as human beings who have been exploited in order to maximize production and profit in a capitalistic society. Although Karl Marx wrote “Capital (1867)” over a century ago, Marx’s arguments concerning the various uses of human labor, commodities, and values, have remained relevant in the United States
This paper is briefing of book called “Race against the Machine” written by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee. This paper focuses on the impact of technology on the current employment issues. Three explanations of current economic issues that is cyclical, stagnantion and “end of work” is provided (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011). Then the idea of excessive progress in technology making man jobless is presented and to support it various arguments are put forward. Secondly the idea of technology development causing division of labor into high skilled, low skilled, capital, labor, superstars and ordinary labors is presented and explained in detail. Finally remedies for solving these issues are presented and explained. Major takeaways of this paper are mismatch between the productivity and job creation, interlink between Technology improvement and division of labor and importance of education in building stable skilled labors and in the developing a stable society. (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011)
In the book Outliers, and in the articles, “Meaningful Work”, “Do, Just, Do: A Journey to Meaningful, Satisfying work”, and “ You Wont Find Meaningful work Looking Outside Yourself”, The authors Malcolm Gladwell, Michael F. Steger, Lori Deschene, and Keven wood describe what the joy of meaningful is to them.Life is what you make of it and it’s and up to you to decide what you will get out of it. Some people may work eight hour shifts Monday through Friday miserable, exhausted, depressed, unhappy, and under a lot of pressure and stress from their jobs. Others may do the same, similar, or different jobs being comfortable, happy with life, and pleased with their job position. Your job should be one of the most important things to you because you are there on average forty hours a week and most of your time is spent there. It should be important that you enjoy what you do because it is practically your second home. Meaningful work is a job you enjoy doing, are compassionate about, never tired of, and do for the fulfillment of yourself , it is important to success because if one enjoys what they do opportunities in their career path will only expand.
...hown to be a fundamental socioeconomic transformation. My paper has shown many aspects of the market society, by using a number of theorists’ concepts. I focused on the characteristics of a market society, as well as why this transformation from traditional society was so significant. I also discussed the changes that have taken place in the workplace and the impact on the workers, which these material conditions became apparent throughout time. Lastly, I explained Weber’s idea of “economic rationality” and the worldview of people in a market society, to show how workers rationalized the work they put into the production and distribution of material goods. Generally, this paper’s purpose was to show how the market society has established itself over time, and how both material and ideological conditions interacted and changed the ways we view market society today.
The market today has become so important that society takes it as completely natural. From “The Economic Problem” Heilbroner describes three main solutions, with the market being one. Furthermore into the market, Polanyis book “The great Transformation” gives insight on how much society actually allows the market to dominate. To Polanyi a market society is seen as social relations embedded in the economy instead of the economy being embedded in social relations. Examining both of these books gives a great understanding on how life was without the market and how it came to be. Taking note of Rineharts work as well on how the workplace has drastically been changed by the market is key to analyzing the transformation as a whole. As a result of the transformation, not only has human labour been altered, but another author known as Weber states that certain peoples view on the world have also be affected. This essay will establish how “the great transformation” (Polanyi) from a traditional society to one based on a market economy has vastly impacted societal workplaces, and societal beliefs around faith of idealogical conditions.
“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man” (Hubbard 151). Elbert Hubbard, an American writer and the founder of Roycroft Artisan community, predicted the future with his epigram. His maxim would resonate for years to come and would be seen in the future job markets. For thousands of years, technology has fundamentally changed the way we live and interact with our environment. It has brought us from the Stone Age to the Industrial Revolution. It has taken us from the creation of the computer to the landing on the moon. Not only has technology affected the old, but also it has affected the youth. For the old and aged, modern technological innovations have brought about longer lives through medicine and other health care. People today are able to live longer, live stronger, and live happier. As for the youth and growing generations, technology has also affected them in various ways. From entertainment to education, technology has designed a generation that could never have been before imagined. But technology has not stopped there; it also has affected their future. From what careers they will pursue to how much they will earn, technology will play a big role. With the rise of new machines and equipment, thousands of jobs will be created that will range from ones that involve handling the machinery to ones that cannot be done by machinery. However on the other hand, new technology also takes away thousands of other jobs from society. As businesses look for ways to maker bigger profits, they will start replacing workers with machinery that could do the job faster and better. While the amount of unemployed may increase due to the advancement of technology, there will also b...
Our lives are greatly affected by our culture, ecological environment, political environment and our economic structure. The overarching method of organizing a complex modern society relies heavily on the founding economic theories regarding method of production, method of organization, and the distribution of wealth among the members of. This paper, specifically deals with the views and theoretical backgrounds of two dominant theories of the past century, Keynesianism and Neo-liberalism. Our social economic order is product of the two theories and has evolved through many stages to come to where it is today. The two ideologies rely on different foundations for their economic outcomes but both encourage capitalism and claim it to be the superior form of economic organization. Within the last quarter of the 20th century, neo-liberalism has become the dominant ideology driving political and economic decisions of most developed nations. This dominant ideology creates disparities in wealth and creates inequality through the promotion of competitive markets free from regulation. Neo-liberal’s ability to reduce national government’s size limits the powers and capabilities of elected representatives and allows corporations to become much larger and exert far greater force on national and provincial governments to act in their favour. Hence, it is extremely important at this time to learn about the underlying power relations in our economy and how the two ideologies compare on important aspects of political economy. In comparing the two theories with respect to managing the level of unemployment, funding the welfare sates, and pursuing national or international objectives, I will argue that Keynesianism provides far greater stability, equ...
Throughout this assignment I will compare and contrast the views in which Karl Marx and Max Weber had on the sociological importance of the economy. I will gather evidence from various sources to show both
Weimer, George. ?Robots ?see? factory?s future.? Material Handling Management (Mar. 2002): 25. InfoTrac. Online. Nov. 2002 .