Outline

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Outline
. Marx
2. Commodification &
Decommodification
3. Labor Markets
A. Domination &
Exploitation
4. New Classes in Conflict
A. Bourgeoisie
B. Proletariat
5. Class Struggle
1
Class News

Exam will be on
Tuesday 3/29

New Policy
Experiment:

Power Point Slides
are up

Chaplin back on
Thursday
Quiz

1. One of this week’s readings provided an in depth
examination of the production of pancakes. This article used the
creation of pancakes to explore the concept of:
A. McDonaldization
B. Commodification
C. Industrialization
D. Deregulation
Quiz

A.
B.
C.
D.
2. The reading “Not Just and Urban Legend”
explored:
The degree to which serial killers are socially
integrated
The spread of false rumors like the idea that mixing
“pop rocks” and Pepsi will kill you
The buying and selling of human organs
The way that organized criminal groups such as the
mafia interact with free markets
Karl Marx and Modernity
1818-1883
Karl Marx


Sometimes said that “All of sociology is a wrestling match with Karl Marx’s
ghost.”
Early analyst and critic of new capitalist society

Like Durkheim, very skeptical that “self interest” would create a stable society

Predicted self interest and free markets would lead to an unstable society
characterized by poverty and crisis

Free market would generate new classes that would come into conflict with one
another
Marx’s Main Concern About Modernity:
New Inequality between Classes
Karl Marx…Wrote A LOT…


You’ll encounter in sociology, political science,
philosophy, history….
Throughout, concerned with the way the
commodification of life generated conflict…huh?
 Anyone
want to take a stab at this term?
Marx…

Smith advised individuals to pursue their own self interest


Social Structure changes from subsistence living to dependence on markets

Native Americans…from buffalo hunt on common lands to private property and
the super market

Irish used to work landlords land, then land was cleared and they were forced to
get essentials in the market
Markets develop in many goods and services


Pete raises cattle for meat: Ted makes knives to sell to butchers; Ralph sells
steaks; Mary sells pots and pans, etc.
More and more things become Commodities

goods or services that are exchanged in a market (D)
Commodities and Context


Commodities- goods or services that are exchanged in a market
(D)
Whether or not something is a commodity is dependent on social
context

Buffalo killed by Native American tribe and eaten collectively by tribe is not a
commodity

Buffalo raised by rancher to be sold to butcher is a commodity

Buffalo ground up into hamburger for sale to family… ground meat is a commodity

Buffalo burger barbecued by Dad and given to family…not a commodity
Modernity brings more and more
commodities…and a new concept

Commodification

extension of the market into spheres of life previously not
organized by market relations (D)

Food, Shelter, water, heat…Can pay for them you get
them…if you can’t…welcome to modernity…

Think Native American…from gathering wood for heat to purchasing
wood for heat

Hundreds of thousands landless Irish starve in 1840s


“God brought the blight, the English brought the famine.”
Today, most of us take commodification for granted…but if
you think about it…you’ll notice interesting process…
Growing Commodification of our
world…

Commodification


extension of the market into spheres of life previously not organized by
market relations (D)
Stadiums


Space within the building…(Wrigley and the Roofs)
Names: Veterans to Lincoln Financial
Growing Commodification of our
world…

Commodification


extension of the market into
spheres of life previously not
organized by market relations (D)
Bodies

$15,000 = GOLDEN PALACE.COM
tatoo

For three years, Goodyear's Dunlop
tire unit has offered a set of free
tires to anyone who will get the
company's flying-D logo tattooed
somewhere on their body, and 98
people have taken up the offer.
Growing Commodification of our
world…

Commodification




extension of the
market into spheres of
life previously not
organized by market
relations (D)
Clothes
Product placements in
novels
TV Product
Placements
Growing Commodification of our
world…

Commodification
 extension
of the market into spheres of life previously
not organized by market relations (D)

Selling the The Sides of Coffins

Commodification


extension of the market
into spheres of life
previously not organized
by market relations (D)
Classrooms

Students are a captive
audience exposed to
marketing or ads

Can’t just get up and
change the front of the
classroom…you have to
look
Growing Commodification of our
world…

Commodification
 extension
of the market into spheres of life previously
not organized by market relations (D)

Inside of the Patco Tunnel in Philly
The Commodification of life…

What happens if self
interest leads some social
actors to commodify (buy
& sell) things that other
members of society don’t
want commodified?
Society and Markets


Laissez faire (D)
doctrine that government should limit itself to the
maintenance of law and order, and remove all legal
restraints on trade and prices.

From the French “Leave us alone”

Emphasis on “Free markets” with little or no government
regulation

Associated with ideas of Adam Smith
Commodification of labor…?
You live in a capitalist society where some argue that there
should be minimal regulation of business. You and your spouse
are employed at a very profitable cotton mill where you each
work 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. You are not paid enough
money to feed your child, pay your rent, and buy other
necessities. Your child is 8 years old and has nimble hands. Your
boss tells you that he would be more than happy to hire your kid
and pay her ½ of what you receive. Though you are not happy
about this idea, since you would rather your kid go to school, your
family needs the money and your kid joins the millions of other
children legally working in factories in America.
1) Should the labor power (ability to work) of 8 year old kids be a
commodity? If yes, why? If no, why?
Commodification of
labor…?
You live in a capitalist society where some argue that there should
be minimal regulation of business. You and your spouse are
employed at a very profitable cotton mill where you each work 7
days a week, 12 hours a day. You are not paid enough money to
feed your child, pay your rent, and buy other necessities. Your child
is 8 years old and has nimble hands. Your boss tells you that since
that he would be more than happy to hire your kid and pay her ½
of what you receive. Though you are not happy about this idea,
since you would rather your kid go to school, your family needs the
money and your kid joins the millions of other children legally
working in factories in America.
1)
What mechanisms might society use to put an end to child labor (try
to use our concepts: self interest, competition, exit, voice, collective
action, norms, institutions, etc)
Society Limits Commodification

Anyone know how our society dealt with/deals
with the issue of child labor?
Society Limits Commodification


Anyone know how our society limited child labor?
Collective Action  Voice  Institutional Rules
(Laws)
 Fair
Labor Standards Act (1938)
 restricted
child labor in industries engaged in interstate
commerce and set minimum wage wages and maximum
hours for all workers. (D)

Mother Jones led a march through Philly to eliminate child labor
Still an issue on planet…


International Labor Organization
estimates 120 million kids
between 8 and 14 currently
work full time
Thinking about future topics we’ll
study…What happens when
companies and workers in
societies that have banned child
labor have to economically
compete with companies and
workers in societies that permit
child labor?

What’s a self interested business
man in America to do?

What’s a self interested worker in
America to do?
The Commodification of life…

What happens if self
interest leads some social
actors to commodify (buy
& sell) things that other
member of society don’t
want commodified?
Commodification…?
You live in a capitalist society where great emphasis is
placed on the ability of markets to coordinate social
relations. In this society, there are people who need organ
transplants. Different organs are distributed in different
ways, but generally speaking those in need are put on lists,
and when donors emerge, organs are given out based on a
formula that uses placement on the list along with current
status. Since people can live with only one kidney, Mr. X sees
and opportunity and creates ACME Kidney Traders.
1)
Should people be able to buy and sell body parts just like
they buy and sell blankets? Should human organs be
commodities? Why or why not?
Limits on Commodification…

National Organ
Transplant Act (1984)
 sale
and purchase of
human organs
punishable by up to 5
years in prison or a
$50,000 fine. (D)

But as with many things
that are banned, a
black market exists
Banned…

But a black market…
UN: Fall 09

“Human dignity
would seem to
require that a
person be able to
make a living
without having to
maim himself. And
medical ethics would
seem to prohibit
taking people’s
parts for profits”
Decommodifying the World?



All modern societies grapple with the degree of
commodification that should exist in a society…
Result has been interesting conflicts over questions of
Decommodification- removal of the market from a sector
of society previously governed by market relations (D)
Outline
1. Marx
2. Labor Markets Exploitation
3. Labor Markets and Exploitation
4. New Classes in Conflict
A. Bourgeoisie
B. Proletariat
5. Class Struggle
A. Revolutionary
B. Democratic






“Afghanistan may be a feudal society in many ways, but it is very much
capitalist feudalism. In northern Kunduz Province, Afghan votes cost $15
each; in eastern Ghazni Province, a vote can be bought for $18. In
Kandahar, they sell their rights for as little as $1 a ballot. More commonly,
the price seems to hover in the $5 to $6 range, as quoted to New York
Times reporters in places like Helmand and Khost Provinces.
A sociologist would note that Afghanistan has witnessed the ____________
of votes.
A. structuration
B. wholesaleization
C. Walmartization
D. commodification
Decommodifying the World?



All modern societies grapple with the degree of
commodification that should exist in a society…result has
been interesting conflicts over questions of
Decommodification- removal of the market from a sector
of society previously governed by market relations
Who owns the Grand Canyon?
Decommodifying the World?




All modern societies grapple with the degree of commodification
that should exist in a society…result has been interesting conflicts
over questions of
Decommodification- removal of the market from a sector of
society previously governed by market relations
Who owns the Grand Canyon?
You do. Government interfered in the real estate market and
created the National Park System in the early 20th century.

Ken Burns documentary currently airing on PBS
Decommodifying the World…


Decommodification
What has our society done to make sure that books
are available to everyone in society, regardless of
whether they have money to buy books?
Decommodifying the World…



Decommodification
What has our society done to make sure that books
are available to everyone in society, regardless of
whether they have money to buy books?
Public libraries
Decommodifying the World…

Decommodification


removal of the market from a sector of society previously
governed by market relations.
Anyone ever drive Vermont’s Highways? Notice
Anything different?
Decommodifying the World…

Anyone drive Vermont’s Highways? Notice anything
different about these roads?

Institutional rules do not permit the buying and selling of
space on the side of the road in VT
Decommodifying the World…
Decommodification-Schools
Should attendance only be permitted for those who can pay
their way, or should it be available to all?

Pakistan: K-12 is a commodity…you pay for it

US: K thru 12 has been decommodified…

Sweden and much of Europe: College has been
decommodified…
Decommodifying the world…


Decommodification- removal of the market
from a sector of society previously
governed by market relations.
Using this term, tell my why the music
industry is freaking out about operations
like Limewire, Bit Torrent and other websites?
Decommodifying the world…


Decommodification- removal of the market from a
sector of society previously governed by market
relations.
Now in the midst of a 6 year slump in music sales
Decommodifying the World…?

Debates currently rage on about these matters?

Should drugs for senior citizens be decommodified?
 Government

provision or Privately Purchased
A FINAL PUSH IN CONGRESS: THE OVERVIEW; SHARPLY SPLIT, HOUSE PASSES
BROAD MEDICARE OVERHAUL; FORCEFUL LOBBYING BY BUSH By ROBERT PEAR and
ROBIN TONER; Carl Hulse contributed reporting for this article. November 23, 2003


A fiercely polarized House approved legislation on Saturday that would add
prescription drug benefits to Medicare, after an all-night session and an
extraordinary bout of Republican arm-twisting to muster a majority. The Senate
opened its debate under threat of a filibuster.
But a roll-call vote, which rarely exceeds 20 minutes, began at 3 a.m. and was
held open for nearly three hours, as Republican leaders and Bush administration
officials scrambled to quell a conservative rebellion.
Decommodifying the World…?




Debates currently rage on about these matters?
Presidential debate transcript, Oct. 7, 2008 Question: Senator,
selling health care coverage in America as the marketable
commodity has become a very profitable industry. Do you
believe health care should be treated as a commodity?
Neither Obama or McCain said it should not be a commodity
Recent Health Care Reform proposals in House and Senate do
not decommodify health care, they regulate its sale

Many countries have decommodified it
Decommodifying the World…?


Debates currently rage on about these matters?
Should pre-school be decommodified and provided
like K-12?

Aid Critical to Public Preschool Plan

By JOHN MOONEY March 1, 2009 (NYT)

Modeled after court-required preschools in the state’s urban
districts, the far-reaching law calls on virtually every district
to start providing all-day programs for their low-income 3and 4-year-olds by the fall.
Once again…




Reasonable people will reasonably disagree on
appropriate level of commodification…
Your job in colllege…or at least in this class…
Develop capacity to analyze such matters…and
then sort our your positions on your own…
Next…Marx and the commodification of labor
Karl Marx and Modernity
1818-1883
Smith & Marx…



Smith

Society as a web of atomized self interested individuals engaged in
market exchanges…

All pursue self interest, Invisible Hand will generate stability and prosperity for
society
Capitalism

a form of economic activity in which the means of production (factories, mines,
hotels, software companies etc.) are privately owned and in which others, lacking
access to the means of production, are forced to sell their labor power for a wage
in a labor market. (D)

Production is geared toward the pursuit of profit and is regulated through market
competition.

Profits that are generated belong to the owners of the means of production.
I know…that’s a mouthful…could spend an entire semester just unpacking
this definition…lets focus in on Marx’s take…
Smith & Marx…


Marx thought the invisible hand at work in the new
capitalist society would lead to conflict, not harmony…
Marx that turning Labor power into a commodity,
something that is bought on sold on the market, was a
problem


Labor power- the ability of people to do work (D)
Marx expects that this will generate Groups of people
that will clash over economic issues
Capitalism turns labor into a
commodity

Not the case prior to development of capitalism in 18th
century…wage labor was very rare


Gemeinschaft Based on Subsistence…you took what you needed from
nature and turned it into what you needed to survive…no one paid you a
wage
When Gemeinschaft societies are destroyed…

People will be kicked off the land…



Enclosure Movements across Europe
Reservations for Native Americans in US
People will no longer be able to get what they need from
nature…puts them in a bind…what can they do to get meat, wood,
etc?
What can they do…?

No longer have access to the land



Can’t farm, raise cows and chickens, hunt buffalo etc.
Former peasants and/or hunter gatherers will have to
buy things that they need at market… this will take
money…
To get money, they will need to sell the only thing they
have…their ability to work…

“The natives are to be forced to make a living by selling their labor.”Karl Polanyi, 1944
Markets in human labor develop…



Raises simple, but very important questions…
Can human labor be treated just like any other
thing we buy and sell…
So…let me ask you…in what ways is selling
your ability to work to an employer different
from selling an apple to someone…
Labor Power as Different From Buying
an apple…

“…labor as commodity can not be detached from the social
and physical life of the seller
(Streeck 2007: 262)

Can’t hand over labor power like you hand over a bag of
apples…go home to watch TV…you must accompany your
labor power to work

Selling labor power entails entering into an ongoing relationship of
authority and subordination
Labor Markets Create Potential Conflicts of
Interest…

Wages vs. Profits


Workers and owners or management share an interest in generating a
profit
But who will decide what is done with the profits that are created during
economic production?


Wages for employees, Dividends for shareholders, Re-investment, Bonuses for
executives, Reinvested into company…
Hours & Retirement

How long will the work day be? Will there be bathroom breaks? Coffee
breaks? Paid Vacations? Paid Sick Days? Paid Maternity leave? Easter
Sunday?

How long will people be expected to work? How will they survive when no
ones to hire them anymore?
Labor Markets Create Potential Conflicts of
Interest…

What type of working conditions?


Speed of assembly line? How many rooms will a janitor
clean? How many students in a class-room? Patient to Nurse
ratio? One or two officers to a car? Scaffolding? Toilets?
Emergency exits? Fire alarms?
Questions of power and dignity?

How will people be dismissed? Will the manager check the
toilet to see if you took a crap? Will the work environment
be one of fear or respect? How will problems be solved?
Labor Market Creates Conflict…


In the places you work, or in which you will someday
work, who decides these things?
Wages, hours, working conditions, etc…
Labor Market Creates Conflict…

In the places you work, or in which you will someday
work, who decides these things?



Wages, hours, working conditions, etc…
The Boss…acting on behalf of the owners
Domination- a term used to to indicate the POWER that
one social group has over another (D)

Some are bosses, some are bossed
Labor Markets Create Conflict…




Many non-Marxists will agree with Marx that the
commodification of labor creates interesting relations
of domination…
But for Marx…it is not just about being bossed around…
He is particularly interested in who controls the surplus
(profit) that is generated during economic activity…
Consider my blanket factory
Marx on the Dividing Up the Economic
Pie…






My Blanket Factory…
Need 10 unskilled workers to work the machines
Analyze my Needs & Costs
Willing to pay 10 workers @ $5 each a day = $50 in
wage compensation
But 1,000 of you have just been cleared from the land in
Ireland and all show up looking for work…you all want
and need the job…
Hmm…who should I hire?
Markets in human labor…

$5…$4…$3…$2…$1…
Cheapest Worker Who Can get the
job done…Wins.
Markets in human labor…


$5…$4…$3…$2…$1…
What is happening? What mechanism is
setting the price of labor?
Markets in human labor…

$5…$4…$3…$2…$1…

What is happening? What is setting the price?

Competition sets price…as Smith predicted and many desire



Competition between workers pursuing their self interest in not starving
to death…
Same way the price of a blanket is set
Very interesting…but still, not Marx’s main interest
OK…low wages…but Marx’s Goes further…How
is the economic pie divided?
10 workers @ $1 each a day
$10
10 workers produce $500 of goods by lunch
$500

Paid $10…made $500…workers say “See you tomorrow boss”
Uh-uh. Back to work. 10 workers produce another $500 of goods by
8pm
$500
$1000 of Wealth Created:
After paying $10 for wages, and $100 for the other costs of production (supplies,
power, transportation, marketing, etc) there is $890 left
In a capitalist economy, what happens to the $890 of what
Marx called surplus value?
In this new game called Capitalism…The rules say
the owner gets it…

Owner: Gets $890 surplus created by
the workers




Can buy a nice house, a horse, a fancy
Monet painting, bury it in his yard, reinvest
it in the plant, give workers a raise… It’s
his decision to be made…
Workers: Get to go home with their $1
and get ready to work the next day
Some work every day and earn great
fortunes…others work every day and
earn very little
Marx sees this a form of theft…labels
it exploitation
Marx: Capitalism as Robbery

Exploitation


when the material welfare of one group of people causally depends
on the material deprivations of another. (D)

Carnegie took $2000 for every $1 he paid a worker

Not that different from when the prince took ½ of the corn produced by a
peasant…

Just a different mechanism to allow some to get rich off the work of others
In Marx’s analysis, the wealth of rich is based on exploitation of others
Video Clip…


I don’t think Charles Kernaghan would consider himself
a Marxist, but his question is similar to what Marx
would ask
National Labor Committee
 Kathy Lee Gifford crying…?
 Olson Twins
Marx Sees Exploitation





“for a 15 girl…to fall into the maquilla is to fall into a deep dark
well…she must cease to be a person…she becomes a cog in a wheel
which is only important to the degree it makes the great machine of
the maquilla function…which is only important to the degree it makes
the machine of the maquilla function…”
Shirt sells for $20…workers are paid .12 cents

40 workers make 1500 shirts a day = $30,000 worth of shirts

40 workers make 56 cents an hour, or $180 a day
$30,000 minus $180 = $29,820…
$20 minus .12 cents = $18.88
Marx: Workers create $30,000 worth of value, but only get
$180…that leaves $29,820 of surplus value…
Marx Sees Exploitation

Where does the $29,820 go…

Some to cover other costs: Supplies, rent, transportation, advertising
($10,000)

That leaves $19,820 for owner…who takes the surplus value


Girls get $180
Exploitation

when the material welfare of one group of people causally depends on the
material deprivations of another.

Capitalist takes surplus value from workers
 Note
Marx would see exploitation even if the girls
were paid $20 an hour … it is not about the low
wages, but about the relationship
American Capitalism and Modernity plagued by
Poverty: “How the Other ½ Lives,” Jacob Riis (1890)
Marx’s analysis suggests this is not due to laziness, lack of effort
or bad values…but due to the way capitalism works…Some are
poor because others are rich
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Percent in Poverty
1870 1890 1910 1935 1944
Marx & Class Society

Not everyone experiences
capitalism in the same way


And this will lead to conflict in
society
Class (Marx)- a group of
people who share a common
set of material (economic)
interests with respect to the
process of exploitation (D)
Some get $2,000, others get $1…Some work 12
hrs a day 7 days…Some Don’t
Two Key Classes for Marx?

Bourgeoisie (D)


social class of entrepreneurs, merchants and
industrialists in capitalist society. (Capitalist)
Proletariat (D)

social class consisting of workers who must sell their
labor power for a wage. (Working Class)
Marx: Capitalism is not fair…and it is not
sustainable…


Capitalist Development will lead to (D)
Proletarianization


Spreading Immiseration


more people will be turned from agricultural worker and small business people
into workers
life will become worse and worse for this new class of workers
Increased Homogenization of populations:

people will become conscious of common economic interests


“Black and White Unite and Fight!”
Organization of working class into movements for social change

“Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains.” Marx,
Communist Manifesto
Organization of the Working Class and Class
Struggle

Modernity will be
fundamentally defined by
Class Struggle
 organized
form of social
transformation directed at
advancing the interests of
a particular class (D)
Karl Marx and Modernity
1818-1883



Marx dies in 1883
Leaves volumes and
volumes of writings
behind
The “Marxists” who
follow him will disagree
on what his work meant
and what his goals
were
What type of class struggle…Marx will not be
clear…Followers will disagree…

Revolutionary Class Struggle (D)

workers should organize to abolish the new market system

Armed struggle, mass strikes, direct action to quickly change
capitalism into a communist society without classes, in which
the surplus is controlled by the people

Government takes control & owns factories, mines, hotels,
etc.
What type of class struggle…Marx will not be
clear…Followers will disagree…

Democratic Class Struggle

Create political parties, run for office and reform
beneficial to members of the working class (D)
capitalism by enacting policies

Democratically elected socialist parties will/do govern around the
world…but they slowly give up goals of replacing capitalism

Primarily push to decommodify life world…remove parts of society from the
market

Take schools, college, health care out of the market

Make it easier for people to pull out of labor market
 Paid family leave, stipends for college, 4 weeks paid vacation by law, etc
Marx the Social Theorist



Politically Marx’s legacy &
ideas still a factor in much of
world politics…
Pick up one of the free New
York Times and you’ll see
Marxist guerillas fighting in
Nepal, Socialists winning
elections in Austria, Communists
winning elections and
governing parts of India, and
news of communist dictatorships
like those Cuba & China
China is particularly
interest…A communist
dictatorship with the second
largest (soon to be largest)
capitalist economy on the
planet
Marx and Class Society…
Importance of CLASS recognized by many who are not Marxists of any sort as key
variable for understanding how society
Which class the lottery of life throws you into will have huge impact on the quality of your
life, on your opportunities in life, where you end up in life, how you live your life…

Social Class as an independent variable predicts the probability of a lot of things (XY)

Independent variable (X): Are you the son of a steel mill owner or the son of a steel mill
worker…a doctor or a nurse????
 Knowing the answer to this question can help us accurately predict a lot about your
life

Dependent Variable (Y): Likelihood of voting; of playing football or polo; your
vocabulary at age 10; likelihood of going to college; of going to Harvard, Widener or
Community college; of ending up in prison; the class your kids will end up in…and on
and on…NEXT FALL…
Next…





Smith’s Market Society emerges…invisible hand
and harmony…
Hardin…back of the invisible hand…
Durkheim…social disintegration
Weber’s interest in rationalization and emergence
of bureaucracies
Marx’s…class conflict emerges
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