Chapter 2

On capitalism:

Write down your thoughts concerning the world McLaren and Farahmandpur describe.

Watch Tristram Hunt, ‘Marx was clear about the social consequences of Capitalism’, from the debate ‘Karl Marx was Right! Capitalism post 2008 is falling apart under the weight of its own contradictions’, filmed at the Royal Geographical Society on 9 April 2013: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWc2eFYKh4I

Take a look at the following clip from Question Time with Russell Brand: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH_DJXoufNY

How do these sources support the claims made by McLaren and Farahmandpur (2002)?

Do you think these resources present an accurate description of the western capitalist world?

It is important to think of Marx’s understanding of fetishism in terms of understanding the concept of commodities today.

When we see an item of clothing (it could be anything – electrical goods, furniture, etc.), do we consider the human labour involved – do we think of how it was made? Who made it? What conditions did the workers operate in? What were they paid? Or are the workers invisible and the object alone an embodiment of the price?

Does this explain why in western societies people knowingly continue to purchase their goods from outlets that use child labour and provide poor working conditions and low pay?

Would you agree with Marx – do you think inanimate commodities/goods (clothes, electrical goods, furniture) are valued above human beings in capitalist societies?

What are the consequences of this for today’s society?

If you would like further explanation and illustrations, take a look at the film ‘Law of Value 2: The Fetishism of Commodities’, available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4MbUx-il6c

Individuals’ narratives play an important part in shaping how we make sense of theory and the world around us. Take a look at the links below, which provide biographical information on Althusser, Gramsci and Derrida. This will help to illustrate the influence of Marxism on their lives.

www.marxists.org/glossary/people/a/l.htm

www.marxists.org/archive/gramsci/intro.htm

www.critical-theory.com/derrida-documentary-proves-derrida-answer-simple-god-damned-question

www.derridalabiographie.com/en

On ideology, ISA and RSA:

For an example in education, take a look at the following YouTube clips of the student protests of 2011. Can you identify and relate these events to Althusser’s theories of ideology, Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) and Ideological State Apparatus (ISA)? Write down your thoughts and reactions.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15646709

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15654585

How different are Gramsci’s ideas in relation to the organisation of the current UK system?

Explore: www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools

Are there any similarities to how education is currently organised?

Do you think grammar schools represent Gramsci’s notion of the ‘classical’ school?