Stratification and Inequality

G93.2137

Spring 2005

Robert Max Jackson



The Marxist approach to class analysis–Some discussion questions

   
  1. What are the basic meanings of the concepts: means of production, relations of production, and mode of production?
  2. Why and how are surplus labor and surplus value significant to a Marxist analysis?
  3. What does "class" mean in Marxist theory?  (This is difficult and likely to involve more than one answer.)
  4. According to the logic of Marxist theory, what determines social conflict (for example, is it interests, domination, exploitation or something else)?  Note, that the “logic of Marxist theory” means we should think about the implications of the theoretical argument, not just what Marx or others offering Marxist analysis have written.
  5. Within the logic of Marxist theory, where does competition come from and what role does it play in the analysis?
  6. What distinguishes primitive accumulation from the accumulation of capital generally?  (This is in volume I of Capital; although seeming a bit specific, the question has some far reaching implications about the theory.)
  7. How do the adoption of machines, markets, and the division of labor relate to each other?  (This is another really difficult question that cannot be answered simply by reading what Marx [or others] had to say.)
  8. Two related questions:  According to Marx’s analysis, how does the history of the bourgeoisie differ from the history of the proletariat?  According to Marx’s analysis, how does the conflict between the nobility and bourgeoisie differ from the conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat?  (These are fundamental questions that reveals critical assumptions about the logic of long-term historical class analysis and class relations in Marxist theory.)
  9. How predictive is Marxist theory?  (This is really a very tricky question.)
  10. What is unproductive labor?  (This question is most important because of the many arguments that have grown out of it.)
  11. Why does Marx argue that the necessity of the Factory Acts reveals the character of capitalism?  (Not a central question about the analysis, but a window into some of the predispositions.)



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