Does Red Rising Trilogy Conform Or Critique Marx's Theory Of Ideology

According to Raymond Williams, “In a class society, all beliefs are founded on class position, and the systems of belief of all classes …” (Rice and Waugh 122). His work titled, Marxism and Literature expounded on the conflict between social classes to bridge the political ideals of Marxism with the implicit comments rendered through the text of a novel. “For the practical links,” he states “between ‘ideas’ and ‘theories’ and the ‘production of real life’ are all in this material social process of signification itself” (133). Williams asserts that a Marxist approach to literature introduces a cross-cultural universality, ensuingly adding a timeless value to text by connecting creative and artistic processes with the material products that

When discussing the formation of the modern bourgeois and proletariat, Marx claims industrial capitalism has purposefully destroyed previous social paradigms. The current bourgeois is not a continuation of millennia of advancement, but a concentrated shift to “naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation” (222). The language used is remarkably violent: “the bourgeoisie…has pitilessly torn asunder…drowned in the icy water of egotistical calculation” (222). Capitalism is inherently predatory, as it must “constantly revolution[ize]…the whole relations of society” (222). The bourgeoisie can and consistently have destroyed civilizations. Therefore, communism should not be criticized as abnormal for attempting to bring about an end to this cycle of destruction. Marx uses religious language when describing professions, “stripped of [their] halo” (222) by “paid wage labour” (222): they were “hitherto honoured and looked up to with reverent awe” (222). The idolization of these groups suggests capitalism has gone against the sanctity of labor by only making it worth market price. That communism hopes to return value to “every occupation” (222) means that it is helping restore their quasi-religious status. The following

     The Communist Manifesto was written by two world renowned philosophers, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. This book was produced in an era of great suffering and anguish of all workers in a socially distressed system. In a time when revolutions were spreading through Europe like wildfire, Marx organized his thoughts and views to produce the critical pamphlet “The Communist Manifesto”. Marx’s scrutiny illustrates his belief that unless change is to occur the constant outcome will repeatedly remain uniform. This is a novel that displays the differentiation between the Bourgeois and the Proletariat. Class relationships are defined by an era's means of production. Marx’s

Marx dismissed the relevance of all but two of these classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, because they didn't have any real impact on society as a whole. They weren't in a position to exploit labor. His theory focuses on the conflict and antagonism between those who owned the modes of production, the bourgeoisie, and those who were forced into selling their labor to them, the proletariat. As Marx saw it, "class is about the transfer of surplus (profit) from below and the exercise of power from above". The class with the means of material production also has the means of intellectual control. Those in charge have a political doctrine to control their interests, at whatever cost. This led to what Marx terms "brain colonization". The concept of ideology was used in the defense of capitalism. It was a strategy used to support the system and keep the workers concerns quieted. Liberalism was the ideology used by the bourgeoisie. Marx said, "Liberal ideology is used to blind the workers to the injustice of exploitation". It was an official veil to persuade the masses that they are free by extolling the myths of progress to them. They argued that since slavery was no longer used for labor, the workers were indeed free. The workers were also told to find happiness and freedom through religion for their material conditions were as

Opening his book with one short sentence he is able to set the historical context of his argument, frame the perspective from which he views society, and engage the reader in reflective thought that will set the tone for this compelling critique of society. “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” (9) Viewing society from the perspective of the classes - a class being a group of people who share a role within the economy - Marx argues that all of history can be boiled down into the classes struggle for power. This inherently antagonistic relationship is the basis from which Marx trains his analysis and commentary. “[In] our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie…society…is…splitting up into two hostile camps…bourgeoisie and proletariat” (9) A one sided relationship between the working class, or proletariat 's and the ruling class, the bourgeoisie. The loser of this relationship is the proletariat, “... A class of laborer, who live only so long as they find work, and who finds work so long as their labors increase capital.” (15) Marx claims the working class contends with ever increasing worsening conditions until an eventual and inevitable revolt against their masters, the bourgeoisie.

The ideology of Marxism, established by German philosopher Karl Marx, is a collectively known set of assumptions of a political ideology, which focuses especially on analysis of materialist interpretation of historical development, or on class struggle within the society. The primarily approach of Marxism, nonetheless, was the critique of capitalism. The strength of his inquiry lies in belief of inevitable shift from capitalism and he aims to advocate the new form of ideology and economy, the socialism. The title of this essay is provocative as in today´s world, there exist many proponents who claim, the core of Marx conception of ideology is still relevant in the 21st globalised world. However, Marxism is relevant to the extent to which

Ideology is basically a system of meaning that helps define and explain the world and that makes value judgements about the world (Croteau, David, Hoynes, William, Milan, Stefania, 2012). Ideology is related to but broader then concepts such as world-view, belief system and values. Ideologies do not necessarily reflect reality accurately but often they present a distorted version of the world. (Croteau, David, Hoynes, William, Milan, Stefania, 2012). Karl Marx believes that the ruling class control ideology and used a trick to create an illusion of fairness and harmony (Lane, Dr.Karen, 2013) This plainly brings into question human agency and free will however one can argue that those influenced still have the ability to change it (Lane, Dr.Karen, 2013). Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci argued that cultural domination is never fully achieved and that audience awareness is evident but again cultural domination is always in contention (Lane, Dr.Karen, 2013) Gramscian thesis of Hegemony also argued that ruling groups can maintain their power through force, consent, or a combination of the two (Croteau, David, Hoynes, William, Milan,

The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte was written by Karl Marx a few months after the December 1851 coup d’etat of Louis Bonaparte in France. In this short text, Marx further examined the revolution of 1848 and the series of political reversals which eventually led to the coup. Marx views the coup as a consequence of sharp intensifications of class antagonisms in modern bourgeois society, which is the central idea of the theory of revolutionary change presented in the Communist Manifesto. Therefore, his analysis in the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte allows us to understand how his theory bears out in practice. However, in the latter text, Marx also made some adjustments to his theory. He went from a simple, bifurcate model consisting of only a dominating class and a dominated class to a more sophisticated understanding where he identifies the subgroups within the main groups, as well as the roles each of these factions played during the course of the revolution. In this paper, I will explain the revolution theory proposed by Marx and Engels in the Communist Manifesto, and how the theory was applied and adjusted in the Eighteenth Brumaire to make concrete historical sense of the events happened during the years between 1848 to 1851.

The specialised critique of capitalism found in the Communist Manifesto (written by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels), provides a basis for the analysis and critique of the capitalist system. Marx and Engels wrote about economical in relation to the means or mode of production, ideology, alienation and most fundamentally, class relations (particularly between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat). Collectively, these two men created the theory of Marxism. There are multiple critiques of Marxism that attack the fundamental tenants of their argument. Several historical events have fueled such criticisms, such as the fall of the Soviet Union, where Marxism was significantly invalidated and condemned. On the flip side, Marxism has been widely supported in times of capitalist hardships. What viewpoint a person will hold towards Marxism is largely dependable on the economical environment in which they live. Further, it is also important to remember that Marx and Engels lived in a very different era than today’s society, and the concept of capitalism may have arguably changed quite a lot over time. Therefore, the principles found in the Manifesto may often have to be refurnished and reapplied to fit different economic environments.

The decline of aristocracy in The Communist Manifesto began with Karl Marx’s statement, “The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles.”1 Marx recognized the ideals of the social rank, which has influenced every society throughout history. The two social classes described by Marx were the Bourgeoisie, or the upper class, and the Proletariats, or the lower class. Before the Bourgeoisie came to social power, landowners and corporate organizations ran the society. Marx believed that the severe separation of the two classes greatly troubled society and that the two classes must coexist as one with each other.2

Marx conceived the base and superstructure approach that defines capitalist society. The base relates to all that is a function of production in society and conversely, the superstructure, which can be said to be derived from the base, relates to the values, culture, ideology and the governing bodies of society. The former creates and supports the latter by a process of legitimisation of the economic activities, and in turn, the superstructure ensures the processes remain in place. Class domination plays a large part in this process of organisation; for example, private education providing better opportunities for advancement and primary socialisation into the higher echelons of society. However, a counter argument claims that the state is just as involved in the stresses and “struggles of civil society’’ as opposed to being a mere extension of it for the pure benefit of a particular class interest (Held 2001, in Hall and Gieben 2001, p 113).

According to Marx, political views and cultural ideas simply reflect economic divisions and struggles. Relating to the issue of exploitation, the economic base – the exploitative way it produces its goods – creates the superstructure – its non economic institutions and systems

In the chapter, “Manifesto of the Communist Party” in The Marx-Engels Reader book, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had broken up the topic of the Communist Party up to four parts: 1. “Bourgeois and Proletarians”, 2. “Proletarians and Communists”, 3. “Socialist and Communist Literature”, and 4. “Position of the Communists in Relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties.” In this essay, I’ll be focusing on the first two parts of the “Manifesto” since there are so much information to cover within three to four pages. To begin I would like to summarize, “Bourgeois and Proletarians” was about the vicious cycle of the proletariats having to constantly fight the socioeconomic classes above them considering that they are always exploited, yet they have no norms (“appropriation”) of their own to secure or embrace. “Proletarians and Communists” was where Marx and Engels define what Communism is, how it relates to the Proletarians, and how Communism works (or would work). History can be trace back to the class/political struggles; the oppressed fighting against their oppressors; the “subordinate gradations”. Subordinate gradation was defined as a social rank, where the highest power is at the top and the weakest is at the bottom. However, when old subordinate gradation falls another one would rise, that was the cycle. Marx and Engels went on to make a statement that the current class antagonisms are between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The proletariat is defined as the

Though Marx views the communist revolution as an unavoidable outcome of capitalism, his theory stipulates that the proletariat must first develop class consciousness, or an understanding of its place within the economic superstructure. If this universal character of the proletariat does not take shape, then the revolution cannot be accomplished (1846: 192). This necessary condition does not pose a problem within Marx’s theoretical framework, as the formation of class consciousness is inevitable in Marx’s model of society. His writings focus on the idea that economic production determines the social and political structure (1846, 1859). For Marx, social class represents a person’s relation to the means of production, a relation that he believes is independent of

This next unit of theory is entitled "Ideology and Discourse." The theorists we're examining--Althusser, Bakhtin, and Foucault--are discussing how ideology works, and how ideologies construct subjects. All of these theorists are coming from a Marxist perspective, using ideas and terms developed in Marxist theory, though only Althusser actually claims to be a Marxist. So to start off, I want to talk a bit about some basic ideas of Marxist theory.