Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Utopian Socialism, Analgesic, Productive Forces

• School: Western University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: Political Science 1020E
• Professor: Charles Jones

Document Summary

Basic goods should be produced with the aim of benefitting all. Industrial revolution led to dangerous, difficult, undignified factory work. Moral objections to exploitation, poverty, and greed. (cid:498)scientific(cid:499) claims about historical change and the end of capitalism. Replace capitalist inefficiency with expert planning and organizational hierarchy. Human nature is malleable, it can be shaped. 1849-1883: (cid:494)temporary(cid:499) exile in london, political agitation, family and poverty. Themes in marx: religion, alienation, history, exploitation, class struggle, Feuerbach: we create god in our own image, we alienate our human capacities for knowledge, power, and goodness. Marx says religion is created in response to poverty and suffering. (cid:498)religion is the opium of the people(cid:499), a painkiller of some sort, a response to suffering. Creative producers whose work is punishing, degraded, commodified. All of history up to now is the history of class struggle. History is the growth of human productive power (the productive forces(cid:499) tend to develop).