SOC 001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Commodity Fetishism, Communist Society, False Consciousness

• School: University of Vermont
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 001
• Professor: Thomas E Macias

Document Summary

Mechanical solidarity traditional, rural, low specialization, highly integrated. Organic solidarity modern, urban, high specialization; we are profoundly independent with people we"ll never know. Voluntary organizations might save us from ourselves and anomie. Value human beings provide the labor for producing material goods. In capitalism, some people work, others simply own the means of production. Capitalism demands economic growth, but eventually runs out of profits. His theory of society implied an inevitable path to societal revolution. Political action needed to overthrow the ruling class. Communist society everybody works, property is communally owned. Capitalism is a necessary stage, not all bad. Alienation lack of a meaningful connection between workers and their work: from work, from other works, from what they produce- commodity fetishism . Central contradiction: capitalism requires economic growth, yet a major source of growth- wages- is in constant threat of being cut. Critical of karl marx; wanted to look beyond class conflict. Status reflected in distinctive lifestyles, tastes, and consumption.