POL369Y5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Critical Theory
Document Summary
Mainstream orthodox theories assume societies are at peace for the most part. People that own the means of production have a lot more wealth and status than everyone else (unequal distribution) this is what generates conflict. Critical theorists argue that the state manages these conflicts on behalf of the dominant class. Fight over intellectual property rights when it comes to entertainment. Old media (record companies etc) built their empires on the exclusivity on the products they owned. New media can be downloaded, uploaded to youtube etc. but companies want it that way (people can take what they want, edit it and spread it more on youtube) Is maintained through 3 ways by the state: Agents that can physically use force to stop us from doing things. Concessions (by the state to the working class) Ideological assumption is one that you hold and is naturally occurring (common sense)
