POLC92H3 Lecture 1: POLB92 Marxist Theory A Brief Intro.docx
Document Summary
Marxism is therefore also about political goals and action. The following notes are intended to show the value of the first of these sets of ideas. One can accept marx"s concepts as being very useful for the purpose of understanding our society without accepting his condemnation of capitalism, his political values or his recommendations for political action. In other words, if you do not agree with marxist social ideals and implications for action, don"t let this interfere with your evaluation of marxist theory about how our society works. These are elements within the superstructure of society. Hence marx is said to be a materialist. Marx rebelled against hegel"s philosophy in which ideas were taken to be the important determinants of history. Marx argued that dominant ideas are the result of material or economic conditions and he was therefore strongly opposed to reformers who thought that mere change in ideas can change society.
