WGSS 1124 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Ruling Class, Economic Determinism, Proletariat

• School: UConn
• Department: Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• Course: WGSS 1124
• Professor: Penny Brandt

Document Summary

Economic structuralism: critique of liberal capitalism based on marxist theory, economics is a motivation in politics and a source of power, wealth and distribution is unequal. Leads to poverty and political inequality: assumptions. Economics is the driving motivation behind political activity (economic determinism) Economics drives political behavior and determines political outcomes that favor themselves. Wealth converts into other resources (territory, bombs, or politicians: key actors are classes. Ruling class, owners of capital/middle-class (bourgeoisie) and workers (proletariat) Class identity becomes more important than national identity. Working class is deceived by ruling class about interests. Religion: pro-life/pro-choice debate, loss of religious freedoms. Economics: ruling class convinces working class that economic struggles are parallel, rather than opposing. Feminism, capitalism, class anxiety: basic label debate. Difference in value of raw material and final product. Rich get richer and the poor are left behind: owners have structural power in that they control the means by which labor is added to materials.