Tag: Marx

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2011 Abstracts Stage 3

A Questionable Interpretation: a study into John Nash’s Game Theory, its reliance on a dubious interpretation of Adam Smith’s economic theory, and how it has been detrimental to competition in modern day economics

The aim, as such, of this writing is to examine the idea that there is a questionable interpretation underpinning modern economics and if it is attacked we are left with the notion that the economics we have is not the economics it should be. This is because the theory of capitalism that we have today is not exactly the one argued for, by its founder, Adam Smith. I also wish to show that we cannot go back to the more true form of capitalism however nor can we move to any other system because of the damage already done. This shall be hinted at by using some segments of Capital by Karl Marx.

The object which has driven me to examine such an idea that something has gone wrong in economics is the film A Beautiful Mind. I believe the portrayal of John Nash in this film is biased and unjustifiable as I believe his wrong interpretation of Smith may have led to an unending cycle of greed that will slowly pervert and consume any form of morality.

My territories of discussion are economics and the application of game theory and within this writing the concepts that I wish to discuss are: Nash equilibria, game theory and competition.

The thinkers and relevant sources that I shall use within this writing are:

Karl Marx – Capital
Adam Smith – Wealth of nations
John Nash – non-cooperative games and two person cooperative games (contained within issues of Econometrica, the economics journal)

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

Safe as Houses? Public versus Private: a Philosophical Look into Housing in Britain Compared with that Found in Denmark

My project is an investigation into the housing market and provision in Great Britain and whether its needs alteration and if so what and how. This is done by direct comparison to Danish Housing provision.

I will be looking into the current system in Britain whilst referring to three economic philosophers: Marx, Keynes and Freidman. I will also consider whether our system is satisfactory and just. In addition, I will focus on the positives and negatives of a housing economy compared with Government provision.

I took sources from the people affected by private investment housing: the tenants of the Duke of Devonshire.

In interviewed those in council housing and those who owned privately.

I also looked into Government rental documents and the statistics in the private housing market in the Estate Agent ‘Savills’ review

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2011 Abstracts Stage 3

Philosophy Behind Recession: a Study of Contemporary Economics Through Philosophy

An investigation on how the US reached a destination of an estimated 200 trillion in debt. How is it that America can possibly be named the Land of the Free? In a country with a constitution claiming ‘all men are created equal’; why is it that 15% of the population live below the poverty line? Can the ‘poster boy’ of Capitalism be considered moral? The USA is an economic powerhouse with an annual GDP of 14.6 trillion dollars. However, 42% of $14.6 Trillion is controlled by just under 1% of the population.

I intend to investigate the evolution of the global capitalist economy and its current state of disarray. Marxist rhetoric will serve, amongst several thinkers such as Engels, Machiavelli, Ayn Rand, Sun Tzu and Emmanuel Levinas in investigating the evolution of the US Capitalist system.
Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, a damning indictment of corporate America, will be used as the cornerstone for my arguments against big business and the ever widening gulf between the rich and the poor.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

Poverty: How to Solve It, Capitalism or Communism?

Aims:
– Personal work on an issue that interests me
– An issue that relates to possible career path
– Increase understanding of poverty
– Look into solving poverty
– Seeing whether the systems we live by are moral
– Questioning the status quo of my society

Grounding:
– Economist Paul Collier, author of background book
– Marx, philosopher and sociologist, author of Communist manifesto

Outcome:
Capitalism is the answer to solving poverty, communism is not applicable, nor desired, it cannot come into being without capitalism. In order to alleviate world poverty, capitalist society must embrace the third world into our bosom, aid, investment, trade, military intervention and laws, will elevate the third world out of poverty.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 3

The Means-End Mindset of Modernity and Beyond: How Capitalism is devaluing the Education System

This project serves to assess the contemporary situation that education finds itself in within our Western Capitalistic society, before analysing the makeup of Capitalism itself. This will provide the platform for an attack on the system, where arguments will made critiquing Capitalism’s inherent characteristics; the characteristics that quash out independent thought, rational judgement and wisdom in favour of ticking boxes and tangible exam results. Education’s value as a nurturer has been lost: it has morphed into a tool for gain rather than an intrinsic virtue that has value in and of itself. The subtle and deep-rooted power systems that Capitalism makes inevitable are the cause of this.

‘Browne Report’ Lord Browne’s report on Higher Education will provide the context for this project. The report is indicative of attitudes towards education as a means, rather than an end in itself.

Marx’s ‘Communist Manifesto’ The father of communism will be used to outline the inherent flaws of Capitalism in terms of private property and the free market and how these affect education.

Gadamer’s ‘Treatment and Dialogue’ This hermeneutical thinker’s arguments regarding the nature of intelligence will be assessed and made relevant to the situation that education finds itself in today. Contemporarily, our education system marginalizes traditional concepts of wisdom so that independent thought becomes devalued.

Foucault’s ‘Discipline and Punish’ The climax of this critique will come with Foucault and his advocacy that, though less obvious, brutal and violent than the past, we are subject to deep-rooted power systems within the West that indirectly control our desires and actions. These affirmations will be used to highlight education’s impartiality – and the deeper consequences the way we are taught has on society as a whole.

Today, we are a docile nation with a docile mind-set. This needs to stop: education is the cause; education is the cure.

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2010 Abstracts Stage 2

Alienation. A Catalyst for Two Great Men

The picture that…….. …….changed a life

The Brechtian Theatre presents;
The Political Ideology of Karl Marx
Starring: Karl Marx and full supporting cast including Hegel & Kant, Engels, Sartre and Marcuse

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2010 Abstracts Stage 3

To What Extent Is Advertising Used to Support the Capitalist Society? In Relation to the Works of Karl Marx, Guy Debord and Jean Baudrillard

Aim: The aim of the project is to assess whether advertising is a central tool to deceive and manipulate the capitalist society.

Territory: In the Modern World the importance of advertising is steadily on the increase, my Stage Three Project evaluates the problems which arise from Advertising within a Capitalist Society. This study shall attempt to analyse the role advertising plays in dictating the masses and its relation to the consumerist capitalist society. I will discuss false advertising and how it targets particular groups of individual, for example young girls in the fashion and beauty industry

A capitalist society was shaped during the 20th century when there was a certain transformation within the system of production. It changed form a society of small decentralised units to one of leviathan International Corporation; this is partly due to increase in advertising as there was a demand from a vaster quantity of consumables. In a capitalist state the political system controls the economy much more forcefully than in the 19th century, I shall be analysing the change Capitalism has had upon the advertising industry.

Philosophical Thinkers

Karl Marx – Critique of Capitalism and his ideas of Commodity Fetishism. Marx’s work refers to the consumer culture characterised by omnipresent adverting and the diffusion of techniques of advertising into all realms of life.

Guy Debord – The Situationist thoughts within his works ‘Society of the Spectacle’, he expresses his central ideas on the spectacle and how to escape the reality of a Capitalist society, which has influenced an increase in Advertising.

Jean Baudrillard – Jean Baudrillard was one of the, combined his work with philosophy and social theory. Being a foremost thinker to critique contemporary societies, culture and thought he has written several works relevant to consumerism and advertising.

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2009 Abstracts Stage 3

Zeitgeist: Addendum

Supporting the Zeitgeist movement is the ‘Venus Project’ which is becoming increasingly popular with online circles and demonstrates the flaws of capitalism and the ways in which we can use new technology to rebuild society and make humanity more efficient. Many people are labelling the Zeitgeist movement as the new Marxist movement with many different stances providing various angles on the whole concept. Essentially I am examining Zeitgeist Addendum and the Venus Project, and then will compare and contrast this with the works of Marx, mainly concentrating on his anti-capitalism views. I want to determine how similar the work of Marx is to that of Peter Joseph and make a decision as to whether this is a good idea or bad in the way it could be highly improbable with undertones of communism. I will also explore the similarities of Zeitgeist to the work of Adorno, which stresses how the late capitalist society is deceptive in its nature.

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2009 Abstracts Stage 3

The Class System: is it Evident at Newcastle University?

Do we still live in a society that is dominated by issues of class? • If so why do certain sectors of society refuse to discuss it and others believe that it no longer exists? • Why do we force social issues, in the desperate hope not to show a class divide? Aim: These were some of the questions I wanted to try and tackle this year. With the ever increasing topic of class being raised, I decided to question Newcastle students on their perspectives. Whether they felt that Universities were a key part of society’s social engineering, or whether they believed that there was a social divide at the University. Philosophers: Focusing on the work of Karl Marx and Theodor Adorno to illustrate the concept of capitalism, and whether we still live in a bourgeoisie and proletariat state.

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2009 Abstracts Stage 3

Is Marketing Unethical? An Investigation through the Thoughts of Karl Marx and Theodor Adorno

For my stage three project I have decided to study the unethical issues that surround marketing in contemporary society. My interest in this topic has developed due to the fact that I recently applied, and was accepted, to a postgraduate course at Lancaster University in ‘Management and Marketing.’ The application required a personal statement, and it was through this requirement that I began to consider how I could link my philosophical background to a management and marketing application. In researching the course I became aware that one of the taught modules was ‘understanding business ethics’, as a result I decided to focus on business ethics for my project. The area of business ethics that I am going to concentrate on is marketing ethics. My aim in this project is to give a detailed discussion into the various marketing techniques apparent in contemporary society, through this discussion I aim to establish certain ethical pitfalls that marketing schemes slip into. Within this investigation I will concentrate on two areas, false and deceptive marketing and selective marketing. Thinkers: Karl Marx and Theodor Adorno. I believe both are ideal for my project as both of their thoughts relate to a critique of capitalism. I shall begin with Karl Marx and his notion of commodity fetishism, in doing this I will concentrate on his work entitled ‘The fetishism of commodities and the secret thereof’. This will lay the foundations from which I will introduce the thoughts of Theodor Adorno and his work on the culture industry, and the deceptive qualities of mass culture.

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2009 Abstracts Stage 3

In Braveheart we see Men Willing to Die for Freedom: is Freedom more than just a Concept?

Territory: Braveheart the 1995 film by Mel Gibson. Focus: William Wallace: I *am* William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny. You’ve come to fight as free men… and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight? Concept: Freedom / Free will. What I will do in this project: I intend to look at the concept of freedom and free will. In the film Braveheart we see William Wallace lead the Scottish people in an uprising against the rule of King Edward I. Edward took over Scotland when the Scottish king died without an heir giving Scottish lands to English lords: such behaviour led to an uprising in Scotland as lower class took on the English armies in a bid for freedom. Freedom is so important people will give their lives for it. I explore the Kantian notion of the transcendental self, he believed that our purpose was to be rational with intrinsic value because of our ability to reason. This ability to reason sets us apart from all other creatures. This ability to reason is only possible if we are autonomous, because how can we make rational decisions unless we have free will. I will then counterbalance this view with reference to Karl Marx. Marx believes our nature is shaped by a social structure that rests upon an economic base. This means we are therefore determined by economics, freedom is restricted by the means of production, and we can only have any semblance of freedom if we can afford freedom.

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2009 Abstracts Stage 3

Erotic Attraction and Sexuality: a Genealogical Study

Is there a transcendental taxonomy of sexuality? Are we being exposed to a sexual ideology? Will heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality satisfy the variety of sexual orientations which exist? These are the questions which I wish to answer in my study of erotic attraction and sexuality. Throughout time differing sexualities and sexual traditions have surfaced. I want to discover why these paradigms exist, and whether sexuality is a wholly social construct. Included in the differing epochs of sexuality are the Mesopotamian obsession with fertility; the Ancient Indian tradition of linking sexuality with spiritual fulfilment; the Greco-Roman belief in sexual status and the activity and passivity of agents; the great repression of the Middle Ages, leading on to a great enlightenment erotic liberation; and finally, the problems of sexually transmitted infections, specifically HIV and AIDS. The philosophical concepts which I will be using are the Neo-Marxist concept of reification, as explained by Adorno, and the Foucauldian notion of disciplinary power. When reading both Adorno and Foucault, it becomes apparent that both are distrustful of apparent truths, particularly those which have descended from capitalist society. Both see the progress of science as something which presumes particular values, and which can be used as a form of knowledge domination. Is sexuality included in this discourse, or is sexuality a metaphysical truth?

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2009 Abstracts Stage 2

Can Alienation and Disaffection be a Catalyst for Art? Popular Music as a Form of Social Commentary and Self-Expression

Objective: In this essay I intend to look at how alienation and disaffection may be a catalyst for art, in particular with popular music, as a form of social commentary and self-expression, and what effect if any this art may produce within society. I will do so through studying Marx’s theory on alienation by looking at how if one becomes alienated in society they may use music as an alternative form of subjective labour. Then I will assess the role and worth of popular music in relation to the individual creating it and in turn how this may be used by other people in society and what they can gain from it. Concept: Popular music as a form of social commentary and self-expression. Thinkers: 1. Marx’s theory of alienation: ‘Anxiety about one’s social role, its basis, and its value is especially likely for creative artists who have “betaken themselves to their work as an isolated means of ‘self-expression’ without clear social function.’ (Elridge, 2003) I will explore how, whilst deprived a means of objectifying and fulfilling one’s human nature capitalist labour, creation of music may be an alternative form of productive labour. 2. Adorno’s critique of popular music ‘Its planned idiocy virtually tests what mankind will put up with, what threadbare, noncommittal intellectual contents can be imposed upon it.’ (Adorno, 1989.p52) Next, I will critically assess Adorno’s damning critique of popular music, aiming to interact with his theory to illustrate how, rather than being a meaningless practice, an audience may connect and be of benefit from it. Key Sources: Marx— Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, Adorno— Introduction to the Sociology of Music, Popular music, Popular culture, Society.

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2009 Abstracts Stage 3

A Philosophical Enquiry into the Class Differences of Social Deviance and its Links to Philosophy

Aim of project – form an enquiry into the idea of social deviance, focussing particularly on how it differs depending upon the social group and why it seems to be more prevalent in the working classes. I will look to give possible explanations of social deviance based upon the philosophical thought I am going to look at. • General idea of deviance – any act which goes against the social norms or laws of a particular society. • Common explanation found for the greater prevalence of deviance in lower working class groups – harder for the individuals in the lower classes to fulfil their potential in society. This leads to feelings of frustration, which can lead to social deviance • This links into the ideas of Marx, and his ideas on class struggle, and how the lower class, or proletariat are the powerless people in society, which leads to feelings of resentment and frustration and may lead to certain antisocial behaviours – this class struggle will ultimately lead to what would be considered deviance as he suggests that a social revolution will occur • Work done with Engels on the family – microcosm of larger society showing negative side of society • PHILOSOPHY – Sartre – ‘Red mist’ showing the connection between mans subconscious and violence and idea that man is completely free to be whatever he wants to be SO man is free to act in a totally socially deviant manner, however it is one’s own responsibility to act in this way • “Being and Nothingness” – conflict is central to all human relationships

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2008 Abstracts Stage 3

The Possibility of Revolution in the 21st Century: Colombia’s Civil War 1960 – Present

TERRITORY: THE DRUG WAR As the world’s largest exporter of Cocaine, accounting for around 80% of all Cocaine consumed in the USA, the impact on Colombian society has been profound affecting every aspect of society. Colombian drug trafficking up to the early 1990’s was run by 4 main Drug Cartels who controlled every aspect of society including infiltrating the government using ruthless methods to maintain dominance such as, murder, kidnap intimidation, bribery etc… OBJECT: FARC – EP This left wing Colombian Marxist-Leninist paramilitary group originated in the 1960’s and are fighting the government to make communist reforms. These guerrillas are located in the hard to reach jungles of Colombia and are one of the richest terror groups in the world due to their involvement with drug trafficking. Other methods of financing include kidnapping high profile figures for ransom and exchange of prisoners. Recent military attacks and the deaths of the two top leaders have put the future of the organisation in doubt. Has the revolt com to its end? PARALLEL: PARAMILITARIES IN N. IRELAND POST GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT After 30 years of civil unrest in N.I. paramilitaries position in society were effectively made redundant. Many of the organisations turned to criminal activities such as drugs, extortion, gun crime and racketeering. Many of the activities had previously used to fund the groups in their political ambitions but with ideology gone all that has been left is criminality. This is comparable to FARC where their adventure into drug trafficking has blurred their political ideology. CONCEPTS: REVOLUTION AND HISTORY USING MARX AND FUKUYAMA I will be exploring the territory and object using Marx and Fukuyama and their respective theories of history both influenced by Hegel. Using Marx I shall be asking whether or not communism is a redundant ideology in the 21st century due to the dramatic shift in the political climate in the past 100 years. Using Fukuyama’s ‘End of History and The Last Man’ I’ll be investigating whether in fact Liberal Democracy is the final frontier in political ideology as it has proven to be the most stable over since its genesis. Is this the final stage or is Revolution still possible in the 21st Century?

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2008 Abstracts Stage 3

Boredom and Alienation in the Modern Workplace

Boredom and Alienation have become common symptoms of capitalism and can be found in workplaces all across contemporary society. In this project I set out to identify jobs in which these tendencies are most prevalent and to look at how and why this situation has arisen and what can be done to alter this damaging situation that we now find ourselves in. Case Study: Call centre workers workers are more satisfied at work when they: ‐ have a variety of tasks to complete ‐ are not just taking calls all day ‐ have more control over their methods used during conversations ‐ are provided with training to develop their skills. However, due to capitalist demand for the best possible profits from the least possible expense of resources mean that such conditions are not considered to be important and therefore call centre workers are often bored and frustrated with their jobs. Alienation: The philosophical concept of alienation denotes the state in which a person feels foreign to the world around them. This can occur, according to Marx, when labour no longer belongs to a worker but becomes a commodity to be bought and sold by the ruling classes who dominate the working class. Is Postmodernity to blame? Habermas believes that the fragmentation which has occurred in postmodernity is to blame for the crisis in communication. He claims that the ‘unfinished project of modernity’ needs to be completed by uniting all the different language games, created by the capitalistic colonization of knowledge as a commodity, by striving to reach consensus through negotiation and thus progressing towards Modernity’s goal of universal emancipation. This could be achieved, Habermas argues, through his theory of communicative action, which envisages a set of ideal conditions for genuine communication which could be used as a reference to ensure that negotiations were just. In essence, the breakdown in genuine communication and the instrumentalization of reason have led to people being dominated in a way which renders them un‐free. Therefore, if people could communicate in a way that was mediated by what is just and what is fair then people could break out of the shackles that their employers put them in and act in a way which is responsible and free at work.

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2008 Abstracts Stage 3

The Narrative and Injustice of the Working Class in Britain

In this project I examine the working class in Britain and compare the conditions that they have to work in the time of Marx and now. My main objective here is to show that the working class exist as a class and a narrative, and to disprove Lyotard’s famous claim that we no longer through narratives. I intend also to show that capitalism is unfair and that it is not a system that the working classes can benefit from. I provide a solution and conclude that through Vattimo’s philosophy of pluralism, and Lyotard’s theory of language games, capitalism can be destabilised, which would therefore help the working class. Habermas is briefly explored with reference to his claim that ‘modernity is dominant but dead’. In this sense modernity can be compared to the values of the working classes today, as research shows their values to be dormant in the postmodern society. Research for this project involved concentrating on the ‘White Season’ this spring which the BBC2 produced. The ‘White Season’ aired programmes about the working class today, and how times have changed. There is also an array of class reports and books that I focus on as well, and to explore my territory of class conditions in Marx’s era, I looked at in depth The Conditions of the Working Class in England (1993) by Engels. To apply philosophical concepts to my project in order to prove influence, I looked at Vattimo’s The Transparent Society (1992), and Nihilism and Emancipation (2004), Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition (2005), and The Communist Manifesto (1973) by Marx and Engels, amongst others. I feel that my project is of wider importance because I am exploring the effects that the capitalist system has on the class system, and this is a factor that can affect everyone. On completion of this project, my knowledge of the working class and the philosophical concepts I applied to it is greater, and more accurate than before.

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2007 Abstracts Stage 2

Cuba: the Ideology of Communism in a Globalised World

A friend once told me visiting Cuba is like “the closest thing to time travel”. To understand exactly what they meant I did no less than visit the place myself. When I arrived the immediate visual images I saw confirmed this. Foremost I noticed the appearance of the buildings and transport; many still used horse and cart, and there was an abundance of 1950’s cars and likewise Soviet cars from the 1970’s. But even more strikingly there was a lack of imagery that one takes for granted in a capitalist society. Instead of seeing a huge Coca-Cola signs leering at me as I drove down the road I would see a huge monument of Che Guevara eyes staring down at me. In place of brand-name slogans are sentiments of an anti-bush propaganda. Does this country really exist? It of course got me to thinking about how this country has come to exist amids such an advanced capitalist and technological world? What has inspired this country so strongly that it has not only sustained itself without support from the western world but has managed to resist attack from it? To understand this country as it is today, first must be understood the movement which inspired such a revolution as Che Guevara’s and Fidel Castro’s. Che Guevara was inspired by Marx and the revolution can be seen as an honest attempt to put implement the theory of Marx’s science. I will explore Marx, in particular reference to Hegel and further explore what relevance the concepts of such a movement have today. Having explored the past of Cuba and what has led it to become the place that it is today, I will then ask what future can not only Cuba as a place have but what future there are for all the ideologies that surround it. Is Cuba only the shadow of an old History? Or will the direction the Globalised world takes revert back to some of these ideologies?

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2007 Abstracts Stage 2

New Age Education or Extreme Commodity?

Territory: The territory of my choice is Newcastle University. In the perspective in which I will be looking at University, it will be easy to consider all universities the same, as the aim of this project it to illustrate the dramatic change that has happened in the educational body of this country. Therefore, though I will be dwelling on the change that Newcastle has undergone, it will be representative of University as a whole in the United Kingdom. My aim: My aim in this project is to illustrate the change in university, both in its purpose and how it has become run. In this project is to show that University has changed from a place of excellence in learning, to a place that prepares one for the world of work. Therefore the emphasis on money making is not only in the minds of the applicant but also of the University. It will be important for me to draw upon the ideas of Marx and Lucaks for the idea of the ‘commodification of education’ which will be corroborated with several other sources from modern writers.

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2006 Abstracts Stage 2

Capitalism A Schizophrenic Technique

An investigation into the nature and extent of capitalist domination today. Capitalism is the most powerful force that exists in civilised society today. Its networks of power are dispersed everywhere and it defines most arenas of our existence yet nowhere are its processes easy to define or hold accountable and capitalism has much to be held accountable for. Chapter 1 I will use Marx’s theory of capitalism as a base from which to better understand our contemporary capitalist condition. Chapter 2 I will use the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari to try and explain the schizophrenic processes of capitalism that control everything from who we think we are and how we think about right and wrong, to which countries we go to war with and how we justify our actions. Chapter 3 I will use the distinctly Deleuzian concept of Empire that is developed by Hardt and Negri to describe the force of global capitalist expansion now that sovereignty has passed from individual bourgeois states to the machine of capitalism with America at its helm. Chapter 4 will take a look at the theory of Empire in action with the philosophy of illusion of Jean Baudrillard. He uses the Gulf war as an example of how our perception of reality is altered to the point that moral and political thought are short-circuited. Sources: Deleuze and Guattari’s ‘Capitalism and Schizophrenia’, Hardt and Negri’s ‘Empire’ and Jean Baudrillard’s ‘the gulf war did not take place’