Intellectual Bourgeoisie who sympathize with and advice proletariat
Class systems→ feudal system of industry.
All history is the history of class struggles
enumerates examples: Plebeians/Patricians, feudal lords/vassals/serfs, etc.
Reducing all human relationships to relationships centered around self interest
Revolutionary in its own right, in that it caused decay of monarchy and church power, and reduced divisions of age and sex, but limited and ultimately destructive
Global market required for the Bourgeoisie to exist
Bourgeoisie creates the conditions for its own demise through overproduction
The work of the proletarians has lost all individual character, and, consequently, all charm for the workman. He becomes an appendage of the machine and it is only the most simple, most monotonous and most easily acquired knack, that is required of him.
“The dangerous class, the social scum, that passively rotting mass thrown off by the lowest layers of old society may, here and there, be swept into the movement by a proletarian revolution; its conditions of life, however, prepare it far more the part of a bribed tool of reactionary intrigue.”
Marx doesn’t like the middle class or those who aren’t invested in changing society.
Last sentence of part 1.
Day 1 Discussion Mapping (Members: Logan Miller, Valentina Lopez, and Katrina Allick )
Introduction, set up context in which the manifesto was written and its purpose
Who was it written for?
Why was it written?
Define the classes
Bourgeois
Proletariat
Are there any others? Do they matter?
Movement of class struggle and the historiographical process of change. Marx's hope to eliminate history as a concept.
Language usage
How does Marx set up his argument?
What language does he use to make it an adversarial system?
Day 1 Clarification Questions (Members: Ione Fullerton Andrew Durand Nate Olson Nick Hochfeld)
1. How does marx define the bourgeoisie and proletariat and what is the nature of their inevitable conflict?
2. What does Marx mean when he writes “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”? What are examples of class struggles throughout history?
3. How does Marx believe the bourgeoisie have altered the relationships of people?
4. What are the various stages of proletariat development?
5. Why does Marx believe the proletariat are uniquely situated to start a revolution?
6. What does Marx mean when he writes “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”? What are examples of class struggles throughout history?
7. What are the proletariat and the bourgeoisie and what is the nature of their inevitable conflict?
8. How does Marx see the evolution of the bourgeoisie as the “product of a long course of development”?
9. How does Marx believe that the working class is subjugated through their working conditions?
10. What does Marx mean when he calls the proletariat the “ultimate revolutionary class”?
11. How is the bourgeoise “its own grave diggers”?
11. What is the context for Marx writing this passage? a. Consider the technological, political, social. I.e. What’s the socio-political landscape that caused Marx to write his manifesto?
12. Define the cycle of the oppressor-to-oppressed classes that is shown in the rise of the bourgeoisie. Explain how the logic follows to the proletariat’s situation.
Day 1 Discussion Questions (Members: Emma Dulaney, Blake Ladenburg, Sarah Edwards )
Marx discusses how classes have simply transformed and changed through history. He enumerates: Plebeians/Patricians became Feudal Lords/Serfs, and Feudal Lords/Serfs are now the Bourgeois/Proletarians. Is there an argument he makes, or that you can make, which ensures this historical pattern doesn't continue?
Marx describes a seemingly distinct definition for the Bourgeoisie, but clumps together a massive group of distinct groups and minorities that encompass the Proletariat. Does this patchwork of groups and individual pose a challenge to the Proletariat?
In the introduction the author notes that the Manifesto fails to classify who “The Communists” are, and thus posits that “Communists” were originally defined by more of an ideological commitment than a social class (18). Why is this distinction significant? Is ideological commitment to Communism more important than class in order to realize a proletariat revolution?
If a portion of the lower bourgeois, as well as some ideologists, switch their loyalties to the proletariats in order to secure “their future interests,” does that change the definition of class (78)? Is an intersection of class necessary to overcome the class struggle that Marx claims has plagued human history up to this point?
On page 69, Marx discusses nations of Proletariat and nations of Bourgeois, taking this class system to the global level. Who would you argue are the modern Proletariat nations and the modern Bourgeois nations? How do modern-day Bourgeois nations keep this inequality constant?
On page 73, Marx claims "differences of age and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for the working class." Would you argue this is true or false today? Why or why not? What about differences of race? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 2 Text Mapping (Members: Sarah Edwards, Emma Dulaney, Blake Ladenburg)
Map
1. Proletarians and Communists (81)
Distinctions between the two
Goals and aims of the Communist Party – focuses on private property and capital
Identifies arguments against Communism and counters points – addresses individuality of the laborer, family structure, culture, and the charges made against communism from a religious or philosophical standpoint
2. Ten goals of the Communist Revolution (92-93)
Abolition
Centralization
Equal obligation to work
Education
Agriculture
3. Socialist and Communist Literature
Marx’s reaction and response to pass forms of “communist” and “socialist” movements
Reactionary Socialism
Feudal socialism – criticizes the bourgeois for creating a revolutionary proletariat
Petty-bourgeois socialism – both reactionary and utopian
German or “true” socialism – philosophical approach to class, preserves the existing class system in Germany
Conservative and Bourgeois Socialism – focuses on reform without changing modern social conditions
Critical-Utopian Socialism and Communism – attempts to accelerate historical processes through personal intervention and peaceful means
4. Position of Communists in relation to other political parties and revolutions
Day 2 Discussion Mapping (Members: Sam Jacobson, Andy Monserud, Jenny Gruenberg, Nathan Gruenberg)
Map
Content
How do Marx’s 10 central aims of communism relate to the rest of his argument throughout the text?
Connection between private property and social/political power.
The ways in which material conditions of capitalism lead to the social reality
What are the existing social conditions?
Theory
Compare and contrast the other forms of socialism/communism with Marx vision.
How does reading this section make Marx’s vision more clear? What persuasive tactics are used?
Is the disappearance class culture the disappearance of all culture?
Implications
What comes after Marx’s revolution? What are the steps between revolution and centralization in the state?
Is what Marx sees with regard to family, education, women and nationality, still true today?
What does Marx offer in place of the capitalist family structure?
“Your” capitalism in a rhetorical sense
Day 2 Clarification Questions (Members: Logan Miller, Valentina Lopez, Emma Graham)
Who is the instigator of change in Marx's ideal and how does this group fit into Communism?
In true Communism, a Marx describes how does gender function? Is it a factor at all?
Why the personal pronoun shift when Marx is speaking to different classes of people?
Why Germany? Is it really a haven for true socialism? How come in reality Russia was the first country to adopt Communism and not Germany?
Day 2 Discussion Questions (Members: Andrew Durand, Nate Olson, Ione Fullerton, Nick Hochfeld, Quinn Lincoln)
1. Starting on page 103 Marx begins describing what he calls the “socialistic bourgeois” a group that he defines as a bourgeois that “is a bourgeois—for the benefit of the working class” (106). Is such a proposition possible? What modern examples of the socialistic bourgeois could inform our opinion?
2. Marx utilizes a more traditional dialectic to describe the nature of property as the, “antagonism between capital and wage labour” (83). What are the premises of each opposing side? Can this presentation of property as antagonism give us a better understanding of Marx’s philosophy as a whole?
At the end of chapter 2, Marx lays out 10 measures that will be taken by communists during the revolution. How many of these measures have been taken today in American society, and what does this mean for Marx's dream of a communist revolution?
Does Marx's conception of the capitalist system still hold today?
Marx asserts at the beginning of Part II, "The Communists [...] bring to the common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of all nationality [...] they always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole" (81). Is this possible? Can classes that Marx might describe as "proletariat" from varying nationalities, living at varying intersections of marginalization, exposure to violence and oppression, all be represented by this one class? How might that assertion be problematic if not silencing?
Marx addresses (and derides) a certain "you" throughout Part II. Who is "you"? What effect does this address have?
Marx argues that the abolition of the present day system would simultaneously abolish (the system that produces) communities of women (89). What implications Marx's binding between bourgeoisie society and the "use" of women as an instrument of production have? Are we convinced that a Communist society would not host patriarchal structures as well (are patriarchy and capitalism intrinsic)?
What relevance might "Conservative or Bourgeois Socialism" have in modern U.S.A?
What flaws do you find in Marx’s argument to rally the working class? Are there gaps in logic present?
Marx is confident that communism is “utopian”. How do practical accounts of communism differ from Marx’s theoretical view of communism? Could past and present communist countries be considered “utopian”?
Why hasn't Marx's communism ever been successful to this day? And how would Marx respond to the governmental systems constructed out of his beliefs?
Map
Introduction
Communism is a circular system that requires self-realization
The Path to the Manifesto
Theoretical Elaborations
Practical Applications
Obituary for a Spent Specter
Bourgeois and Proletarians
Day 1 Discussion Mapping (Members: Logan Miller, Valentina Lopez, and Katrina Allick )
Day 1 Clarification Questions (Members: Ione Fullerton Andrew Durand Nate Olson Nick Hochfeld)
1. How does marx define the bourgeoisie and proletariat and what is the nature of their inevitable conflict?
2. What does Marx mean when he writes “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”? What are examples of class struggles throughout history?
3. How does Marx believe the bourgeoisie have altered the relationships of people?
4. What are the various stages of proletariat development?
5. Why does Marx believe the proletariat are uniquely situated to start a revolution?
6. What does Marx mean when he writes “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”? What are examples of class struggles throughout history?
7. What are the proletariat and the bourgeoisie and what is the nature of their inevitable conflict?
8. How does Marx see the evolution of the bourgeoisie as the “product of a long course of development”?
9. How does Marx believe that the working class is subjugated through their working conditions?
10. What does Marx mean when he calls the proletariat the “ultimate revolutionary class”?
11. How is the bourgeoise “its own grave diggers”?
11. What is the context for Marx writing this passage?
a. Consider the technological, political, social. I.e. What’s the socio-political landscape that caused Marx to write his manifesto?
12. Define the cycle of the oppressor-to-oppressed classes that is shown in the rise of the bourgeoisie. Explain how the logic follows to the proletariat’s situation.
Day 1 Discussion Questions (Members: Emma Dulaney, Blake Ladenburg, Sarah Edwards )
Marx discusses how classes have simply transformed and changed through history. He enumerates: Plebeians/Patricians became Feudal Lords/Serfs, and Feudal Lords/Serfs are now the Bourgeois/Proletarians. Is there an argument he makes, or that you can make, which ensures this historical pattern doesn't continue?
Marx describes a seemingly distinct definition for the Bourgeoisie, but clumps together a massive group of distinct groups and minorities that encompass the Proletariat. Does this patchwork of groups and individual pose a challenge to the Proletariat?
In the introduction the author notes that the Manifesto fails to classify who “The Communists” are, and thus posits that “Communists” were originally defined by more of an ideological commitment than a social class (18). Why is this distinction significant? Is ideological commitment to Communism more important than class in order to realize a proletariat revolution?
If a portion of the lower bourgeois, as well as some ideologists, switch their loyalties to the proletariats in order to secure “their future interests,” does that change the definition of class (78)? Is an intersection of class necessary to overcome the class struggle that Marx claims has plagued human history up to this point?
On page 69, Marx discusses nations of Proletariat and nations of Bourgeois, taking this class system to the global level. Who would you argue are the modern Proletariat nations and the modern Bourgeois nations? How do modern-day Bourgeois nations keep this inequality constant?
On page 73, Marx claims "differences of age and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for the working class." Would you argue this is true or false today? Why or why not? What about differences of race?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 2 Text Mapping (Members: Sarah Edwards, Emma Dulaney, Blake Ladenburg)
Map
1. Proletarians and Communists (81)
- Distinctions between the two
- Goals and aims of the Communist Party – focuses on private property and capital
- Identifies arguments against Communism and counters points – addresses individuality of the laborer, family structure, culture, and the charges made against communism from a religious or philosophical standpoint
2. Ten goals of the Communist Revolution (92-93)- Abolition
- Centralization
- Equal obligation to work
- Education
- Agriculture
3. Socialist and Communist Literature- Marx’s reaction and response to pass forms of “communist” and “socialist” movements
- Reactionary Socialism
- Feudal socialism – criticizes the bourgeois for creating a revolutionary proletariat
- Petty-bourgeois socialism – both reactionary and utopian
- German or “true” socialism – philosophical approach to class, preserves the existing class system in Germany
- Conservative and Bourgeois Socialism – focuses on reform without changing modern social conditions
- Critical-Utopian Socialism and Communism – attempts to accelerate historical processes through personal intervention and peaceful means
4. Position of Communists in relation to other political parties and revolutionsDay 2 Discussion Mapping (Members: Sam Jacobson, Andy Monserud, Jenny Gruenberg, Nathan Gruenberg)
Map
Content
- How do Marx’s 10 central aims of communism relate to the rest of his argument throughout the text?
- Connection between private property and social/political power.
- The ways in which material conditions of capitalism lead to the social reality
- What are the existing social conditions?
Theory- Compare and contrast the other forms of socialism/communism with Marx vision.
- How does reading this section make Marx’s vision more clear? What persuasive tactics are used?
- Is the disappearance class culture the disappearance of all culture?
ImplicationsDay 2 Clarification Questions (Members: Logan Miller, Valentina Lopez, Emma Graham)
Day 2 Discussion Questions (Members: Andrew Durand, Nate Olson, Ione Fullerton, Nick Hochfeld, Quinn Lincoln)