WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 Good afternoon everybody and welcome to 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:05.000 this presentation by my colleague 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:08.000 and as you can tell close friend Dean Braa. 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.000 If you've seen the little handout 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:14.000 that's been going around. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:16.000 this is a picture of Dean here on the front. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.000 Laughter. Oh no wait. That's Karl Marx. 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:24.000 Dean is going to be speaking today on Karl Marx. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:29.000 The title of his presentation is The Continuing Relevance 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:32.000 of Marxist Analysis for the 21st Century. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.000 A very timely presentation because as some of you probably know 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:41.000 Karl Marx's. the anniversary of his birth, 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:44.000 his 200th birthday is coming up here on May 5th. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:49.000 And it's my pleasure to introduce 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:55.000 by far, the greatest expert, at least on our campus 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:61.000 when it comes to the work of Karl Marx and his influence 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:07.000 on not only global understanding of political ecomomy 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.000 historically, but the relevance today. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:15.000 Applause. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.000 Well, I'm going to start around a little outline that you can keep 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:25.000 to kind of give you a guide and some suggested readings and so on. 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:30.000 Help you get acquainted with Marxism. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.000 And one thing I always like to do right up front. 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:36.000 Because I've given this sort of talk to people before. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.000 Is...I want to demythologize 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:43.000 demythologize Marxism....ok? 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:50.000 Marxism has been incredibly, unjustifiably demonized 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:52.000 especially in the United States. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:56.000 So if you say Marxist to people they cringe. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:60.000 And a Marxist must be someone who hates babies, kicks dogs 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:03.000 and worships Satan....ok? 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:09.000 Some kind extreme notion like that...ok? 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.000 Marxism is not taught in your schools, generally. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:15.000 It's hardly ever taught in universities. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:19.000 It's very difficult for people who have come from a kind of Marxist, 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:23.000 neo-Marxist background to have jobs. 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:25.000 I have 3 colleagues that lost jobs because 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:28.000 because deans didn't like Marxists in their schools. 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:32.000 There's still an incredible prejudice 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:36.000 in academics particularly, that's my world, against Marxists. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:41.000 Despite all the crap about intellectual freedom that you may have heard about. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:45.000 And...just a couple basic things. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:48.000 Ok? And then we'll talk about more substantive things 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:53.000 kind of based on the little outline or guide that I hope everybody gets here. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:54.000 I think we have enough. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.000 First of all, marxism and communism. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:63.000 Communism as most people understand it or have some vague knowledge, 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:08.000 communism is what...the Bolshevik and Soviet exerience? 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:09.000 That's their concept of Communism. 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:11.000 And of course to most Americans 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:14.000 that means abomination call Stalinism. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:19.000 So marxism must mean stalinism. No connection. 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:23.000 No connection between marxism and stalinism. None. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:28.000 No matter what boujwa critics want to tell you. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:33.000 Alright. Secondly...Marxist connection 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:37.000 to Moism and the Chinese experience. Ok? 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:40.000 No real connection 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:44.000 between the Chinese experience and what Dr. Marx 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.000 had to say about the world, his critique of capitolism 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:50.000 even the few things that Dr. Marx had to say about revolutions 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:55.000 and social justice. No connections to the Soviet and Chinese experience 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:57.000 when you look at it in that way. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:61.000 In fact, the Bolsheviks and the Maoists 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:06.000 try to use marxism simply as a legitimization of what they did. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:10.000 They had no intention of creating what we might call worker's democracies. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:13.000 They had no intention of liberating 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:17.000 proliterate and peasants. No intention. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.000 If you know the history of China 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.000 and Russia into the Soviet Union, you know that's true. 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:25.000 Someone once asked Dr. Marx 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:30.000 Dr. Marx what's the most radical concept that you know of? 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:34.000 Everybody thought he would say socialism, communism. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:40.000 No he said democracy. Dr. Marx said democracy. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.000 And in his mind went on to explicate 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:49.000 that what should be included here, and I'll kind of interpret, 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:52.000 is a focus on economic democracy. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:56.000 Economic democracy...god, what a terrible concept! 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:60.000 Ok? Meaning that people, generally 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.000 should be in control of their labor. People, generally 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.000 should be in control and share in society's resources. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.000 What an awful idea! Whoo. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:15.000 Really? And then look at the world today. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:20.000 Everyone's writing about it. Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:23.000 Paul Krugman. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.000 Recently, a book that made the bestseller list for awhile, 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:30.000 a very fine French economist, Thomas Piketty. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:35.000 Pulitzer Prize winners, Nobel Prize winners, saying the same thing. 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:40.000 All over the world, economic and political inequality 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:44.000 is growing, almost expedentially. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:47.000 There's no debate about that. 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:52.000 I could put Dr. Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winner right here, 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:54.000 ask him to review his 2 books, 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:57.000 The Price of Inequality and The Great Divide. 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:60.000 I could put Robert Reich here. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.000 Maybe some of you have seen his very fine movie, Inequality For All. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:08.000 and his new book, Saving Capitalism, for the many instead of the few. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.000 Hello? So I could put Nobel Prize winners, 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:16.000 Pulitzer Prize winners in this audience, people you've heard of 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:20.000 and they would collaborate everything I just said to you. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:26.000 about incredible, growing, economic and political inequality all over the world. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:28.000 Ok? 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:33.000 The idea, somehow, that capitalism 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:37.000 in the form especially of multi-national corporations, 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:40.000 these giant global corporations somehow 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:42.000 they are the point guard of everything good. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:46.000 The point guard of prosperity and economic growth 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:52.000 wherever they go they create trickle down...boom! 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:56.000 Is one of the biggest lies ever perpetrated on society. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.000 Biggest lies. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:62.000 And I could have Nobel Prize winners back me up on that one. Right here. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:09.000 And you can disagree and I'm gonna say, fine, disagree. Who do you got to back you up? 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:14.000 And I'm being a little mellow dramatic. Because again, 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:18.000 I want you to get in touch with reality. And if you do 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:22.000 you're going find it unecessary 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.000 to demonize any more Dr. Marx. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:28.000 Ok? 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:31.000 So that said. 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:36.000 I am a Democratic Socialist. I have been for many, many years. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:40.000 Ok? Alright?. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.000 I always like to tell people where does my democratic socialism come from? 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:49.000 Two places...my ancestors and my family were Democratic Socialists. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:54.000 They came from Finland and a couple of em from Norway. 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:57.000 They were radicalized and socialists before they even got to America. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:61.000 And their experiences here were awful! 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:06.000 They went into these awful copper mines of upper pennisula Michigan. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:11.000 And into the awful Mesabi range, open iron ore range of Minnesota. 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:18.000 Oh gosh, if you ever had labor history, you know these were awful !. 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:20.000 Ok? And when they tried to organize 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.000 they brought in the goons, and the Pinkerton and the police 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:27.000 and beat them up. Shot them. Jailed them. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:31.000 My grandfather, 18-years-old, in the iron ore mines of Minnesota, 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:35.000 they were demonstrating to get a union. 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:40.000 They were hungry. Their kids and families were hungry and cold 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.000 living in tar paper shacks, trying to organize and in come the Pinkertons. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:46.000 And there was a battle. 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:52.000 My grandfather's best friend had his skull fractured and died a couple days later. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:56.000 People don't know this history. They don't teach you this history. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:59.000 These were labor wars. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:08:62.000 And I mean wars. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:04.000 Class conflict. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:09.000 Capitalism generating these awful conditions, awful contradictions! 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:13.000 Forcing people to organize and fight back the best they could. 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:17.000 And some of them developed an alternative vision. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:21.000 Ok? A Democratic Socialist vision of a society. 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:25.000 Ok? We're economic resources. We all need it. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:28.000 We're owned and controlled 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:32.000 either by workers or the public, a combination thereof. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.000 Ok? What a terrible concept 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:36.000 What an awful concept. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:40.000 Of course, the capitalists would despise any kind of concept like that. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.000 That's why they've been so successful at demonizing everything on the left. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:47.000 Demonize everybody on the left. 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:51.000 Demonize marxists and socialists and communists, they're all demons. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:09:62.000 I hope you find that amusing. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:09.000 So part of my socialism comes from my ethnic, 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.000 cultural heritage, if you will. 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:13.000 In my house we talked socialism. 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:16.000 Marx wasn't a demon. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:19.000 We had debates. Ok. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:24.000 Us Democratic Socialists versus Marxist Leninism and 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:28.000 in my mind some of the crap that the Bolsheviks like to perpetrate on people. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:31.000 Ok. Great discussions. 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:36.000 Alright. So that's one source of my democratic socialism. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:40.000 Ok. I was never demonized. Can't demonize me. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.000 Can't make me afraid of Marx and socialism. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:48.000 The other thing is, I subscribe, people are shocked by this. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:54.000 America had its own indigenous version of socialism. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:56.000 A proud tradition. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:59.000 It started with a gentleman named Eugene Debs. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:10:64.000 It went on to one of his kind of followers in his camp, 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:07.000 a socialist, both of them ran for president. 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:12.000 Norman Thomas, terrific man, Democratic Socialist. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:18.000 Ok. And on to somebody that I met, spent some time with, 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:21.000 because he came to my university to speak. 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:25.000 And we had a chapter, a very big chapter, about 300 people 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:29.000 in a college chapter called the Democratic Socialists of America, DSA. 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:34.000 And this gentleman was a president, a leader of DSA. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:37.000 And he was asked to come to campus and give a public talk. 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:41.000 That was outstanding and they said, well um, 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:44.000 Michael Harrington is his name, 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:47.000 Michael Harrington needs a guide to spend the day with him. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:52.000 He likes to do that...come into town early, spend time in town, walk around the campus. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:57.000 Would anybody like to do that? Oh, oh, Dean would! 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:60.000 So I got to spend time with Michael Harrington. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:04.000 Some of you may have heard of Michael Harrington, democratic socialist. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:08.000 Following Michael in the footsteps of the democratic socialists, 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:12.000 a very fine American woman, a very fine scholar, 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:15.000 Barbara Ehrenreich. 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:18.000 She's written a number of fantastic books 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:21.000 about different problems. Ok. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:24.000 My favorite book I've used and I think other people 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:27.000 might have used is Nickel and Dimed. Ok. 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:32.000 About how service sector works are exploited and jerked around. 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:36.000 Ok. And that's pretty contemporary stuff. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:40.000 And now forward, of course, alright is 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:44.000 in that tradition I believe is someone I'm sure you've heard of 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:47.000 may have not heard of the other people, these are all Americans. 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:52.000 Ok. An indigenous version of democratic socialism in America. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:56.000 Ok. These aren't KGB agents. These aren't Russian operatives. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:60.000 These aren't Maoists. These are Americans. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.000 And of course in that tradition is Bernie Sanders. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:08.000 And it's amazing and rewarding to me personally 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:10.000 that Bernie came out of nowhere. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:12.000 And I'm sure you know 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:15.000 came close to being the democratic nominee for President. 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:20.000 Came close. Came close. And the point of saying this is 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:24.000 I'm not a Bolshevik. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:29.000 And in the way most people understand communism, I'm not a Communist. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:33.000 I'm an American Democratic Socialist 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:37.000 and we have a long tradition right here! 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:42.000 And of course, most of us are smart enough to have read Marx and other people. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.000 There are traditions right here. 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:48.000 Are there other democratic socialists in the world? 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.000 Yes! Ok. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:56.000 Have they created some 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.000 pretty decent societies? Yes, they have. 00:13:59.000 --> 00:13:63.000 Have they yet been able to create clearly a democratic socialist society? 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:07.000 No they haven't. But maybe they're on their way. 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:10.000 I would like to think optimisticly that maybe they're on their way 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:15.000 and they've created sort of compromises between capitalism and democratic socialism. 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:18.000 Sometimes they're called mixed economies. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:25.000 And we're talking about Scandinavia and maybe a couple of other Western European countries. 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:30.000 So they're democratic socialists. Sometimes turned around, we call em social democrats. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:35.000 They are Norway and Sweden and Finland and Denmark. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.000 And to a certain level, Holland. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.000 Hello? 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:46.000 Ok. A major political actor for many years 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:48.000 in Germany was the social democratic party. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:52.000 A party that was founded in part 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:56.000 by Friedrich Engles, Karl Marx's buddy, best friend. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:60.000 Ok. Co-conspirator in a way. Do you understand? 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.000 So if you have European ancestors 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:08.000 we similarly find social democrats and socialists 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:12.000 in France, Italy, most of Western Europe. 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:16.000 So if you have European ancestry, you need to understand 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:20.000 that in the last 25-40 years over half of Europe 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:26.000 on a regular basis, has voted socialist. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.000 You didn't know this either? 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:32.000 Alright. And all those people 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:37.000 can't be demons. Alright. They must have some crediblity. 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:40.000 Socialist have created the highest standard of living in the world 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.000 in the Scandinavian countries. That is reported over and 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:48.000 over and over again. Highest standard of living 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:53.000 in the world, Scandinavian countries and that was done by socialists. 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:58.000 I know we don't tell you this. We don't want you to know about this. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:62.000 God forbid that they might be a model for what we could accomplish. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.000 God forbid. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.000 hmmm. Ok. 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:14.000 They encourage public ownership. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:17.000 They encourage and finance workers ownership. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.000 They still allow capital ownership as well. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:23.000 They're mixed economies, as they're sometime called. 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:26.000 They have the best health care systems in the world. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:32.000 They are single pair, universal, comprehensive health care systems. Ok. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:35.000 They have public housing. Everyone's housed. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:38.000 Everyone has a decent place to live. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.000 Everyone has access to quality health care. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.000 Here's one for you (whispers) 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:48.000 No tuition or fees, education is free. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:52.000 And they're also generous with room and board. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:56.000 You can be a poor person, a person with very modest means 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.000 and get all the way through very fine universities 00:16:58.000 --> 00:16:62.000 and have NO DEBT. How's that strike you? 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:08.000 And who did that for these students? Socialists. 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:16.000 Now these countries have some problems. Yeah, they do 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:20.000 They're not utopias yet. They're not. Ok. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:23.000 But they're way ahead of us. 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:25.000 Have they created, in my mind or in other people's minds, 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:31.000 have they created genuinely socialist societies? No, they haven't. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:34.000 They're mixed economies. It's mixed. It's a compromise. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:37.000 I'm going to over simplify it a bit but there's sorta compromise. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:41.000 Cuz they do have capitalists. They do have some serious corporations going on. 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:45.000 But you know even on all those corporate boards 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:48.000 of the Scandinavian countries the government requires 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:50.000 them to have workers on the board of directors. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.000 And when they plan, strategic planning about investments. 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:60.000 the government requires business and labor to sit down together 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.000 and plan the future of their economy. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:09.000 That's not a bad compromise. Think about it. 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:12.000 So.... 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:16.000 generally speaking, in Scandinavian countries 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:20.000 they can't downsize and outsource over 20 million 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.000 jobs like they've done to the United States. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.000 Can't do it. It's against the law. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:31.000 Now some of it snuck out and there's some contest there but generally, 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:36.000 can't do that. Can't do it. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:40.000 Huh. What I want to do here and I'm 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.000 being a little melodramatic because I have a few minutes to try to impact you. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:47.000 Ok. I want you to get over 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:51.000 the demonization of socialism and communism and marxism 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:54.000 and all of that. I want you to get in touch with reality here. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:58.000 And there's no reason certainly you can disagree. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:64.000 I get 10 European socialists in here and we're going to have some serious debate going. You understand? 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:08.000 But we're also going to have some serious common ground 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:10.000 about how to better deal with people. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:12.000 How to create societies that just. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:16.000 And certainly at least, more egalitarian, a lot more egalitarian 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:21.000 than this mess we have here. 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:24.000 In this country, this country is full 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:27.000 of hard-working, honest people. 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:29.000 This country is full of compassionate people. 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:33.000 But guess what? They're not in power. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:36.000 And I agree with my socialist colleagues 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.000 fundamentally, we are not a democracy. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:41.000 We are a plutocracy. 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:43.000 By definition, the Greeks always had these good words. 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:48.000 By definition that's rule and domination by a rich, few. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:52.000 We have the most regressive tax structure in the world. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:56.000 Ok. We have 30 million kids 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:60.000 hungry every night in the country. Half our elderly live in poverty. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:05.000 Really? So that's my demythology. 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:08.000 Little mellow dramatic kind of in your face 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.000 Some people like that some don't. 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:16.000 Sort of like, I want you to be impressed. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:24.000 With the ludicrous demonization that we have done of Marx and socialization and so on. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.000 Ok? 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:31.000 Let me say something about communism. Ok? 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:34.000 I come from a socialist tradition. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:40.000 Where are some of the most severe critiques of the Bolsheiks and the Soviet experience. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:47.000 We have almost nothing kind to say about Bolshevism and the Soviet experience. Nothing kind. 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:51.000 As an intellectual sort of 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:57.000 and studying this stuff now for, you know jeez, towards 40 years I suppose. 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:67.000 There are some, I think, reasonably good scholarship produced by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:12.000 And they like to talk about Marxism-Leninism. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.000 It should just be Leninism. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:21.000 There's too many differences and inconsistencies between what Vladimir had to say about communism 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:24.000 and a few things Marx had to say about communism. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:27.000 They're not really compatible. 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:31.000 Alright. Marx woulda had nothing to do 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:36.000 with notions of vanguardism, elitism, central committees 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.000 and so on and so forth. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:42.000 As I said Marx's dedication, the most radical concept, 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:46.000 in his mind the most beautiful concept ever was democracy. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:49.000 But it would be democracy of the economy. 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:54.000 Where people who produced all value, benefited from it. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:58.000 Marx would have seen how it just created this bureaucratic elitism. 00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:62.000 And then in Stalinism, just a version of fascism, 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:06.000 Marx would have been the first to vigorously, loudly condemn that. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:10.000 Because he was a vigorous, loud guy when he met with people. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:16.000 Making his arguments. Ok? So let's get it straight. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:20.000 The most severe critique of soviet-style communism 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:22.000 and by extension chinese-style communism 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:26.000 the most severe critic would have been Dr. Marx. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:28.000 Let's get it straight. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:32.000 Let's drive a divide between some crap about 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:36.000 if you read Marx you know what it leads to, inevitably? 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:40.000 Russian communism and Chinese communism, 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:43.000 And if you want proof of that you can come by and we'll have a 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:48.000 glass of wine, give me about 3 hours and I'll destroy the so-called connections 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:53.000 between Dr. Marx and soviet and chinese-style communism. 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:58.000 If for no other reason because Dr. Marx is a champion of democracy. 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:61.000 And if you know the history of those 2 countries, 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:04.000 those 2 systems, 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.000 the Soviet Union betrayed Marxism. 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.000 Listen to me carefully. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:10.000 The Soviet Union betray 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:15.000 Marxism in its goals, betrayed socialism. 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:17.000 And it's not very easy to demonstrate that. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:20.000 And if you're educated in Europe, some of your may know this. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:25.000 If you're an educated person, college-educated person in Europe, 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:28.000 you are exposed to a lot of this. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:30.000 You're exposed to some of the things I've said to you here. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.000 In the United States almost never. It's forbidden. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:38.000 This discussion you're hearing today is forbidden 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:45.000 in most of the United States, in most universities, in most classes. 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:48.000 Really. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.000 Now anything, you may say, well 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:56.000 I kinda disagree with Dr. Braa on whatever basis you have to disagree with me. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:59.000 But I don't think most of you would say, oh that is so outrageous 00:23:59.000 --> 00:23:61.000 that it has no place in a university. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:05.000 I don't think you'd go there. So why isn't it here? 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:08.000 Good question. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:12.000 That's another lecture for some other time. 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:18.000 Ok. Your education, in many ways, is biased. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:20.000 You need to understand that. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:23.000 Your education does not want you 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.000 to raise a critical conciousness. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.000 It especially doesn't want you to critique society in general. 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:32.000 It certainly doesn't want you to critique capitalism. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:37.000 It doesn't want you to recognize class and class inequalities 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:40.000 and class contradictions. Ok? 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:43.000 We're gaining a little bit. We're making some gains there. 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:48.000 Not because universities have gotten on the band wagon to lead it. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:53.000 Because they have not and that's sad. That's sad 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:56.000 Look what I do for a living. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:60.000 I'm not happy about that. It makes me sad. Ok. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:03.000 And you don't have to agree with me. 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:10.000 But at least let this discourse reign at someplace, somewhere in the university. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:15.000 How could any intellectual decide this was forbidden fruit? 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:21.000 So I hope you ask your professors. 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:23.000 How come you never mention any of this? 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:30.000 How come, especially if they're in the social sciences, how come? 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:33.000 God forbid they raise these questions in econ and business. 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:36.000 Whoo-hoo. Well. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:40.000 What I want to do with the remaining time here 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:43.000 is to give you a sense of what marxism is about. 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:47.000 Our ID, it's says Marxist analysis. What does that mean? Marxist? 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:51.000 Marx analysing what? 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:56.000 What does that mean Marxist analysis, Marxist theory? Ok. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:60.000 And this outline you have is designed to give you 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.000 a little bit of intro, overview of that. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:07.000 And what I'm not gonna do here, really, is not go into 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:12.000 really Marxist theory. We don't have time. What I want to do here 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:16.000 with the time remaining is to raise what's called a problematic. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:19.000 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:23.000 Which means fancy talk for what's the main issue, what's the big topic, 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:27.000 what's the central question asked? Because sometimes 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:29.000 we have lots of answers in academics. 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:32.000 But maybe the question being asked isn't always clear. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:36.000 Ok? What question 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:38.000 was asked before you got to this explanation? 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:43.000 What was the basic issue before you got to this theories 1, 2 and 3? 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:48.000 What are the basic questions, fundamental questions 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.000 that Dr. Marx asked? 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:56.000 And tried to answer with some success and some failure, certainly. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:61.000 Ok. That's what these are. It's what a problematic means. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:05.000 Ok. 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:08.000 First problematic... 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:12.000 ok, a philosophical problematic. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:16.000 Alright. 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:20.000 And you can find this in what's considered some of his early writings. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.000 The best on this probably is what's called the German ideology. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:28.000 He was a philosopher by training although he had a law degree, too. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:31.000 Ok. A philosopher 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:36.000 engaged in very critical, wow, interesting 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:40.000 German philosophy of the late 19th century. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.000 Oh god, they were dripping Heidigger and Kant 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:48.000 and Hegel and others. Ok. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:52.000 And arguing, arguing 2 questions. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:56.000 Two questions. Ok. The first question... 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:60.000 of course, we've always got to use a Greek or Latin word to try and impress you. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.000 Like we all speak Greek or Latin and we do not. Most of us don't. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:08.000 The first question there, you'll see it on the outline, 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:11.000 is the ontological question, ok? 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:16.000 And this is about figuring out reality. What is reality? 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:20.000 What is reality? What is the structure of reality? 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.000 And for Marx specifically, a focus on 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:26.000 he could look at different historical epics. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:29.000 Marx was very historically oriented. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:34.000 Ok. You couldn't separate theory from history. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:36.000 Partly Hegelian influence. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:40.000 Ok. In order to understand something you had to know its history. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.000 You had to try to understand its origin and its history. Its development. 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:47.000 Origin and development. 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:52.000 And what is the structure of whatever it is you're going to study. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:55.000 What are the basic characteristics of whatever it is you study. 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:60.000 You could be a biologist. Your could be a sociologist. Ok. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:05.000 Marx especially, his best work is a critique of capitalism, obviously. 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:08.000 Ok. That's why they hate him so much. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:12.000 Because it's a pretty good critique. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.000 What do you mean by capitalism? 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.000 What do you mean by capitalism? 00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:21.000 Can you define it? 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:26.000 For research purposes we, might use a fancy word. How you operationalize capitalism? 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:31.000 How do you explain capitalism? Exactly what is it? 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:36.000 It's real. Oh absolutely, it's real. 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:40.000 But what is it? Conceptually, what is it? 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:45.000 What are its basic characteristics? What is the ontology of capitalism? 00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:48.000 Ok. And a little hint, for Marx 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:52.000 this is seeking this fancy word that they like 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:56.000 in philosophy called essence. What defines capitalism? 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:60.000 What characteristics define it? 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.000 Ok. Let me give you an example. We're all homosapiens here. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:08.000 I don't see any Neanderthals here today. Once in a while we get a Neanderthal in here. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:12.000 Ok. I did one. My wife got one of the geneology things 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:16.000 you know, you spit in it and we sent it off for Christmas. 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:20.000 And this one came back and it said your husband's Neanderthal. 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.000 Grunting...I said yeah look at these brow ridges 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:28.000 and the sagittal crest. I got t-shirts that say 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:32.000 Neanderthal and proud, you know, ok. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:36.000 I'm not one of them sissy homosapiens. 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:40.000 But anyway. What makes a homosapien, a homosapien? 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:42.000 Alright. Its kinda like taxonomy. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:47.000 Taxonomy is like an ontological question that asks 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:49.000 what makes a homosapien, a homosapien? 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:52.000 And you'd probably say if you read all 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:56.000 the human paleontologist and biological 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:59.000 evolutionary people, they'd say well... 00:30:59.000 --> 00:30:62.000 we got opposable digits in the thumb. Ok. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:06.000 And we're bipedal, walk on 2 feet. 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:08.000 Of course, these are connected to evolution. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:12.000 We became bipedal so these could 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:16.000 through natural selection evolve into hands and opposable digits 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:19.000 because are necessary to do blank use. 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:24.000 Tool use, good! And we are the products 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:28.000 individually and collectively of the evolution of tool use. 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:31.000 So our whole - Marx loved Darwin, Darwin loved Marx, 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:36.000 I think, we don't know. Ok. And Marx is pointing to 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:40.000 this stuff even before Darwin did by the way. 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:43.000 That's, that would be ontology 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:48.000 looking at species. Now shift over, what is the ontology of capitalism? 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:52.000 What are the defining characteristics of capitalism? 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:55.000 Ok. And Marx got the essence is 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.000 that it is a system that separates people from the ownership 00:31:59.000 --> 00:31:62.000 and benefits of their own labor. 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:08.000 And the key concept here, of course, is alienation. Alright. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:12.000 Anyway, what I'm saying is part of what Marx is doing 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:16.000 is a philosophy of science. Trying to develop a philosophy of science. 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:20.000 Ok. Or better put a philosophy of social science. 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:25.000 How do you go about explaining whatever you think is social? 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:28.000 Ok. Like an economic system? 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:32.000 Although Marx would use the concept of mode of production. 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:36.000 Alright. Secondly, Marx wants to develop an epistemology. 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:39.000 Another big, nasty Greek word there for you. 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:44.000 It simply means how do people know what they know. How do you gain knowledge? 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:47.000 Ok. That's a great question. 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:52.000 Ok. We teach people methods of doing research. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:56.000 And you use your senses, observation, collect data, 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:61.000 recognize patterns in our data, and so on and so forth. Right? 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:05.000 We observe through our senses. 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:07.000 Ok. Natural phenomenon. 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:10.000 Realities external to ourselves. 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:13.000 We document it. We collect it. We count it. 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:16.000 We certainly look for patterns because patterns 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:19.000 can at least suggest causation. Ok. 00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:24.000 And that's where we want to go, isn't it? You have explanation when you get to causation. 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.000 Not just describing things, when you get to causation. 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:32.000 So Dr. Marx wants to say, ok, what would be an epistemology 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:36.000 followed from an ontology that get us 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:41.000 to an explanation which ought to include causation. 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:45.000 Ok. Does he completely succeed in all of this? 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:48.000 Is it clear as a bell in how Dr. Marx goes about this? 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:52.000 No it's not. Ok. 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:56.000 And Dr. Marx was criticized for not clarifying all this because 00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:60.000 he had a PhD in philosophy and should have been able to do that. 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.000 But there have been people since that have tried to clarify this 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:08.000 with some success. Alright. What's the basic point? 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:11.000 Marx, part of marxism 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:17.000 is an effort, a struggle to create a philosophy of social science. 00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:20.000 Ok. And frankly, 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:23.000 and I've been a social scientist for a lot of years, 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:26.000 we don't regularly do that in social science. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:31.000 Look at the word outside of our building, it says social science. 00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:36.000 Ok. What exactly is science to the people in that building? Whoo-who. 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:40.000 You ask some of them, they don't even understand the question, hardly. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.000 Is so far from them. It's not their fault. That's the way they were trained. 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:47.000 Dr. Marx is saying listen 00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:52.000 what is social science? What is science? 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:56.000 Ok. You establish a social science, a reliable 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:60.000 valid form of explanation of anything that's social 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:05.000 you need to do ontology and epistemology. And that's a lot. 00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:08.000 Dr. Marx struggles with that right off the bat. 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:11.000 Some suggested reading there... 00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:14.000 If you're into philosophy, some good suggessted reading there. 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:18.000 Marx the philosopher we could say. Ok. 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:24.000 Secondly, kind of borrowed from Hegel 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:28.000 and that's a long discussion also, Marx says you can't explain things 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:31.000 unless you pull history into it. 00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:36.000 Now by history he doesn't just mean documenting facts and whatever. 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:40.000 Ok. It's just not knowing that Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.000 Or something like that. He means more of a kind of social evolution. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:48.000 Explaining how societies change over time. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:52.000 What are the dynamics? Ok. 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:55.000 Sometimes marxists have used the motive forces. 00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.000 What are the dynamic forces 00:35:59.000 --> 00:35:61.000 that cause societies to change? 00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:04.000 Because we know societies change all the time. 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:08.000 We know societies are dynamic. 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:13.000 You know, years ago I loved this course in anthropology 00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:17.000 cuz it kinda got guys called a cultural materialist. I love this guy. 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:20.000 And he'd talk about the evolution. 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:23.000 They called it subsistence pattern. 00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:26.000 Whose had a cultural anthropology class? Know what I'm talking about? 00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:31.000 They go from a hunting and gathering society, maybe a horticultural society 00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:36.000 to agricultural society to finally an industrial society. Know what I'm saying? 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:40.000 Ok. That's kinda the scheme Dr. Marx is talking about. 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.000 That's what he means by history. And not everybody agrees 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:48.000 in the way he kinda sketched out a pattern. But that's a great question. 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:52.000 Can you explain the origin and evolution of any given society 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:56.000 that you're interested in? Can you do it? Ok. 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:59.000 Marxists have had some success with some pretty good explanations 00:36:59.000 --> 00:36:64.000 when they explain the transformation or the evolution of feudal 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:08.000 societies and capitalist societies. How did that happen? 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:11.000 Can we did up history and documents and all kinds of good stuff? 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:16.000 Archeology sometimes. Can we dig this up and explain how 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:20.000 we went from a feudal society, with landlords and serfs, 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.000 and so on cuz that did evolve especially focused on Europe. 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:28.000 That did evolve into whatever we call a capitalist society. 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:34.000 How did that happen? How do you explain that? You see. 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:37.000 And, of course, Dr. Marx's focus, 00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:40.000 and this is the strength and sometimes the weakest 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.000 weakness, is how is it in production relations. 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:49.000 Not economy. Boushwa economist means something different than Marx. 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:52.000 Marx doesn't usually use the word economy. 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:56.000 Marx would use the mode of production. Simply put, 00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:60.000 how do people come together to produce goods and services that they need? 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:03.000 What social relationships do people enter into 00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:08.000 in order to produce the goods and services that people need? 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:10.000 And Marx said that's a key relationship. 00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.000 There's all kinds of important social relationships in a social. 00:38:14.000 --> 00:38:18.000 They are certainly not all relations of production. But there's one. 00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:23.000 As Marx said listen, commonsensically, people have to produce 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:26.000 their basic subsistence before they can do ideology and 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:31.000 and politics or do artwork. Those are important. 00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:36.000 Those can be separate and even creative. But you have to start with 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:39.000 how do people produce and reproduce themselves materially, biologically? 00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:44.000 And that's the mode of production. So Marx says let's start with that. 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:48.000 That's gotta be a primary, at least. 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:51.000 Changes in that will change the whole society. 00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:54.000 Changes in how people produce what they need. 00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:56.000 Social relationships that people enter into 00:38:56.000 --> 00:38:60.000 in order to change, in order to, 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.000 you know, procure the things that they need. That changes. 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:06.000 In some sense that's gotta change the whole society. 00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:12.000 Dr. Marx never said, oh absolutely, some mechanical relationship, that's ridiculous. 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:15.000 But still that puts motion into change. 00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.000 And people can be creative. People critically reflect 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:22.000 on what they do materially. 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:28.000 There is creativity there. Some people call that agency. That is real. 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:32.000 But what puts into motion the critical reflection about how 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:35.000 we better produce what we need. That's the creative act. 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.000 That's an incredibly, human creative act just to figure out how to 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:44.000 better produce food. How to better feed ourselves. Ok. 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:48.000 Or Michaelangelo say, oh hell, how to produce a better paint. 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:51.000 So I can better paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. 00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:54.000 That's material, too. But it's incredibly creative. 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:60.000 And that wasn't determined by the fact that there's some new way 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:05.000 to produce goods and services in the Vatican or any Italian city state of the Renaissance. 00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:10.000 Ok. We get away from Marx claiming there's some kind of mechanical relationship. 00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:13.000 The economy, you know how many times I've heard this bullshit, 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:16.000 Dr. Marx is wrong because he said 00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:21.000 the economy determines everything people do and hate. 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:24.000 And, what, where did you read that? 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:28.000 Where did you get that? Where in Marx did you read that? 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:32.000 What in Marx would justify that? And then you find out 00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:36.000 they didn't read Marx at all. There some second-hand bullshit 00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:41.000 professor some afternoon who never read Marx either. 00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:44.000 Someone asked Dr. Marx, he said, 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:48.000 some of his followers, camp followers, cuz Dr. Marx liked to talk to people. 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:52.000 Maybe too much. Fred used to give him hell for talking too much to people. 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:57.000 Get busy, Karl. Ok. And somebody asked Karl, Dr. Marx 00:40:57.000 --> 00:40:60.000 is Marxism the belief and theory 00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.000 that economics and class determine everything that people do? 00:41:04.000 --> 00:41:08.000 And Dr. Marx describing this in one of the biography's, 00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:12.000 I think it's Francis Mullin's book. Dr. Marx shook his head and said 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:15.000 if that's what people think Marxism is, then guess what? 00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:20.000 I'm not a Marxist. You understand? 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.000 To deny human creativity. It's ridiculous. 00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:30.000 Marx was a Renaissance man. Shakespeare and music and art. 00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:33.000 And to claim that all of that 00:41:33.000 --> 00:41:36.000 was the result, strictly of the fact that, 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:40.000 you work for labor or somehow an economy 00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.000 determines everything that people do. 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:48.000 That's ridiculous and Marx said so. I bring that up, 00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:52.000 I emphasis that, because that's a lot of crap from people who haven't read Marx. 00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:56.000 Well, I tell you what what's wrong with Marx, they say economy determines 00:41:56.000 --> 00:41:61.000 everything that people do. Well, that's not true. How do you explain art & literature? 00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:06.000 Ha, ha, ha, ok. 00:42:06.000 --> 00:42:08.000 Well. 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:10.000 Historical materialism, 00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:15.000 This idea that you need history 00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:20.000 not a postivist history where you identify people and facts and events. 00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:23.000 A history wedded to what we might call 00:42:23.000 --> 00:42:28.000 social evolution. Explaining how and why societies evolve 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:32.000 over time. Explaining the dynamics of society. 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:36.000 Now that's usually referred to as historical materialism. 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:40.000 Sometimes dialetical materialism, usually historical materialism. 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.000 So Marx is, I call it the 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:48.000 theory or an attempt to explain 00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:52.000 evolution of societies. Ok. 00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:57.000 Alright. I'll speed this up a little bit. Number 3 here. 00:42:57.000 --> 00:42:61.000 Marx's best work, hands down 00:43:01.000 --> 00:43:04.000 is his critique of capitalism. 00:43:04.000 --> 00:43:09.000 Ok. Most effectively done in Volume 1 of Capitol. 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:11.000 German is Das Kapital. 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:16.000 And contrary to what a lot of people tell you, it's not that hard to read. 00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:18.000 It's very logical. It's very systematic. 00:43:18.000 --> 00:43:23.000 Dr. Marx has too many run on sentences. That's for damn sure. 00:43:23.000 --> 00:43:27.000 But in terms of the logic and structure of the argument, it's very clear. 00:43:27.000 --> 00:43:31.000 It's very precise. And it is systematic from start to back. Ok. 00:43:31.000 --> 00:43:35.000 Some of his work in other volumes is messy and needed a lot of work. 00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:40.000 But Volume 1 is a classic piece of work. 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.000 Ok. And it reads well and it still stand up. 00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:48.000 Most of it still stands up. Ok. 00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:52.000 And I won't go into, that's a long, long 00:43:52.000 --> 00:43:57.000 lecture just to get into the basics of Marx's critique of capitalism. 00:43:57.000 --> 00:43:60.000 Ok. I'll tell you this. It's based as I said 00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:03.000 awhile ago on the alienation of labor. 00:44:03.000 --> 00:44:07.000 Capitalism, yes capitalism, exploits people who work. 00:44:07.000 --> 00:44:12.000 Exploits the working class. Marx liked to use this Latin term, the proletariate. 00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:15.000 Ok. The wage labor people 00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:20.000 say the basis of capitalism is separating the people from the ownership 00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:25.000 and benefits of their own labor. A value they produce. 00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:28.000 Ok. And what he wants to do is demonstrate 00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:31.000 to you through his critique that is the essence of capitalism. 00:44:31.000 --> 00:44:36.000 It is inherently exploitative. Therefore, creates contradictory, 00:44:36.000 --> 00:44:40.000 unequal classes which precipitates class struggle. 00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:42.000 And if you don't see that going into the world today? 00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:48.000 Ahh, you'd been out of touch. Some good readings there 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:52.000 even Capital Volume 1. Some wonderful introductions of people interested 00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:56.000 they can hang around and I'll even suggest some of the best books in these suggested readings. 00:44:56.000 --> 00:44:58.000 Last thing, this is his weakest work. 00:44:58.000 --> 00:44:62.000 Although other marixists have picked this up and done a pretty good job. 00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:04.000 Although other marixists have picked this up and done a pretty good job. 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:08.000 State & Revolution, State & Revolution, Marx had a few 00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:11.000 little, passing remarks, a paragraph here 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:15.000 and a couple historical essays when he analyses historical revolutions in France 00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:20.000 of the mid to late 19th century. Marx has some, 00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:23.000 some teasing suggestions about how 00:45:23.000 --> 00:45:28.000 to go about theorizing politics 00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:32.000 and the state. And on to the possibilities or 00:45:32.000 --> 00:45:35.000 or explaining revolutions which is important, obviously. Ok. 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.000 If you want to overthrow capitalism. Ok. Alright. 00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:43.000 How do you explain government? Here's one. Here's one. I'll give you a quickie. 00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:46.000 Where I grew up, very blue collar community, mill town mostly 00:45:46.000 --> 00:45:50.000 part of my life and working class places. Ok. 00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.000 Even I go back, I haven't been back for a while, I go back to my favorite 00:45:54.000 --> 00:45:58.000 Palisades Bar & Grill and I see old cronies in there. And some of them 00:45:58.000 --> 00:45:61.000 are politically oriented, what's going on and we'll have a few beers. 00:46:01.000 --> 00:46:04.000 And always it comes to, you know what Dean, 00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:08.000 what are you gonna do? Money talks. Money talks. 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:11.000 Have you heard of that in your group? Ok. 00:46:11.000 --> 00:46:14.000 How do you hang out with? Does that come up? People say money talks. 00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:16.000 I think we all know what that means. 00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:19.000 It means people with a lot of money have a voice in government. 00:46:19.000 --> 00:46:23.000 They can influence government. Money talks. Money talks. 00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:27.000 This is not a new argument. The idea that wealth, 00:46:27.000 --> 00:46:31.000 wealth is easily translated into political power. 00:46:31.000 --> 00:46:36.000 That argument goes back to a kinda bright Greek, a guy named Aristotle. 00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:39.000 Dr. Marx didn't originate that argument. 00:46:39.000 --> 00:46:44.000 There is a direct connection between wealth and political power. 00:46:44.000 --> 00:46:48.000 Wealthy people tend to dominate governments. 00:46:48.000 --> 00:46:51.000 Sometimes they completely control government. 00:46:51.000 --> 00:46:56.000 They dominate. Let me give you a real-world example. 00:46:56.000 --> 00:46:61.000 Students are into 1.4 trillion dollars worth of debt right now. 00:47:01.000 --> 00:47:04.000 I just saw that. It says 1.4 now 00:47:04.000 --> 00:47:08.000 Ok. 00:47:08.000 --> 00:47:10.000 And what did your government do? 00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:17.000 It just weeks ago, maybe months ago now, 00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:20.000 passed another tax cut 00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:22.000 for rich people and corporations. 00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:27.000 Another serious, big-time, tax cut for rich people and corporations. 00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:31.000 They throw a temporary, little cut for middle class people 00:47:31.000 --> 00:47:33.000 that disappears in 3 to 4 years. 00:47:33.000 --> 00:47:35.000 Where'd you get that Dean? 00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.000 Congressional budget office, research arm of your government. 00:47:39.000 --> 00:47:44.000 You know that people who study this all the time say that capitalists, 00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:47.000 these big-time corporate capitalists, 00:47:47.000 --> 00:47:52.000 they have squirreled away in offshore accounts, bank accounts outside the U.S. 00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.000 Not billions, trillions. A trillion is a thousand billions. 00:47:59.000 --> 00:47:64.000 In offshore accounts, tax havens, inversions and so on. 00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:07.000 I don't have time to explain all that to you 00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:11.000 They hid their money overseas so they don't pay what on it? 00:48:11.000 --> 00:48:14.000 Taxes. Good. Who made that legal? 00:48:14.000 --> 00:48:20.000 Who made it legal for corporations to put that money offshore? 00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.000 Who made it legal? Who decides taxes 00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:28.000 and deductions, and dodges? Who decides that? 00:48:28.000 --> 00:48:31.000 United States government. 00:48:31.000 --> 00:48:33.000 Oh yeah, you're right. 00:48:33.000 --> 00:48:36.000 Your lobbyists buy politicians 00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:43.000 and then politicians create the tax code, and the loopholes and the dodges. Alright. 00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:47.000 How do you explain 00:48:47.000 --> 00:48:50.000 students 1.4 trillion dollars in debt. 00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.000 How do you explain 30 million kids in America hungry every night? 00:48:54.000 --> 00:48:60.000 How do you explain half our elderly living in poverty? Ok. 00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:03.000 Sixty percent of the children in this school district, 00:49:03.000 --> 00:49:07.000 Central School District 13J, 60% of those kids 00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:12.000 are from poor and/or low-income families thus their entitled 00:49:12.000 --> 00:49:16.000 for some support, food support at school, after school programs 00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:17.000 and some other basic medical. 00:49:17.000 --> 00:49:20.000 Sixty percent of the kids 00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:26.000 right here, in this school district are poor and struggling. 00:49:27.000 --> 00:49:34.000 While your government cuts taxes, once again, on rich people. 00:49:34.000 --> 00:49:36.000 This country has quadrupled 00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:40.000 the number of billionaires in 10 years. Ok. 00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.000 There's list, I don't know how many, about 60-70 of those 00:49:44.000 --> 00:49:49.000 billionaires pay no taxes at all to the United States government. 00:49:49.000 --> 00:49:52.000 If you don't think we're a plutocracy, 00:49:52.000 --> 00:49:58.000 meaning rule by the rich few, how do you explain those facts? 00:49:58.000 --> 00:49:61.000 You can say Dr. Braa, you're awful, you're terrible. 00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:03.000 What kind of word, plutocracy? Ok. Fine. 00:50:03.000 --> 00:50:05.000 Then you explain those realities to me. 00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:10.000 You explain those realities to me if you don't think we're a plutocracy. 00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:16.000 Government of, by and for the rich...how do you explain that? Ok. 00:50:16.000 --> 00:50:21.000 I had a friend, a union lobbyist years ago, 00:50:21.000 --> 00:50:24.000 said to me, you know Dean, 00:50:24.000 --> 00:50:28.000 you go to the state house, you can go to the capitol building in Washington DC, 00:50:28.000 --> 00:50:32.000 and especially these corporate lobbyists, these business lobbyists, 00:50:32.000 --> 00:50:35.000 they're all over the place. They're like ants on an anthill. 00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.000 And he told me Dean, there are more business and corporate lobbyists 00:50:39.000 --> 00:50:44.000 in the capital building than there are senators, representatives and all their staff. 00:50:44.000 --> 00:50:48.000 What do you think their doing? What do you think corporate lobbyists are doing 00:50:48.000 --> 00:50:52.000 with promises of campaign finance? They're buying your government. 00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:58.000 You didn't get that in your U.S. government class, did you? 00:50:58.000 --> 00:50:60.000 Now I bring this up 00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.000 because, of course, Dr Marx argued. 00:51:04.000 --> 00:51:08.000 Wow, he coulda cited Aristotle. 00:51:08.000 --> 00:51:12.000 Money talks. Ok. 00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:16.000 Governments are always biased in favor of the wealthy. Ok. 00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:20.000 At least up to now, Marx was hoping that might change today. 00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.000 And it could change someday. Alright. 00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:28.000 Last thing, I'll shut up. 00:51:28.000 --> 00:51:30.000 Dr. Marx wanted a revolution. 00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:35.000 Did that mean barricades and violence in the streets? No. 00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.000 In fact, Dr. Marx was a big supporter of Fred Engles 00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:44.000 and a son-in-law and other people he knew that organized 00:51:44.000 --> 00:51:48.000 the German Socialist Party. And they believed in revolution. They did! 00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:52.000 But they believed in revolution, I'll use a catchy phrase here, 00:51:52.000 --> 00:51:54.000 they believed in revolution through the ballot box. 00:51:54.000 --> 00:51:57.000 Revolution through the ballot box! 00:51:57.000 --> 00:51:59.000 Marx said, ok listen, 00:51:59.000 --> 00:51:63.000 we might have to go to violence because at some point you threaten 00:52:03.000 --> 00:52:06.000 the capitalists powers they might get violent. 00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:08.000 But he thought especially in Europe 00:52:08.000 --> 00:52:11.000 we could foment revolutions through the ballot box. 00:52:11.000 --> 00:52:14.000 You understand what Dr. Marx is saying? And Fred Engles? 00:52:14.000 --> 00:52:18.000 Cuz Fred was right there helping to organize socialists in Germany. 00:52:18.000 --> 00:52:24.000 Do you know who also stated these things? Who stated a socialist agenda? 00:52:24.000 --> 00:52:27.000 He was very sick and dying, probably, 00:52:27.000 --> 00:52:31.000 a communist named Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the second bill of rights. 00:52:31.000 --> 00:52:36.000 All of these things...good job, good health care, housing, 00:52:36.000 --> 00:52:41.000 these were your rights. FDR said these were your rights. FDR. 00:52:41.000 --> 00:52:44.000 The same argument that Dr. Marx made 00:52:44.000 --> 00:52:49.000 and Fred Engles made as they justified organizing the German Socialist Party. 00:52:49.000 --> 00:52:52.000 Welcome to reality. Thank you for listening. 00:52:52.000 --> 00:52:56.000 applause 00:52:56.000 --> 00:52:58.000 applause