Monday, February 23, 2009
During the course we had the opportunity to discuss about labor force, exploitation, and Marx’s descriptions of capitalism. Curiously, during the class we missed to talk about the “Martyrs of Chicago” and its impact in the international community.
International Workers' Day and its marxism and historical contexts:
International Workers' Day (a name used interchangeably with May Day) is a celebration of the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement. May Day commonly sees organized street demonstrations and street marches by millions of working people and their labour unions throughout most of the countries of the world — though, as noted below, rarely in the United States and Canada.
International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators. In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891. The May Day Riots of 1894 and May Day Riots of 1919 occurred subsequently. In 1904, the International Socialist Conference meeting in Amsterdam called on "all Social Democratic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on May First for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace." As the most effective way of demonstrating was by striking, the congress made it "mandatory upon the proletarian organizations of all countries to stop work on May 1, wherever it is possible without injury to the workers."
Through all this turmoil in the northern hemisphere, the Stonemasons Society in the then colony of Victoria, now the State of Victoria in Australia led the battle for the 8 Hour Day, the most dramatic achievement of the early trade Union Movement. By 1856 Australian workers were benefiting from the results of a decision by the Collingwood Branch of the Stonemasons Society of Victoria. The same year it was recognized in New South Wales, followed by Queensland in 1858 and South Australia in 1873. A memorial statue with the numerals 888, representing 8 hours of work, 8 hours of recreation, and 8 hours of rest, sits on the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Parade in Melbourne, Australia to this day.
May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and anarchist groups. In some circles, bonfires are lit in commemoration of the Haymarket martyrs, usually right as the first day of May begins[1]. It has also seen right-wing massacres of participants as in the Taksim Square massacre of 1977 in Turkey.
Due to its status as a celebration of the efforts of workers and the socialist movement, May Day is an important official holiday in Communist countries such as the People's Republic of China, Cuba, and the former Soviet Union. May Day celebrations typically feature elaborate popular and military parades in these countries.
In countries other than the United States and Canada, resident working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday and their efforts largely succeeded. For this reason, in most of the world today, May Day is marked by massive street rallies led by workers, their trade unions, anarchists and various communist and socialist parties.
In the United States, however, the official Federal holiday for the "working man" is Labor Day in September. This day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor organized the first parade in New York City. The first Labor Day celebration was held on September 5, 1882, and was organized by the Knights of Labor. The Knights began holding it every year and called for it to be a national holiday, but this was opposed by other labor unions who wanted it held on May Day (as it is everywhere else in the world). After the Haymarket Square riot in May, 1886, President Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported.
From:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day
International Workers' Day and its marxism and historical contexts:
International Workers' Day (a name used interchangeably with May Day) is a celebration of the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement. May Day commonly sees organized street demonstrations and street marches by millions of working people and their labour unions throughout most of the countries of the world — though, as noted below, rarely in the United States and Canada.
International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators. In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891. The May Day Riots of 1894 and May Day Riots of 1919 occurred subsequently. In 1904, the International Socialist Conference meeting in Amsterdam called on "all Social Democratic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on May First for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace." As the most effective way of demonstrating was by striking, the congress made it "mandatory upon the proletarian organizations of all countries to stop work on May 1, wherever it is possible without injury to the workers."
Through all this turmoil in the northern hemisphere, the Stonemasons Society in the then colony of Victoria, now the State of Victoria in Australia led the battle for the 8 Hour Day, the most dramatic achievement of the early trade Union Movement. By 1856 Australian workers were benefiting from the results of a decision by the Collingwood Branch of the Stonemasons Society of Victoria. The same year it was recognized in New South Wales, followed by Queensland in 1858 and South Australia in 1873. A memorial statue with the numerals 888, representing 8 hours of work, 8 hours of recreation, and 8 hours of rest, sits on the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Parade in Melbourne, Australia to this day.
May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and anarchist groups. In some circles, bonfires are lit in commemoration of the Haymarket martyrs, usually right as the first day of May begins[1]. It has also seen right-wing massacres of participants as in the Taksim Square massacre of 1977 in Turkey.
Due to its status as a celebration of the efforts of workers and the socialist movement, May Day is an important official holiday in Communist countries such as the People's Republic of China, Cuba, and the former Soviet Union. May Day celebrations typically feature elaborate popular and military parades in these countries.
In countries other than the United States and Canada, resident working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday and their efforts largely succeeded. For this reason, in most of the world today, May Day is marked by massive street rallies led by workers, their trade unions, anarchists and various communist and socialist parties.
In the United States, however, the official Federal holiday for the "working man" is Labor Day in September. This day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor organized the first parade in New York City. The first Labor Day celebration was held on September 5, 1882, and was organized by the Knights of Labor. The Knights began holding it every year and called for it to be a national holiday, but this was opposed by other labor unions who wanted it held on May Day (as it is everywhere else in the world). After the Haymarket Square riot in May, 1886, President Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported.
From:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Social Power
Social Power
“The ability or right to control people or events…”[1]
When we talk about power, we should point out the level of the society that we are analyzing or studying. Social power is under the political structure of each society, drawing all the interactions not only in the individual levels but also in the groups’ ones. That means that we may refer to “nature of power” in different levels of the society.
Each theorist refers to the term of “power” in a particular manner. Thus, there is a diverse spectrum of the concepts among the different theories such as: functionalism, theory of conflict, structuralism, materialism, etc. However, as is pointed out by Woodman, W.:
“…power is one with which we all deal daily and which goes as far as it does to shape the nature of human life” [2]
Social power crosses all the societal structures, establishing different relations among the members of societies. The political relationships among individual, groups, communities, and societies, are based on the levels of powers which determine the individual levels of participation, decisions, freedom, among other elements. From my perspective, some of the most important elements are: ideology, consciousness, and knowledge. From Marx’s view, those aspects (ideology, consciousness, and knowledge) are annulled by the economic system. The capitalism and the political powers which support that economic system tend to delete labor awareness and knowledge. That process of “discouraging of power” is facilitated by the role not only by the capital or private interests, but also by the public institutions which reinforce the ideological consensus of the highest levels of power (Douglas, M, 1986)[3] (That concept is also described by Luckás, G (1968) in “History and Class Consciousness”). The Marxism concept of power is based on the premise that individuals become “empty boxes” of thought as a consequence of the “alienation”. That concept can be still observed in our surroundings not only in the industrial facilities but also in other kinds of jobs. The alienation of workers is created by the economic system which tends to shadow the “nature of power”. That mechanism is also reinforced by the structures of social organizations endowing individuals with perceptions that reinforce those economic and social structures in competition against alternative ones. That reinforcement is carried out using some cultural aspects such as the language (Bourdieu, P, 1977)[4]. The inequality of power conditions is reflected in different aspects of our lives and as Marx pointed out:
“The surplus labour of the class has ceased to be the condition for the development of general wealth, just as the non- labour of the few, for the development of the general power of human head.” (Marx, K, 1833)
The nature of social power is taken by those who are occupying higher political and economic spheres/levels. According to Marx, K. the means of labour becomes fixed capital, and controls the worker physically as capital. That control of human power is reinforced by materialism structures in the societal level. The importance of the exchange or the “fetishism of commodities” distract the human consciousness and allow the continuation of the economic system. However, like Scott, J. (1985) has described, the “everyday resistance of subalterns”[5] shows that they have not consented to dominance, against the “hegemony” (Gramsci, A, 1921) of both economic and political power.
[1] LONGMAN, Dictionary of contemporary English, New Edition, 2003, London.
[2] In “The Theoretical Yardstick”, Bibliography of the course.
[3] Douglas, M. 1986. How the institutions Think, Syracuse, NY: U. Press.
[4] Bourdieu, P. 1977, Reproduction in education, Society and Culture, Sage Publications, London.
[5] Scott, J. 1985, Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance, London Press.
“The ability or right to control people or events…”[1]
When we talk about power, we should point out the level of the society that we are analyzing or studying. Social power is under the political structure of each society, drawing all the interactions not only in the individual levels but also in the groups’ ones. That means that we may refer to “nature of power” in different levels of the society.
Each theorist refers to the term of “power” in a particular manner. Thus, there is a diverse spectrum of the concepts among the different theories such as: functionalism, theory of conflict, structuralism, materialism, etc. However, as is pointed out by Woodman, W.:
“…power is one with which we all deal daily and which goes as far as it does to shape the nature of human life” [2]
Social power crosses all the societal structures, establishing different relations among the members of societies. The political relationships among individual, groups, communities, and societies, are based on the levels of powers which determine the individual levels of participation, decisions, freedom, among other elements. From my perspective, some of the most important elements are: ideology, consciousness, and knowledge. From Marx’s view, those aspects (ideology, consciousness, and knowledge) are annulled by the economic system. The capitalism and the political powers which support that economic system tend to delete labor awareness and knowledge. That process of “discouraging of power” is facilitated by the role not only by the capital or private interests, but also by the public institutions which reinforce the ideological consensus of the highest levels of power (Douglas, M, 1986)[3] (That concept is also described by Luckás, G (1968) in “History and Class Consciousness”). The Marxism concept of power is based on the premise that individuals become “empty boxes” of thought as a consequence of the “alienation”. That concept can be still observed in our surroundings not only in the industrial facilities but also in other kinds of jobs. The alienation of workers is created by the economic system which tends to shadow the “nature of power”. That mechanism is also reinforced by the structures of social organizations endowing individuals with perceptions that reinforce those economic and social structures in competition against alternative ones. That reinforcement is carried out using some cultural aspects such as the language (Bourdieu, P, 1977)[4]. The inequality of power conditions is reflected in different aspects of our lives and as Marx pointed out:
“The surplus labour of the class has ceased to be the condition for the development of general wealth, just as the non- labour of the few, for the development of the general power of human head.” (Marx, K, 1833)
The nature of social power is taken by those who are occupying higher political and economic spheres/levels. According to Marx, K. the means of labour becomes fixed capital, and controls the worker physically as capital. That control of human power is reinforced by materialism structures in the societal level. The importance of the exchange or the “fetishism of commodities” distract the human consciousness and allow the continuation of the economic system. However, like Scott, J. (1985) has described, the “everyday resistance of subalterns”[5] shows that they have not consented to dominance, against the “hegemony” (Gramsci, A, 1921) of both economic and political power.
[1] LONGMAN, Dictionary of contemporary English, New Edition, 2003, London.
[2] In “The Theoretical Yardstick”, Bibliography of the course.
[3] Douglas, M. 1986. How the institutions Think, Syracuse, NY: U. Press.
[4] Bourdieu, P. 1977, Reproduction in education, Society and Culture, Sage Publications, London.
[5] Scott, J. 1985, Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance, London Press.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
