GWM Midterm
(Rousseau) Discuss the 3 stages of progress of inequality
1) The first stage was the establishment of laws and of the right of property. This stage was characterized by the different states of rich and poor. 2) The second stage was the institution of magistrates (rulers). This stage was characterized by the difference between the powerful and the weak. 3) The third stage was the changing of legal into arbitrary (or hereditary) power. This stage was characterized by differences of the master and the slave.
(Marx) What distinguishes the communist party from other working- class parties?
1) They are not tied to the proletarians of one specific country, but are the party of all proletarians universally. 2) They represent the interests of the advancement of Communism as a whole, across all stages of development. In other words, they are the working-class party that are the leaders and are at the forefront of the Communist movement.
What are the two ways in which ancient people tried to limit the powers of tyrants?
Ancient people aimed to limit the power that a tyrant legitimately had over his people. This was done in two ways. 1) The creation of political liberties or rights that citizens always had, and if a ruler infringed upon these rights, rebellion or an overthrow of that ruler would be justified. 2) The second method was through the use of constitutional checks, through which the ruler would have to gain the consent of a body of representatives to carry out larger political acts.
(Rousseau) Explain how hereditary rulership got established
At first, modes of government were all elective based on either riches or merit. However, a meritocracy is naturally inclined to prefer age. The problem with electing the old is that they are likely to die after a short period in office, leading to more frequent elections, conflicts and eventually civil wars. The ambitious ruling men saw an opportunity to then establish a hereditary system in order to solve this problem and create a system in which rulership is passed on to the son of the chief.
Explain how feelings are shaped and developed.
Children gain their education about how to behave, including their feelings towards certain people and actions, based on their parents behavior. They then grow up in a society where the majority agrees with them and they never question their beliefs. This leads them to believe that their society's opinions and norms are really a part of natural behavior, instead of one of many cultures.
(Rousseau) Compare the way of life of the Savage man with that of the Civilized man
Civil man and savage man differ in their inclinations and desires. Savage man is very simple, he only wants his liberty and to live in nature undisturbed. Civil man is always active and anxious, constantly working in order to achieve positions of greater honor. He desires to serve the rich and powerful whom he hates and envies. The savage man would rather die than live the life of the civil man, constantly a slave to others. Power over others, riches, and reputation are meaningless to the savage man. The savage man is content in himself, the civil man's happiness is reliant on the opinion of others, he lives outside himself.
(Marx) What does it mean for the proletarians to become class-conscious, and in what way does it benefit them? + Give an example from 'Bicycle Thieves' to explain your answer
Class-consciousness occurs when all members of the Proletariat unite to become one force and one class, aware that they are all in this together against the ruling class. This occurs first through the Proletariat of each country uniting to settle matters with their country's ruling class, and then they can unite universally. This sort of thinking can be seen in the beginning of Bicycle Thieves, when the Proletariat workers are together at the doorstep of the Capitalist owner, attempting to get a job from him. One of them makes the point that just because they have a certain profession they shouldn't be employed and are destined to die of hunger? This is an example of the Proletariat coming together to realize that they are subjugated by the rule of the Bourgeoisie.
(Rousseau) Discuss how reason is used in civil society.
Compared to civil man, savage man has a much stronger sense of pity, and follows it more since savage man always follows his inclinations. In society, reason quiets the voice of pity by allowing man to justify turning away from his inclinations. For example, a man may be murdered under the civil man's window, and while he may pity and desire to help the man, reason allows him to justify his staying in bed.
(Rousseau) Describe what forced men to live together, and how it changed him.
Earthquakes and other natural disasters surrounded inhabited areas with water, creating islands of people. This forced the people on these islands to live together, which speeded up the creation of a common language. Therefore, it is likely that these inhabitants perfected language, then sailed to the continents and spread the use of language to other humans.
(Rousseau) What are Rousseau's points of critique against Hobbes?
Hobbes believes that man is naturally wicked because man in a state of nature has no concept of the good. Rousseau disagrees, saying that since man in a state of nature is only concerned with his survival and has no interest in other people, he is the least likely to harm and enslave others. Hobbes also says that man in a state of nature is only concerned with his survival and the fulfillment of his passions. Rousseau again disagrees, saying that the passions were created by civil man. So, savage man is not even aware of the different vices that society creates. Hobbes also stated that savage man is naturally fearful of everything he encounters, and is therefore constantly ready to fight. Rousseau responds that he may be fearful of new things that he encounters, but that rarely occurs in a state of nature. More often, he encounters other animals that he is already familiar with and he knows whether he is stronger than them or not. So, he is not afraid, since he has faced these dangers before.
(Marx) Discuss, through the examples of commuting and that of the capitalist mode of production, Marx' critique of the liberal concept of freedom (= critique of the idea that freedom is being free to act as one chooses, without the deliberate interference of others).
Imagine a Capitalist society in which everyone is free to buy and drive their own individual vehicles to work everyday. In this scenario, there will be tremendous amounts of traffic since everyone is too stubborn to take the bus instead. However, imagine a Communist society in which the government outlaws private vehicles and instead, everyone must take the bus to work. In this society, no one would be "free" to drive a car, but traffic would tremendously decrease and the roads would become more efficient. So, according to Marx, in a Capitalist society, yes you could be free, but everyone is in reality much worse off and society is less efficient than if we agree to a Communist model.
(Marx) What is meant with the process of 'immiseration'?
Immiseration is the process by which the proletariat factory worker has an increasingly miserable existence under the rule of the bourgeoisie. Furthermore, after the publication of The Manifesto, the bourgeoisie was encouraged to reduce or slow the process of immiseration by increasing the wages and conditions of their workers in order to avoid a revolution. However, many later Communists ironically wanted to quicken the process of immiseration, as this is the process by which the proletarian comes to realize the horror of his existence under the Capitalist system and is encouraged to begin the revolution. Marx also believed that, unlike the oppressors in Feudal society, the bourgeoisie cannot even ensure the survival of the proletariat, as their condition worsens as time goes on.
Discuss the relation between Wage labor and Capitalism and contrast it with labor in Feudal and Communist societies.
In a Capitalist society, the proletariat works for the factory owners and earns wage labor from their work. However, if due to some technological advancement, the owner can produce twice as much, the workers are still paid the same, and so are worse off than in a feudal system. So all the surplus goes to the owner, and the workers don't benefit from technological innovation. In a feudal society, the serf works on the land of his lord. Half of what he produces goes to his lord and half he keeps. However, if through some technological advancement he can produce twice as much, the serf and the lord get twice as much. So, the feudal system is better for innovation and for the proletariat. In Communist society, all members share equally in what they create. Furthermore, if through a technological innovation the speed of production increases, what decreases is the amount of hours needed working, in order to avoid surplus. This leaves members of a Communist society with more time for "leisure work" such as pursuing an art or science.
(Mill) Discuss the expression, "Tyranny of the Majority" and the means with which this majority tyrannizes.
In a democracy, the majority tyrannizes over the minority. This majority believes themselves to be correct, and often thinks the minority to be wrong or even dangerous to their way of life. This minority either does not accept the majority customs, opinions, or beliefs of their society. The majority tyrannizes them through discrimination, slander, prejudice, and hiring discrimination, among other practices.
(Marx) What is meant with the 'Dictatorship of the Proletariat'
In order to achieve a Communist society, the Proletariat will have to overthrow their Bourgeois rulers through violent revolution. However, in the beginning of the rule of the Proletariat, they will have to temporarily be despotic in order to eliminate any remaining capitalists or other ideological threats to their new society. This was a justification that the Bolsheviks used to kill anyone that they deemed a threat, as they saw it as a necessary and temporary stage in the process of creating a peaceful Communist society.
(Rousseau) Discuss the origin of property and slavery.
In the state of nature, man only possessed what he could create on his own (clothes made of animal skins, feather and shell ornaments, simple musical instruments, etc.). In this stage, man lived happily and freely. However, from the moment man realized that he could enslave others to produce for himself twice as much as he needed to. Property was born and slaves were used for farming. Metallurgy and agriculture were necessary for this revolution as well.
(Kant) According to Kant's 5th and 6th Principle, the Vocation and Task of the human species to achieve a universal civil society is the highest, hardest and last to be solved. Explain why this is the case.
It is only in such a universal civil society that man can achieve the end objective of nature—the complete development of every individual's faculties by his own effort and achievement. This society would be one that possesses the greatest amount of freedom as well as the most precise limits and enforcements of this freedom, so that individuals can live together in harmony, respecting each other's freedom. One of the primary difficulties of this regards the need for this society to have a master. Man is fundamentally an animal who, given the opportunity, will take advantage of his freedom in regard to others. While one may rationally desire for all to be equal under the law, his egoistic nature will lead him to break the law where he can. This society therefore needs a master who can convince everyone to obey the law. However, this master must be a human who is in turn an animal who needs a master. This master will also need a good will to accept a constitution for this society. This seemingly impossible task is why founding a universal civil society will be the last task that man achieves.
(Mill) Discuss, in some depth, the question of the regulation of human conduct.
Just like there needs to be limits on the tyranny of government, so there needs to be limits on the behavior of individuals within a society. One problem with doing so is the arbitrariness of public opinion. Every country thinks that their way of thinking is right, so how does one judge whether it is really so and place limits on public opinion? Each society believes that their way is superior to others, and is often mistaken for nature instead of culture. However, an opinion not supported by strong reasons is just one of many people's preferences, and even if it is the opinion of the majority, this does not mean that it is any more correct. It is simply the way that many people feel. Moreover, these opinions are primarily guided by one's self-interest and fears, as opposed to unbiased reason. For these reasons, the majority needs to be regulated in some way to avoid them harming the minority.
(Kant) Discuss public and private use of reason and its relation to Enlightenment. Illustrate your response with an example for each type of use.
Kant believes that for Enlightenment to occur, all that is needed is freedom for individuals to make use of public use of reason. Public use of man's reason means the freedom of learned individuals to publish their thoughts and make them available to the public. This would include the freedom of an employed professor, for example, to publish a controversial book available to the public. However, Kant also believes that slight restrictions on private reason do not prevent Enlightenment. By restrictions on private reason, he means restrictions on what an employee can say while he is working. This would include restrictions on what a professor can say while on campus or teaching in a classroom, or what a priest can say when addressing his church members.
(Kant) Discuss Kant's 4th Principle according to which nature uses the antagonism among men to bring about the development of all of man's capacities.
Kant makes the claim that the "asocial sociability" or antagonism among men in society is necessary to bring about all of man's hidden talents. Kant says that on the one hand, man desires to be asocial, since he wants to arrange his life according to his own rules and not live according to the principles of others. At the same time, man is aware that he is more capable of achieving his full potential within society. So, there is this constant attraction and repellent between individuals within society. However, these feelings of envy, ambition, and vanity are what push man to achieve more than his fellow citizens and to have a higher social standing than them. Without these asocial feelings, man would never achieve what he is capable of. Therefore, man is not as capable outside of society, as he doesn't have these asocial feelings to drive him.
(Kant) Discuss Enlightenment, its relation to maturity, and what or who keeps man from becoming Enlightened. Illustrate your response with two examples.
Kant refers to Enlightenment as one's emergence from "self-incurred immaturity." Immaturity meaning the lack of ability to use one's own understanding or reason, instead relying on the guidance of others to tell you right from wrong. However, this immaturity comes from laziness and a fear of relying on one's own reasoning, as opposed to just a lack of knowledge. For example, if one disagrees with their religion on the origin of ethics, even if they don't know what the origin is, they are "mature" because they are pursuing and relying on their own understanding and reasoning. This laziness or cowardice occurs because it is much easier to rely on the guidance of others who tell you what to do. So for example, if I have a book or a spiritual leader who tells me what is right and wrong without providing an argument, I can rely on those things and don't have to think for myself.
(Marx) What is the function of ideology in history?
Marx believed that ideology, ideas, and views, in other words man's consciousness, changes based on the material conditions of his existence and society. So, as material production changes, the prevailing ideology is destined to then change as well. One example that Marx brings is how Christianity gave way to the rationalist ideologies of the 17th century. This was caused by feudal society falling as the bourgeoisie became the new ruling class, and modern Capitalism emerged. Marx believed that the material state of free competition gave rise to the idea of free inquiry in the intellectual domain.
(Marx) Discuss in detail Marx' idea of Surplus and its relation to socio-economic organization and history.
Marx' idea of Surplus: Man produces far more together than alone. The difference between what he can produce alone versus with others is called surplus. In a capitalist society, the bourgeoisie, or the owners of the means of production, exploit the factory workers by taking all the profits from all the surplus production. There have been four major types of societies throughout history, each with a different system of dividing the surplus. 1) In Tribal communities, the means of production are owned collectively. However, surplus is divided unequally, since the Chief gets all the surplus and the slaves get close to nothing. 2) In Feudal society, the lord owns the means of production and gets part of the surplus. The serf owns the right to use the means of production in exchange for working part of the time for the lord. 3) In Capitalist society, the bourgeoisie own the means of production and all the surplus production, paying the workers as little as possible. This means that the proletariat are the worst off. 4) In a Communist society, private ownership of the means of production is abolished. Means of production are owned collectively, and everyone shares equally from the profits of the sale of the surplus production. Marx believed that this is the inevitable end of society, since there will no longer be conflict between the exploiter and the exploited.
(Mill) Discuss the principle that should govern the dealings of society with the individual and the limits of the application of this principle.
Mill answers this question with the statement, "The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." Preventing harm is the only justified end of government. The only conduct for which an individual should be restrained is that which affects others. So, theoretically, this principle would defend the right for two men to be married, since a marriage between two individuals does not affect anyone else. This principle also applies to drug use, since it is a personal decision and Mill believes in the right of individuals to have sovereignty over themselves.
(Marx) Why must the bourgeoisie constantly revolutionize the instruments of production, and how does this affect the proletarians?
The bourgeoisie's revolutionizing of the instruments of production subsequently changes the relations of classes regarding production, and thereby affecting the class relations of an entire society. It also has global effects: by producing cheap products, it "invades" even the least civilized and most closed off societies through trade. Furthermore, these societies are then forced, on the threat of extinction by being outpaced, to adopt the bourgeois forms of production. The bourgeoisie must constantly revolutionize the instruments of production in order to get ahead of their competition. This is because one who figures out a way to produce more surplus in an equal amount of time will eventually outpace his competition in production, and therefore how much he earns, driving his competitors out of the market. They also must constantly find new markets around the globe in order to sell all of their surplus production.
(Kant) According to Kant's 2nd Principle the capacities of man to use his reason can only be completely developed in the Species, NOT in the Individual. Explain why this is the case.
The complete development of reason in man cannot occur in the individual because he would need to live for an unnaturally long amount of time in order to perfect his reason. The development of reason requires trials, experience, and information which can only occur over time. The only way one could achieve the perfection of reason is through the information passed down through generations. Therefore, the complete development of reason can only happen through the species, based on learning about the past and from sharing information with one's contemporaries.
(Marx) Discuss estrangement under capitalism. and illustrate it with an example.
The idea of estrangement is that under capitalism, the workers are dehumanized, and their work loses all individual characteristics. Meaning, that while working in a factory, the worker simply has to perform a monotonous task of pulling a lever or working a machine all day long, instead of engaging in a dynamic, creative process. Modern industrialism and capitalism have made craftsmen obsolete, and they are now forced to work in factories. They have become in a way enslaved to their capitalist factory owners, who treat them like slaves or soldiers who are under the control of the machines, the factory overseers, and the bourgeois class. An example of this can be seen with a shoemaker. Pre-Industrialism, the shoemaker worked for himself in his own store, engaged in a creative task, and was under no one's control but his own. However, with the rise of Industrialism and Capitalism, shoemakers have gone obsolete and have no choice but to work in a factory, where, even if the end product is a shoe, they do no more than a simple monotonous task.
(Rousseau) What is ethnocentrism + give example
The idea of ethnocentrism states that other cultures look wrong or absurd in the eyes of someone from another culture. An example of this is the practice of dog-eating in China. To an American, this may seem like a gross, even immoral practice, as dogs are thought of as pets and companions as opposed to meat and livestock. However, this does not mean that there is something inherently wrong with eating dogs, as someone from China may not see anything wrong with it.
What is Mill's critique of 'those who have been advanced in society' in respect to their critique of the 'likings and dislikings' of society'?
The likings and dislikings of society are what primarily determine what becomes law. "Those who have been advanced in society," meaning the leading philosophers, politicians, and thinkers of the time, have done nothing to question this principle. Instead, they attempt to influence society in terms of what they should like or dislike (and therefore what becomes law) or how they should feel about certain issues. However, according to Mill, this is a mistake, and instead, they should defend "heretics" in general, meaning they should argue that the government has no right to determine people's private lives instead of swaying society towards liking one opinion or another.
(Rousseau) Discuss the 'trick of the rich' to stop bandits?
The trick of the rich was to befriend his enemies and make them adopt institutions and laws favorable to the rich by inventing a system of law that would protect their property from those trying to take it from them. The men who heard this proposal from the rich were easily seduced by it, seeing the benefits of equal subjugation to the law, equal treatment of poor and rich under the law, and protection of what little property they themselves had. However, what they didn't have the foresight to see was that this was just a trick to end the bandits' attempts at taking their property.