Sociological Theory
Spring 2023
For this exam you are writing 3 essay
—Choose 1 from Part I and choose 2 from Part II.
CLASS RELATIONS
Part I.
Choose 1
of the following essay questions and explain and apply at least
four
relevant concepts
from Marxian theory in your answer.
1. Watch
one
of the following films: Spirited Away OR Princess Mononoke. These Japanese anime films are noted as having Marxist tones (and people have written a lot about these very popular animated films). I would like for you to analyze the film’s portrayal of class relationships using themes, ideas, and concepts from the Communist Manifesto.
2. The following are song lyrics from famous country song writers Coe and Parton. Read them and listen to versions on YouTube even if you think that would be fun. Use Marx’s ideas about class relationships to explain the worker’s experiences being talked about in these song lyrics. How do these song lyrics correspond with things Marx said about class and class relations in capitalism. Find a song on your own that reflects class relations and explain the class elements and relations in at least one stanze/verse. Also, just to emphasize, some songs you might choose could be both a critique of capitalism’s relations of production and demonstrate ironies in the artist/performer’s actions that perpetuate capitalism and its underlying nature and power to coopt.
Take This Job And Shove by David Allan Coe
Take this job and shove it I ain’t workin’ here no more
My woman done left and took all the reason I was working for
Ya, better not try and stand in my way
Cause I’m walkin’, out the door
Take this job and shove it I ain’t working here no more
Well, I been working in this factory for now on fifteen years
All this time, I watched my woman drownin’ in a pool of tears
And I’ve seen a lot of good folks die who had a lot of bills to pay
I’d give the shirt right off of my back if I had the guts to say…
The foreman, he’s a regular dog the line boss, he’s a fool
Got a brand new flat top haircut Lord, he thinks he’s cool
One of these days I’m gonna blow my top and that sucker, he’s gonna pay
I can’t wait to see their faces when I get the nerve to say…Take this job and shove it
“9 To 5” by Dolly Parton
Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch and try to come to life
Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumpin’
Out on the street, The traffic starts jumpin’
The folks like me on the job from 9 to 5
Workin’ 9 to 5, What a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by, It’s all takin’ and no givin’
They just use your mind, and they never give you credit
It’s enough to drive you crazy, If you let it
9 to 5, for service and devotion, You would think that I
Would deserve a fat promotion, Want to move ahead
But the boss won’t seem to let me, I swear sometimes that man is out to get me
They let you dream, Just to watch ’em shatter,
You’re just a step, On the boss-man’s ladder, But you got dreams
He’ll never take away, You’re in the same boat, With a lotta your friends
Waitin’ for the day your ship’ll come in, ‘N’ the tide’s gonna turn
And it’s all gonna roll your way….
THE NATURE OF CAPITALISM- ITS DYNAMICS & FAULTLINES
Part II. Choose 2
of the following essay questions. Give full answers—using Marxian terminology in your answers. With these questions, you are integrating and applying what you know .
1. Kermit the Frog from Sesame Street once said, “It’s not easy being green.” The philosophy of being green or making sustainable choices means consuming more consciously and making choices on a day-to-day basis that make sense for the environment and us as humans. That is giving thought to the consequences of our individual and collective actions. By the nature of the way we live we have a distinct effect on the environment through the
consumption of resources and the
disposal of wastes. The green lifestyle asks you to: REDUCE consumption and waste, RE-USE whatever you can, RECYCLE those things that can be and REJECT products that are over packaged, non-biodegradable, and that are disposable.
What would Marx think about the sustainability movement (also known as the Green Revolution), and its impact on capitalism? Where would the impacts of the sustainability movement be most felt and who would most feel them? How do the goals of sustainability fit with or conflict with the goals of capitalism? Who do you think opposes sustainability efforts and why? What do capitalists always do (according to Marx) and what are they doing in the sustainability movement?
2. Define Hegel’s dialectical process. Explain its significance in relation to Marx’s theory of history and his elaboration of the base and superstructure as the causal model of society. Select a particular social institution (e.g., law, family, media, religion, etc…) and explain how that social institution reflects the mode of production: structurally, relationally, and ideologically.
3. “Capitalist production is not merely the production of commodities; it is essentially the production of surplus-value.” What is surplus value? Explain what is meant by this and Marx’s general formula for capital, M—C—M’. Discuss how this theory of capital is connected to the production of absolute and relative surplus value and ultimately how the drive for surplus value is the underlying force behind the undoing of capitalism. In your answer be sure you define absolute and relative surplus value and give examples of both and give a good example of the forces at play in the undoing of capitalism.
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