Term Paper on "Marx and Goffman"

Term Paper 8 pages (2459 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Marx and Goffman

Karl Marx presents the theory of commonality fetishism in the first chapter of the book, "Capital Critique of Political Economy" of the year 1868. As the chapter concludes, Karl Marx analyses the value-form bestowed in various commodities. In explaining the notion of social origination in labor as ascribed through exchanges in the market, Karl Marx reiterate s that all is concerned with the buying and selling of goods and services in the market. Within a capitalist society, there are social relations, which bind people together. With these bindings, people fall into various activities of who did what, who is being worked for, the time of production in a commodity, and many more. As the chapter ends, Karl Marx exhorts that under conditions of universal exchange, only things have social relations. Therefore, qualities of commodity production and the contraction of use, value, and exchange value are important. As such, given Marx's analysis of capital creates its own gravediggers. The theory of revolution, where "revolution" does not mean a moment in which competing groups or classes confront each other openly in militant opposition is evident in every perception taken by Karl Marx.

Karl Marx analyzes and critiques the political economy in a capitalistic society. Commodity fetishism refers to the transformation or change in human relations exemplified from commodities of trading within a trading environment. In this environment, the social relations among individual people are exemplified within the objectivity of economic interactions, exchanged money, or modes of exchange, commodities being exchanged, together with buyers and sellers in the market. According to Karl Marx, there is a transformation of fetishism through commodity fetishism. The abject things, which are of less importance and value, are transformed to have and possess immense value being adored by the participants in the market. In this regard, Karl Marx exemplifies that objectivity is revealed among products in the market because people believe that these are real things with intrinsic value in them.

In order to arrive at his fundamental conclusion, Karl Marx explains the philosophy of commodity fetishism and everything, which entails fetishism. According to Karl Marx, every product in its physicality has no relation with the value and importance to be imparted into it in the market. No material relations exist between a product and the values inscribed in them. The value systems are fundamentally imparted in them but hold no physical or material characteristics with similar products. Karl Marx notes that the relation between the products and their imparted values are nothing but a social relation between people that are transformed to the products. When the relation is transferred to products, it becomes fantastic in nature. For one to understand this, Karl Marx beliefs it is imperative to consider the religious backgrounds though this is another world of misty realm. In this realm, the brain products are bestowed with value systems, which are autonomous, and with lives of their own. These relations then enter into each other and finally get into the human race. That is simply what happens in the real world society. Likewise, Karl Marx notes that the world is full or owns commodities, but the values of these products are in man's hands. This is what Karl Marx calls fetishism as it connects to the labor products. The products are produced with name of commodities. This means that one cannot separate the stature of a product and its value the moment it has been termed as a commodity.

Initially, Karl Marx criticized the concepts and beliefs of the political economists as he borrowed a leaf from "the cult of Fetish Gods." This notion of Karl Marx extends back to "the Holy Family" when Karl Marx had the contrast of social relations together with materialistic forms of products. In his early stages of development, Karl Marx places his efforts in the fact that money, property, capital, and wage labor are all of the similar categories, but they do not take representation of imagination though they are concrete and practical aspects of workers in self-alienation. According to Karl Marx in his book, "the Poverty of Philosophy," every economic category is a product of theory. They are simple abstractions, which are realized in the simple social relations instilled in production. As such, one should always consider the value-inherency in a product during its production as this dictates the level of pay or price exchange to be realized.

According to Karl Marx, fetishism is not an illusionary aspect. It is real though mostly invisible with a simple eye. It is not a happening of social alert. Rather, one should relate the difference between the real prospects in the society as people engage in various realms of economic dominance. According to Karl Marx, fetishism refers to the religion of sensuous appetites. Appetites have their own fantasy in tricking fetish faithful into conceiving and believing that every inanimate object will develop their natural characters to meet the desires of the faithful. According to Karl Marx, this does not work out. As such, the crude appetite must be of important service or otherwise it will wash away the fetish faithful (Marx et al., 1978).

Concerning the political economy, Karl Marx reiterates that everything is independently carried out in a social organization where buyers and sellers of products do not enter into manipulation by the market. As such, values bestowed in products, together with their respective changes over time will determine the innate importance and perception by the people. Trade and transaction determine the market existence and social relation among people. As such, social relations are important in such a case since they participate in influencing the value of products in the market place without the influence of the market itself. Karl Marx exemplifies that the relation of various commodities determines the cost of production. These costs are reducible based on the levels of human labor. Nonetheless, every worker has no immediate control of what takes place between him or her and the products together with their values in the market.

With these thoughts and exemplifications, Karl Marx arrives at his notion of commodity fetishism at the end of his first chapter of "Capital." He concludes that only things have social relation and therefore qualities of commodity production under conditions of universal exchange and the contradiction of use value and exchange value. With his theory of revolution, Karl Marx has succinctly exemplified that revolution does not mean a moment, which competition groups or classes confront, each other openly in militant opposition.

Goffman has lethargically expanded his account of the predicaments participants face in interpersonal face-to-face interaction to his discussion of the "moral career" of the ostensibly deviant and to his "political" interpretation of the idea, "we normal" are always "normal against?" In any ordinary life, a person is capable of separating self from wrong motives and perceptions made by others. This happens through individual face-acting demonstrations, which are directed at establishing a difference between a mortifying situation and a person or self. These illustrations are actions, which try to reveal the self, and not the mortifying characteristics targeted. In most cases, according to Goffman, an individual is hard to reflect on the face-to-face relation without using the ideas and interpretations of the face. According to Goffman, this "looping effect" takes a short period for one to react to a situation, which tries to tarnish a reputation, especially the one directed at his or her face. For instance, it is not a surprise to find an individual who tries every possibility to avoid assaults before it gets collapsed into a present situation.

Goffman stresses that the conditions of the mental stability in an individual covers the territory where self is well kept and protected. The conditions found in a mental patient together with their reflections are present in the most poignant moral career of that mental patient. As such, Goffman places many facts on the possibilities of finding a patient that has been clearly uncovered of his common satisfactions, accustoms, and affirmations. Moreover, this individual is robbed of defenses and thus made to face full mortifying experiences. With these are restrictions, which will not allow one to move freely, live communally, strike an authority within a stratum of people, and many others. In this case, an individual will sustain the concept of oneself due to the presence of support mechanisms though they are suddenly eradicated.

Within a neutral environment, as Goffman reiterates, human beings are free to hide themselves or separate themselves from accessing the knowledge and skill of others. People can evade every description, which aims at letting them know what is yet to happen in a free and socially established society. This is based on the normality and existence of normal people in the society. For instance, for one to justify that "we normal" are courageous of facing every ordeal at circumstance, there are other opportunistic objects, which come by and reiterate on the importance of being "normal against." As such, much ado is realized from the sense… READ MORE

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