The themes that ties the two to authors is education and poverty. As they point out, America is a country that is not so united when it comes to education. The differences between the affluent and the poor a significant, these differences are evident in the educational system that seems to provide much better resources for some than for others. It is a system that clearly promotes two levels of class, and this is clearly wrong. An education should be the tools in which a democracy thrives for all.…
She argues that the U.S has the potential for the same educational success as Finland, but “when it comes to the lessons that Finnish schools have to offer, most discussion seems to be missing the point” (Partanen,2011). She highlights that our focus…
Marx, Karl. “After the Revolution.” In Princeton Readings in Political Thought. Edited by Mitchell Cohen and Nicole Fermon. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996.…
Based on the Finnish system of education, Partanen observes that the United States would be well served to consider some, if not all, of the inconsistencies between American and Finnish education systems (979-981). Addressing an argument she believes will arise against her position, she discusses the size of Finland compared to America. Besides size, America has much greater ethnic diversity than does Finland. Partanen refutes these problems by bringing up that most education is run at the state-level, an area about the size and population of Finland (981). Ultimately, Partanen believes that Americans need to take an honest look at the inequality of education and consider the negative impact it is making on our education system…
Imagine living in a world where no human oppresses another. Imagine living in a world where no one is poor and no one is rich. Imagine living in a world where the social class system is non-existent. Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, foresaw the image of this apparent communist utopia forming in every society; he expected the maltreated working classes to fight back against those who have immense, misused power. He believed that material possessions have a powerful enough influence on our lives to be considered the sole reason of historical change.…
As the play "An Inspector Calls" was set two years prior to the World War 2, the variety of conflicts surrounding this time period, such as the arguments of socialism versus capitalist, are ingrained in the play. The Central Powers were countries with powerful elites who wanted more power. Central capitalist superiorities were countries with dominant elite with a thirst for wealth and power; in the play, Priestley portrays this using characters like Mr Birling. Furthermore, Eva Smith represented the working class and their absence of wealth and power. When Birling comments, "They were all rather restless, and suddenly decided to ask for more money … I refused, of course", it further emphasizes the class and ideology divide between socialists and capitalist .…
Truth be told, it would be fair to say that our group agreed on little and argued on much. The majority of our analysis of the Marxist lens was launched into into orbit around the first question posed: “Did the bourgeoisie maintain their dominance over the masses after the witch hunts had concluded?” Citing the quotation “ To all intents and purposes, the power of theocracy in Massachusetts was broken” (Miller, Act One, 125) Immediately two different viewpoints immerged, the decisive, albeit simplistic, yes and no.…
Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are two of the founding figures of sociology. They were the first to explore the relationship between the economy and society in the nineteenth and twentieth century, each developing different perspectives of society. Despite them having significantly different views on modern capitalism, they both played a prominent role in the development of sociology as an academic discipline. This essay provides a biography of Marx and Durkheim and the major works they published. It then focuses on the intellectual and historical contributions they have made and how their works are still influential to contemporary society.…
Many Americans tend to think of communism and socialism as synonymous. When either of these ideologies is mentioned, it invokes a certain sense of fear. Much of this fear stems from lack of understanding. Parker, Fournier, & Reedy (2007) defined communism as a society where the community jointly owns all the property and means of production instead of the individual, with the goal of abolishing states and social classes (p. 54). Parker et al.…
The Cold War was riddled with international politics and political conflict. Beginning in 1945, the Cold War lasted for approximately 45 years and ended around 1990. During this conflict there were two main contenders; the United States and the Soviet Union. Even though there was no direct campaign between the two contenders, “billions of dollars and millions of lives were lost…” ("The Cold War Erupts", (n.d.)).…
Things have changed drastically in the past few decades where the very notion of ‘internet’ is introduced and is simultaneously captured by a class whose interest is to control the channel from where the information flows for the sake of power and domination. It’s not just the case for internet but for platforms as well. For McKenzie Wark, the Marxist theory is not much relevant anymore because the beneficiary class knows other ways of controlling what the people should have access to, by controlling the nozzle of the medium from where the information flows. However Marxist theory can be used as source code but one needs to inject criticism to it in order to endorse a new theory which is what we are talking about, ‘Hacker Manifesto’.…
At first glance, the storyline of The Metamorphosis seems to be a novella of Gregor, the protagonist, who wakes up one morning from an unsettling dream to find himself transformed into a monstrous vermin. Underlyingly with a Karl Marx’s economic perspective, this short novel portrays a metaphor that gives this unpractical semblance a great deal of relevance to the structure of society. Marxism is the concept that the abolition of social classes is essential for an ideal society to happen. By examination of this storyline from a Marxist view, it is clear that The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, reveals that the hidden theme is the conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. In this situation, it is shown that Gregor represents the…
The teachings of Karl Marx and Marxism has always been my favorite theoretical perspective because it has been misunderstood over time. One of the best things about Marxism is that it stressed the importance of social equality and the issues that the system of capitalism created in society. Marx argued that capitalism was hindrance to freedom because only those who have money can really enjoy freedom. The Marxist theory in the simplest perspective is that “Marxism emphasizes the idea that social life is based upon "conflicts of interest".…
A Doll’s House, written during the Nineteenth Century by Henrik Ibsen revealed three acts, in which, one of the first examples of realist drama was presented in theatre. Based in the Helmer household, Ibsen created the stage to ensure that the audience was able to identify with the setting of the stage. In terms of the modern audience viewing the text both Feminist and Marxist literary criticism perspectives assists to widen the appreciation of Ibsen’s questioning of his society. Through the lens of Feminism Ibsen presents the question of whether females during the Nineteenth Century were educated in accordance with their talents.…
Holly Cowper 1875 Words Marxism as an approach to International Relations is often analysed and discussed in regards to the significance of its contribution as a theory in International Relations. Criticism is present surrounding the weaknesses of the theory as well as its potential irrelevance. In order to critically evaluate the Marxist approach to International Relations, I will conduct a thorough analysis of both the significant strengths and weaknesses of the theory as well as its continuing relevance in modern times. This examination of the central aspects of Marxism in regards to International Relations will effectively allow me to develop an in-depth conclusion of the ways in which Marxist theory contributes to our understanding…