Marx response

Scott, Kevin, Khuong Duy Pham, Ben Sauv

Marx introduced his theory by giving the example of a family. In a family, goods are distributed according to the needs of each person in the household. Goods produced become common goods in the household, and the properties of a product are seen as the amount of labour put into it and it’s usefulness for others. According to Marx, individuals have their own specific skills but for a product to be valuable it must be exchanged; a lack of exchange makes a product less valuable and that society is based on these exchanges. The concept of “labour-time” is defined as the amount of work that went into producing a product. This decides how much value an object has. Fluctuations in value should only be associated with its labour-time. Produce should be distributed based on the amount of labour-time that put into it.

Discussion: Karl Marx based his idea on a system that works well on a small scale (in a home, in a small village) but it might be difficult to implement on a large scale successfully (an entire country). Labour-time may not be a fair concept, as some workers could be lazy since they will be paid the same amount no matter how hard they work; it does not encourage individual achievement. Marxism would lead to very little choice and variety in products, as only their usefulness and labour-time would be considered. Due to the controlled environment of Marxism, society could become homogenized.

Question: In Marx’s ideal society, how would television, without the element of marketing or commercials, differ from television in a capitalist society?