A Streetcar Named Desire: A Class Struggle In Society

ALIENTATEDLABOUR

As the production of a company increases, the workers sense of worth decreases. A political economy is supported by laws, land, wages and profits of labour without demonstrating their existence or connections. A laborer works for a wage that allows companies to produce a product that is then sold for a profit. Hence the laborer is a part of the process and becomes a commodity himself. The labour is objectified, and the worker is a slave to his labour. This brings about alienation for the laborer and his inner growth isn't realized. He becomes separated from himself and exists only as a worker who is lacking in personal worth. This also related inversely to an increase in a products worth. As the product becomes more important, the
worker does not .A laborer supplies the work required, but isn't attached to it. His success depends on continuing to work and to provide a means to an end- his livelihood. His labour belongs to the company he works for, and it produces commodities for consumption. A laborer is alienated by being a slave to his productivity. The labour doesn't make him happy, and the work has power over him, not the other way around. His work activity is something he supplies; it is not part of him. He has no power. Thus he is part of the life force of nature. A man is a conscious being created from nature, but this consciousness is not realized if he is unable to make free choices. He isn't making a free choice if he ties himself to the product of his labour more than he needs to which is the requirements of a company's profit margin. When a laborer is a slave to production and doesn't maintain conscious free will, he is separated even from his fellow man, and is further alienated in the process. By being alienated from his labour, a man becomes alienated from his fellow men. A mans relationship to his work is also reflected in his relationship with other men and their labour. This concept is still relevant today. The middle classes have improved their monetary gain by using technology and taking advantage of education that affords those better jobs and more freedom to choose. However, the lower classes are still disadvantaged by the class structure. They continue to be involved in relationships with other workers that hold similar jobs. This relationship is one of alienated worker to alienated worker.

THESES ON FEUERBACK

Feuerbach believed that human nature could not be changed. He thought that human activity was not an "objective activity" (ie. Free of bias or prejudice- just as truth is the way things are perceived). It isn't subjective- individual perception. Men are able to change circumstances and ultimately become integrated into society. Feuerbach believes that religious sentiment and human nature are not social products. He sees society as only a collection of individuals. He doesn't recognize the close connections that exist between human beings. Religion is possible by humans having social interactions. He fails to see that people belong to "societies" and that religion is a product of that society.

MANIFESTO OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY

A class struggle in society pits the haves against the have nots.
The manifesto embraces class conflict and seeks to write the workers against the capitalists. Society has always been arranged into a class order by which every man defines his rank or standing in society. As new lands were discovered, and colonization took place, commerce was established. Trading in commodities fueled industry. The demands for goods increased and the industrial revolution allowed men to redefine his relationship with society. With demand for goods comes more demand for production and the trade or sale of commodities. With such an increase in population, production and commodities, the bourgeoisie's power is compromised. The working class continues to be exploited and is further alienated in its attempts to keep up with the industry. Marx doesn't go into much detail about how Communists would run the economy. In the first part of the manifesto, Marx explains how society started off as communal but as time went on society has become more unequal. The Manifesto is a brief political summary rather than economic, of what Communism is about. It lacks concise, specific information on what Communist ideologies and economic theories
propose.

COMMODITIES According to Marx a commodity is an object outside from ourselves that we as humans believe we need, indirectly or directly. A commodity's "use-value" is a characteristic of the thing itself and is free of the labour that went into making the thing itself. "Exchange-value" is the actual value of the commodity compared to other commodities. "Use-value" of a commodity only has "exchange-value" when it consists of human labour. It takes more time to produce a commodity when the productivity of it is greater. Therefore the less labour value the product has the less value the product has. Value is the amount of labour put into the product. The price of commodities comes from how much labour has been put into them. Objects with natural use-value (ex. Natural resources) don't have value because no labour actually went into them. Therefore, how can natural resources have an exchange-value when no labour has been put into them?

GENERAL FORMULAR FOR CAPITAL Capital starts with the circulation of commodities. Money is the premise of commodity circulation. Marx says there are two forms of circulation: 1) C-M-C (commodities transform into money which is then transformed back into commodities) - direct form of circulation. This is when we sell commodities in order to buy more things. 2) M-C-M (money is transformed into a commodity, and then money is transformed into commodities, which leads to money exchanged for money). This is when we buy in order to sell; money is capital. Both formulas are similar because they involve commodities, money, buyers and sellers. The final product of CMC is use-value and once it is spent, it is spent. In MCM the seller gets his money back, due to the exchange-value, and therefore earns a profit. MCM is really MCM' where the ‘= excess.
This excess is known as surplus-value which is when the original values adds to it and converts the surplus into capital. CMC uses money as a unit of exchange; therefore the purpose of CMC is to consume use-values. (This formula is more relevant in today's traditional society). MCM' was used in capitalism and is different. Its main purpose is the gain of money. Money is put out onto the market to buy goods in order to sell them for more money