Nineteenth Century Thought by Anand Prakash Read Free Book Online Page A

The
German philosopher Hegel considers philosophy to be the sole intellectual point
of reference behind things. For Marx, however, things can only be explained as rooted
in the 'material conditions of life,' not philosophically.
    2.          By themselves: In
themselves. This again signifies Marx's rejection of the way things are
ordinarily defined. According to Marx, legal relations, too, have a reference
to something outside themselves.
    3.          General progress of the human
mind: There is deep irony here at the expense of
'philosophers' who preoccupy themselves solely with the human mind. Marx raises
the question: What does the general progress mean and how can we grasp it
philosophically?
    4.          'Civil society: Again,
the expression is within quotes. Marx suggests that Hegel only thought of those
city-centered educated people whose parameters were largely traditional. At the
most, the said members of 'civil society' were interested in ordinary dealings of
life, going beyond the day-to-day happenings in politics, education and ethics.
    5.          Political economy: This
is in place of economics.' Marx draws the word out of the realm of purity (pure
economics or, simply 'economics' and gives it the adjective 'political.'
     
    The general conclusion at which I
arrived and which, once reached, continued to serve as the leading thread in my
studies, may be briefly summed up as follows: In the social production 6 which men carry on they enter into definite relations that are indispensable
and independent of their will; these relations of production correspond to a
definite stage of development of their material powers of production. The sum
total of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of
society 7 -the real foundation, on which rise legal and political
superstructures 8 and to which correspond definite forms of social
consciousness. 9 The mode of production in material life determines the general
character of the social, political, and spiritual processes of life. It is not
the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but, on the contrary,     their     social     existence     determines     their consciousness. As a certain stage of
their development, the material forces of production in society come in
conflict with the existing relations of production, 10 or-what is
but a legal expression for the same thing-with the property relations within
which they had been at work before.
    ANNOTATIONS
    6.        Social
production:   'Social'
is used deliberately to emphasize that production is invariably social.
    7.        The
sum total of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure
of society: This is Marx's definition of the base. Thus, 'economic
structure' is not a simple expression or thought-category. Instead, it is the sum
total of the relations of production relations between the haves and the
have-noes.
    8.        Superstructures: This
is in relation to the economic structure, or just structure. In Marx' view,
superstructures correspond to the base. For instance, legal and political
superstructures (law and politics) correspond to or follow the base, meaning
thereby that they are largely replicas of the base. Under capitalism, both law
and politics adhere to the principles of the capitalist base.
    9.        Definite
forms of social consciousness:   Consider
'forms.' Also, think about 'social' and see whether consciousness is individual
or social. Can we say that there can be a feudal consciousness, capitalist
consciousness as well as a socialist consciousness? In what manner would they
be different? Thus, we would be able to make sense of social existence.
    10.     The
material forces of production in society come in conflict with the existing
relations of production: This is the core point in Marx's
thought. Marx observed specific stages in history- there was a stage, for
example,