CTS - Marxism and Design Activism Lecture - 4

 Marxism and Design Activism

Aims:

Introduction of ideology

Introduction of the basic principles of Marxist philosophy

Explain to the extent to which the media constitutes us as subjects

Introduce 'Cultural jamming' and the idea of design activism - trend among activist designers

"The philopsohers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change is."

Marx, k. (1845) Theses on Feuerbach

There no point in just thinking without combining it without actions

To find some kind of synthesis between theory philopshy and thought and action

Marxism is:

• Policitcal manifesto leading to socialism, commiunism and the twentieth century conflicts between capital and Labour.
• A philosophical approach to the social sciences, which focuses on the tole of society in determining himan bahaviour, based on the concept of dilectical materialism
• Revolutionary policatl movement

What is capitalism

Bourgeoisie, the commodity, proletariats

_ Control of the means of production in private hands

- Markete where labour lpower is bought and sold (inc humans - almost commodities)

- Production of commodities for sale 

- Use of money as a means of exchange

- Competition / meritocracy 

'Best suceed' etc 

Stature in society , to be at the top, its a competition

Communist evolution

1. Primitive communism - hunter gather societys - co-operated at every level, no such thing as monogamous relationship (social and sexual freedom)
2. Slave society - birth of aristocracy - Develops when the tribe be becomes a city state
3. Feudalism - Aristocracy becomes the ruling class, merchant develop into capitalists
4. capitalism - Ruling class, employ the real working class
5. Socialism - Workers gain consciousness, overthrow the capitalists and take control over the state (revolution) 
6. Communism - a classless and stateless society (never properly materialised)

Marx concept of base / super structure

Base (economic)

Forces of production - Materials, tools, workers, skills, etc

Relations of production - Employer, class, master, slave etc

Superstructure

Social institutions - Legal, political, cultural (art , design, education) Can be traced back to issues of class, gender/racial politics, everything bears this stamp

Forms of consciousness - Ideology

"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."

Capitalism (the society were in) produced laws, culture, law, politics, education which reflects the capitalist attitude

Base > Determines content and form of > super structure

> Superstructure > reflects form of legitimises> base

Educator > instrcuts (form of education)  Work > instructs (act although its normal, marxist reading into education)

Super structure > Education, family, religion, mass media, politics > Base - Relations of production, means of production

Super structure - maintains and legitimates the base

Base - Shapes the structure

Reading - Marx, (1857) "contribution to the critique of political economy' :

In conclusion:

Society produces our life's, not us, the accident of our birth produces what were are going to be. Where we are in life we are forced into relations and situations, these relations which reflect the society we live in. the base determines the superstructure, which determines our consciousness ( to rebel, to take it as normal etc) our society condition everything, philosophy, interaction etc. Social being dtermines our consciousness. Change the base> change our attitudes, arts and culture. 

1917 poster international workers of the world, pyramid of capitalist system.

The capitalism > 'We rule you'  king / queen > We fool you > religious statures > We shoot at you (Army) > We eat for you (upper class - bourgeoisie) > We feed all and work for all (workers)

control subjects in society - by ideology, controlling way they think

To set up an organised religion , e.g - religion teaches us how to think, is we're good and honourable, work hard for family, doesn't matter if were poor, as long as we're moral, to die and be rewarded in heaven. But your dead, so wheres the reward? Religion a trap - a form of mental control.

One can have an ideology, system of ideas and beliefs (e.g Christianity, conservatives) 

Ideology - The way in which a system of ideas masks, distorts a way of thinking about the world, which covers ove glass/gender/race discriminations. Legitimises over certain classes/races - false consciousness - exploited

Karl Marx (1846) ' [the ruling class has] To represent its interest as the cmoon interest of all members of society,...to give its dieas the form if universality, and represent them as the only rational, universally valid ones.

'Religion is the opiate of the masses' - Marx

Art as ideology

Only people who became artists, had money to be taught, rich people making art. Women not allowed to make art. White rich men making art. Who buys art? Kings / queens. dictate what is painted. How does it reflect interest of common man?

Modern time - Reflecting a certain ruling class thinks. We can be fooled to think this way.

'Guerrilla girls' 2007 and 1989

Althusser (1970) 'Ideology and ideological state apparatuses'

Society = economic, political and ideological. Mechanism to the way we live our lives.

Ideology is a practise which men and women 'live' their relations to real conditions of existence.

Ideology offers false, but seemingly true resolutions to social imbalance.

Ideology offers reasons why we are in our situation. E.g women - ogled - well actually, thats okay as women are more beautiful than men (art - studies perfect female form)

The media as ideology state apparatus

• Means of production
• Disseminates the views of the ruling class
• Media creates false consciousness
• The individual is produced by nature; the subject by culture. (fiske, 1992)

- The constitution of the subjects

Newspapers have ideological assumptions when approaching language to their target audience. The sun - working class people - talks of tv, uses slang etc. The times - political, literature etc.

Student riot articles - Headlines - not discussion, just opinion , assumption, ideological

Darcus Howe - BBC interview on London riots - Youtube

Ideology:

- System of beliefs

- Masking, distortion, selection of ideas, reinforce power relations

- False consciousness

'Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most of the relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves' - Berger ways of seeing

Wonderbra adverts

"double major' 

'I cant cook, who cares' Patriarchal views - Women should automatically cook for men

Through buying, consuming we make ourselves poorer through buying, never gain status in society.

Commodity fetishism (marx, capital Vol.1)

Fetisise commodities

Something that gets in the way of something else, used as a substitute

Trainers taking appearance of 'cool' , you being 'cool' mediated by trainers

The assets of the worlds top three billionaires are greater than those of the poorest 600 million on the planets

'The life of Bryon'

'Occupy wall street'  Organised events / protests through media , twitter etc
These need visualisation 


Adbusters & cultural jamming
'Buy nothing day' etc
techniques - do something to a piece of work / object to alter message. E.g - `billborad - used to give a message - Distort this - its still a strong message.
Look at youtube videos


'Clean city law' banned advertising - Visual garbage