It is the universal whore, the pander between men and peoples.’ Karl Marx, ‘the economic and philosophical manuscripts’ (1844). This is saying that money makes society function, it not only binds us together, but separates those who have it and those who don’t. - The issue of storytelling, how stories are received, who they serve, is an important theme in Othello - Individuals create stories about themselves to establish an identity  sometimes our stories are imposed on us - Othello states he ‘Saw the handkerchief’ (Act 5, Sc2, Ln66), but what he really saw was a mute fact – facts are meaningless until placed into context – Othello used the wrong story to interpret what he saw. He takes Iago’s lies as facts, believes everything else - Marxism emphasizes the link between power  storytelling  economics. Eg.
Marx predicted that capitalism within a socioeconomic system would inevitably create internal tensions between social classes leading to its demise and replacement by a new system, communism. For Marx, the concept of class has always existed in society. Historically, a society has always been arranged into various orders of social rank. A defining characteristic of capitalism however, is that “it has simplified the class antagonisms. Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat” (Marx and Engels 1848).
What efforts were made to improve the lot As defined by the famous 1800's revolutionary socialist, Karl Marx, the working class are individuals who sell their labor power for wages and who do not own the means of production. He argued that they were responsible for creating the wealth of a society. He asserted that the working class physically build bridges, craft furniture, grow food, and nurse children, but do not own land, or factories. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx argued that it was the destiny of the working class to displace the capitalist system, abolishing the social relationships underpinning the class system and then developing into a future communist society in which "the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all." The history of the working class has been set by the vast surplus of production available from industrialization creating better living standards.
Some, especially those who controlled poorhouses, had a very violent and negative response towards the poor. Poorhouse regulations in Suffold County, England, Stated: “every strong rogue, at his or her first entrance into the house, shall have twelve stripes with the whip on bare skin and every young rogue or idle loiterer shall have six stripes in the same manner.” (Document 7). Regulations such as these were most likely passed in an attempt to prevent the strong and idle from taking advantage of their services. Many others also proposed negative responses to the poor. The town council in Dijon, France, stated: “In order to care for the poor begging creatures and poor children who go shrieking at night throughout this city, we will rent at the city's cost a barn or other place to put them for the night and to care for them as well as possible.” (Document 2).
7. How the new order of urban culture inspired serious writers and artists to render realistic portrayals of the seamy side of city life, while many middle- and upper-class Americans were engaging in expanded forms of leisure and entertainment. 8. How evenly balanced the Democratic and Republican parties were during the late nineteenth century, and how this balance flowed from differing regions and socioeconomic bases. 9.
The Railroad Strike of 1877 One of the most significant strikes of the 19th century was the Railroad strike of 1877. Working conditions during the late 1800s caused tension among struggling communities. The wage cuts caused by the panic of 1873 created resentment among railroad workers (Schultz, 2012). After years of poor wages and working conditions, labors of the railroad went on strike to protest. President Rutherford B. Hayes responded in favor of the railroads, convinced that strikers posed a threat to public safety, authorized the National Guard to put an end to the strike (Schultz, 2012).
Social class determines the custom for how one is treated in society. The differences in how the rich and the poor interact with one another illustrates a more distinct understanding of how much social class counts in Victorian society. One aspect of how people of different classes interacted with each other is in their speech. Adams illustrates this by discussing Joe’s remarks to Pip about his intelligence and Pip’s recent need to rise above the occupation of blacksmith, which is the occupation of his elder brother-in-law Joe Gargery. “What a scholar you are!
According to Karl Marx (1818– 83), the primary function of the state is to repress the lower classes of society in the interests of the ruling class. However, after the class struggle has resulted in the
Consequently, he locked all the sea-ports of Europe as well as English goods. To make matters worse, he punished with fights all the countries which would not accept his system. At this moment, Napoleon´s oppression turned society against him. So, his determinations began to fail (Harding, 2012). Conclusion The main conclusion to be drawn for this paper is that the French Revolution was characterized mainly by war, famine and depression, which were caused by the failure of King Louis XVI at managing the finance of the notion properly.
The society’s superstructure or culture comprising of laws, morality, religion and politics. These are determined by society’s infrastructure, methods of production and exchange. He sees in history the conflicts that existed between different classes of people in society – the ruling class and the serfs during feudal times. The French Revolution brought an end to feudalism. But during his time, Marx witnessed the industrial Revolution bringing about conflicts between the capitalists and the proletariat, creating two classes in society – the rich and the poor.