Historical Materialism and the Evolution of Economic Systems
Historical Materialism and Communism
Economic Output as the Foundation of Social Systems
The central thesis of historical materialism is that economic output is the foundation of any social system and explains the basis for any historical phenomenon. It is used to understand the evolution of history.
Clearly, the economic sphere (praxis) comes first, and then the theory.
Infrastructure, Economic Structure, and Ideological Superstructure
The Economic Structure or Infrastructure
At the base of all social
Read MoreEconomic Systems: Production, Development, and History
Economics as a Science
Objective and Subjective Definitions of the Economy
There are two primary approaches to defining the economy: objective and subjective.
Objective Definition (Marxist)
Friedrich Engels defined political economy as “the science that studies the laws governing the production, distribution, circulation, and consumption of material goods that satisfy human needs.”
Subjective Definition (Marginalist)
Lionel Robbins defined economics as “the science that deals with the study of the satisfaction
Read MoreCommunity Work: Fostering Social Development Through Collective Action
Work Unit 1: Community and its Definition
Community Work as an Organizational Process to Promote Social Development Projects
There is considerable confusion when attempting to address a delimitation and definition of Community Work (CW). Twelvetrees states that there is not yet an agreement on what community work is. For some, it cannot be distinguished from political action; others see no difference between paid and unpaid community work. Another question is whether community work is a profession
Read MoreLabor Movement Origins: 19th Century Social Change
Roots of the Labor Movement in the 19th Century
The roots of the labor movement during the first half of the 19th century are found in the rise of social and political change. This era also saw the emergence of a new social class formed by industrial workers, many of whom came from the peasantry, while others were former craftsmen ruined by mechanization. The living conditions of these workers were often miserable. The Industrial Revolution and liberal ideas led to the exploitation of workers by
Read MoreSocial Harmony: Civic and Environmental Education
Item 4: Potpourri Issues
Civic Education
Life in common: Human existence must have meaning, a direction that we define and build together, so we must:
- Reject indoctrination, dogmatism, and fundamentalism.
- This does not mean choosing a vacuum (anything goes).
- Peaceful coexistence must be based on ethics (not morals, as coexistence is impossible without ethics) and be minimal (minimal in order to be accepted by all).
- Ethics → Minimum common denominator of the human
Together. Implications:
The Council of
Read MoreGlobalization and Social Sciences: Impact and Opportunities
1. A Global World: Problems and Solutions
Globalization
Globalization is a term used to define the twenty-first-century world, although one cannot understand how we got to this point without taking into account the history of past centuries.
Globalization is a logical consequence of technological development, allowing the world economy to function as a unitary system. This has negative consequences for a large part of humanity. Alternative movements have emerged that define themselves as anti-globalization,