Sophie's world #5

Marx seems to be very focused on the consumer/ economic view of society. He's very different from a lot of the other philosophers. Capitalism, production, and social classes are mentioned many times. I think it's interesting that he was more focused on how the word affects people than vice versa, or about how people should do more reflection, as many philosophers believe. Marx believes that material changes affect history and that it's the economic forces is society that create change and drive history forward. Marx seems very focused on production in society and it makes me wonder why he became so interested in society in general and what helped him shape his views. What was his childhood like how did he grow up? Because he's very different from the other philosophers we've learned about so far. I wonder if his parents were factory workers or producers of goods. He doesn't seem happy with the gap between the rich and the poor and how some people have so much while others have so little. This was shown by the appearance of Scrooge and the poor girl with the matchsticks. He also talks about how it's society’s ruling class that sets the norms for what's right and wrong and I very much agree with that. 

An example of society's ruling class setting the norms is the kardashians. If they decided that double denim and rubber shoes were back in style, I'm sure we'd see a revival in those styles around us today being worn and in stores. The wealthy are and have always been very influential. Nothing's popular or right until someone says it is. Everything that becomes popular, all the make up looks and styles and trends, only become popular because someone says they are. This person, or people or company, have the power to sway the public because they have the platform. Whether it's popularity or wealth or more than likely a combination of both, money and power speak. Going back to Marx’s dislike about the wide wealth disparity, I wonder how he would've felt about American slavery. I don't think he'd support it because it's inhumane and making the poor even poorer and less human, but I don't know that much about him so he might have been. He might see it as just a way of society and the social norms, but I at least hope he would have disapproved. He talks about how workers that hate their jobs aren't fulfilled and to a certain extent hate themselves, and I agree. I think it's important to find a job that you love and you love yourself in, but that's hard to do. 

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