| This question <35|35> overall <34|36> Doke: <603|136>. |
| Question 683: Marx says that the relations of production are independent of people's wills. Does he mean by this, they are independent of the will of anyone is society, or does he mean, they are independent of the wills of the majority of the people, for instance capitalism being determined by a small minority of capitalists? |
| [35] Doke: is it independent? I believe that Marx was referring to the latter part of the question, that relations of production are independent of the wills of the majority of the people, but can depend on the minority. |
| Relations of production denote the interpersonal relations of the producers in the production process as well as the wider web of social relations and institutions determining who produces what and who gets to consume it, according to Professor Erhbars annotations. |
| George Lucas, the innovator of the Star Wars dynasty, came up with a list of criteria for theaters and advertisers before they could have access to show Star Wars: Episode 1. For example, he would not allow more than 2 previews prior to the start of the film. This list of criteria was to be followed precisely, or the theatres were not allowed to show the movie. The advertisers and theatres might think this is quite unfair to have to comply with such regulations, and therefore this becomes independent of their wills. If every theater refused to comply with the stipulations set by Lucas, one might argue that it is then that the production process can be dependent on the majority. But ultimately, the production process is only determined by the minority, in this case George Lucas. George Lucas has the supremacy over these social relations of production, and therefore controls the outcome. |
| Hans: On the one hand you are right: the market and other institutions of capitalism are much more supportive backdrop for the particular interests of the capitalists, especially the big ones, than for ordinary working people or even small capitalists. You are giving a good example. But on the other hand, the capitalist are not the ones who invented capitalism, and the system also has consequences (global warming is perhaps the most striking but by no means the only example) which are against their interests. |
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