Chapter 21 Marxist Theory and Criticism-I Background Marxist criticism, in its diverse forms, grounds its theory and

practice on the economic and cultural theory of Karl Marx (1818-83) and Friedrich ngels (l8!"#$%), and especially states that the evolving history of human&ind, of its social groupings and relations, of its institutions, and of its 'ays of thin&ing are largely determined (y the changing mode of its )material production) or its overall economic organi*ation for producing and distri(uting material goods+ ,he Marxists (elieve that it is not the consciousness of men that determines their (eing, (ut their social (eing that determines their consciousness+

The Marxist Ideology Marx 'as (orn in -ermany to li(eral .e'ish parents+ /t the 0niversity of 1onn, Marx 'as deeply influenced (y 2egelian thought and 'as a mem(er of a student group 'hich called for a radical, atheistic version of 2egelian dialectic+ Marx3s concerns 'ere the in4ustice and oppression caused (y 1$th century industrial capitalism and the economic relations it engendered+ 0na(le to find a teaching position in -ermany, Marx moved to 5aris and (efriended Friedrich ngels+ / &ey concept in Marxist criticism of literature and the other arts is ideology 'hich can (e explained as the (eliefs, values, and 'ays of thin&ing and feeling through 'hich human (eings perceive, and (y recourse to 'hich they explain, 'hat they ta&e to (e reality+ 6t can also (e explained as the product of the position and interests of a particular class+ /ccording to Marxism, the dominant ideology em(odies, and serves to legitimi*e and perpetuate the interests of the dominant economic and social class+ Marx represented ideology as a )superstructure) of 'hich the concurrent socioeconomic system is the )(ase+) 7hile (ase constitutes the means of production, superstructure includes those structures, 'hich are not involved in the process of production (family, mass media, religion, politics)+

8entral to Marxist thought is historical materialism+ Marx vie'ed historical changes as the result of the actions of human (eings 'ithin the material 'orld, and not as the hand of -od+ Marx3s idea of alienation entails the stratification of society 'here upper classes have privileged access to the goods produced (y the lo'er classes+ ,hus, a capitalist mode of production is a system 'here 'or&ers are alienated from their o'n efforts+

Georg Lukacs (1

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-eorg 9u&acs 'as (orn into a .e'ish family in 1udapest, 2ungary+ 2e is one of the most 'idely influential of Marxist critics, represents a flexi(le vie' of the role of ideology+ 9u&acs 'as disillusioned 'ith the dou(le spea& of those :ocial ;emocratic parties 'ho supported 'ar+ ,he 'ar and a shift from the influence of Kant to 2egel can (e understood as important features in 9u&acs3s 4ourney to'ards Marxism+ 8oping 'ith the demands of exile, first in -ermany and then the :oviet <ussia, Ku&acs maintained a commitment to Marxist and 8ommunist through his life+ 9u&acs3s 'riting on literature is concerned most of all 'ith the =classical> uropean novel+ 2e proposed that each great 'or& of literature creates )its o'n 'orld,) 'hich is uni?ue and seemingly distinct from =everyday reality+> 9u&acs uses the term =correct reflection> and re4ects the @naturalism3 of the then prevailing uropean novels+ 9u&acs ideas are also important as he attac&s modernist experimental 'riters as )decadent) instances of concern 'ith the su(4ectivity of the alienated individual in the fragmented 'orld of our late stage of capitalism+ 8onse?uently, 9u&acs sa' modernism as seen in the 'or&s of 1ec&et, 1recht, Kaf&a and .oyce as a matter of presenting fragments and appearances+ 9u&acs cites masters of realism such as 1al*ac or ,olstoy and ,homas Mann, 'ho (y =(ringing to life the greatest possi(le richness of the o(4ective conditions of life,) succeed-often =in opposition to Athe author3s B o'n conscious ideology+> For 9u&acs, the fictional 'orld of such great 'riters accords 'ith the Marxist conception of the real 'orld as constituted (y class conflict, economic and social )contradictions,) and the alienation of the individual under capitalism+

9u&acs3s influential 'or&s include Development of the Modern Drama, Soul and Forms, In the Meaning of Contemporary Realism, and The Theory of the Novel+

,he %rank&urt 'chool o& German Marxists

6n contrast to 9u&acs, the %rank&urt 'chool of -erman Marxists, especially ,heodor /dorno and Max 2or&heimer, appreciated modernist 'riters such as .ames .oyce, Marcel 5roust, and :amuel 1ec&ett, proposing that their formal experiments, (y the very fact that they fragment and disrupt the life they )reflect,) esta(lish a distance and detachment that serve as an implicit criti?ue - or offer a =negative &no'ledge> of the dehumani*ing institutions andCor processes of a capitalistic society+ /dorno and 2or&heimer attempted, post 7orld 7ar 66, to explain ='hy humanity, instead of entering into a truly human condition is sin&ing into a ne' &ind of (ar(arism+> 2or&enheimer3s Critical Theory is a study of capitalist society moving to'ards a ne' level of ideological sophistication, 'hich 2or&enheimer called the @culture industry+3 8ulture had replaced religion as the ne' @opium of the masses3 in framing a certain order of conformism+ 1en4amin asserted that the emerging context 'as one in 'hich the possi(ility of independent art forms 'as (ecoming compromised (y an ever expanding mass culture 'hich in turn gravitated to'ards the (anal+

1ertolt 1recht and 7alter 1en4amin, 'ho also supported modernist and nonrealistic art, have had considera(le influence on non-Marxist as 'ell as Marxist criticism+ 6n his critical theory, and in his o'n dramatic 'ritings, 1ertolt 1recht re4ected 'hat he called the )/ristotelian) concept that a tragic play is an imitation of reality, 'ith a unified plot and a universal theme that esta(lishes an identification of the audience 'ith the hero, and produces a catharsis of the spectator3s emotions+ 1recht proposes, in his theatre of =agitprop>, that the illusion of reality should (e deli(erately shattered (y an episodic plot, (y protagonists 'ho do not attract the audience3s sympathy, (y a stri&ing theatricality in staging and acting, and (y other 'ays of (aring the artifice of drama so as to produce an )alienation effect)+ ,he result of such alienation, 1recht asserts, 'ill (e to sha&e

audiences out of their passive acceptance of modern capitalist society as a natural 'ay of life and to ena(le them to reflect over the state of affairs+

Case study Read the following extract from Brechts Galileo (1938) and understand the playwrights ideological leanings -/969 DE -oodness of soulF 7hat you pro(a(ly mean is there3s nothing there, the 'ine3s drun& up, their lips are parched, so let them &iss the cassoc&F /nd 'hy is nothing thereG 7hy is the orderliness in this country merely the order of an empty cup(oard, and the necessity merely that of 'or&ing oneself to deathG /mong (ursting vineyards, (eside the ripening cornfieldsF Hour 8ampagna peasants are paying for the 'ars 'hich the representative of gentle .esus is 'aging in :pain and -ermany+ 7hy does he put the earth at the hu( of the universeG :o that the throne of :aint 5eter can stand at the hu( of the earth+ ,hat3s 'hyF Hou are rightI it3s nothing to do 'ith the planets, it3s to do 'ith the peasants in the 8ampagna+ /nd don3t come tal&ing to me a(out the (eauty of phenomena to 'hich age has given a golden patina+ ;o you &no' ho' Margaritifera oysters produce their pearlsG 7hen suffering from a deadly disease they envelop an un(eara(le foreign (ody - a grain of sand for example - in a nacreous secretion+ ,hey nearly die in the process+ ,o the devil 'ith the pearls+ 6 prefer a healthy oyster+ Jirtues are not lin&ed 'ith misery, my friend+ 6f your people 'ere prosperous and happy, they could develop the virtues derived of prosperity and happiness+ 1ut no' these virtues come from exhausted men on exhausted acres, and 6 re4ect them+ :ir, my ne' 'ater-pumps can 'or& more miracles than your ridiculous superhuman slave-driving+ 1e fruitful and multiply3, for fields are unfruitful and 'ars are decimating you+ :hould 6 lie to your peopleG

(iscussion While addressing the impoverished mon , !ho is also his disciple, "alileo re#ects the popular notion that poverty $reeds virtues and prosperity, sins% "alileo through his fiery out$ursts, urges the &mee ' to $ecome conscious of their rights, that is, to $e happy and prosperous% Religion, as (recht sees it, is a drug administered to the poor to eep them in their places and to maintain the social status )uo%

)alter Ben*amin

7alter 1en4amin (18$!-1$K") 'as (orn in 1erlin to a .e'ish family+ 2e 'as (oth an admirer of 1recht and (riefly an associate of the Fran&furt :chool+ 5articularly ground(rea&ing 'as 1en4amin3s focus on the effects of changing material conditions in the production of the arts, especially the recent developments of the mass media that have promoted, he said, )a revolutionary criticism of traditional concepts of art+>

6n =,he ,as& of the ,ranslator>, 'here 1en4amin translates 1audelaire3s Ta$leau* +arisiens, 1en4amin explores the relationship (et'een an original 'or& and its translation or its =afterlife+> For 1en4amin, =,ranslation is a stage of continued life+> 2is vie's on translation are applica(le to the relation (et'een the text and its re'or&ing in theatre, music and also film rema&es+ 6n his influential essay =,he 7or& of /rt in the /ge of Mechanical <eproduction,) (1$3L), 1en4amin proposes that modern technical innovations such as photography, the phonograph, the radio, and especially the cinema, have transformed the very concept and status of a 'or& of art+ 7hile earlier an artist or author produced a 'or& 'hich 'as a single o(4ect, regarded as the special collection of the (ourgeois elite, around 'hich developed a ?uasi-religious =aura> of uni?ueness, autonomy, and aesthetic value independent of any social function, the ne' media not only ma&e possi(le the infinite and precise reproduci(ility of the o(4ects of art, (ut effect the production of 'or&s 'hich, li&e the motion pictures, are specifically designed to (e reproduced in multiple copies+ :uch modes of art, 1en4amin argues, (y destroying the mysti?ue of the uni?ue 'or& of art as a su(4ect for pure contemplation, ma&e possi(le a radical role for 'or&s of art (y opening the 'ay to =the formulation of revolutionary demands in the politics of art+) Further, =6ts presence in time and space, its uni?ue existence at the place 'here it happens to (e> is less iconic+ ,he emancipatory effect of mechanical reproduction cannot (e denied as it helps us to escape the originally prescriptive context+

,he follo'ing is an extract from a homage (y 7alter 1en4amin to the <ussian 'riter Mi&olai 9es&ov+ <ead it to understand !he "toryteller Reflections on the #or$s of %i$olai &es$o'( 7alter 1en4amin

Familiar though his name may (e to us, the storyteller in his living immediacy is (y no means a present force+ 2e has already (ecome something remote from us and something that is getting even more distant+ ,o present someone li&e 9es&ov as a storyteller does not mean (ringing him closer to us (ut, rather, increasing our distance from him+ Jie'ed from a certain distance, the great, simple outlines 'hich define storyteller stand out in him, or rather, they (ecome visi(le in him, 4ust as in a roc& a human head or an animal3s (ody may appear to an o(server at the proper distance and angle of vision+ ,his distance and this angle of vision are prescri(ed for us (y an experience 'hich 'e may have almost every day+ 6t teaches us that the art of storytelling is coming to an end+ 9ess and less fre?uently do 'e encounter people 'ith the a(ility to tell a tale properly+ More and more often there is em(arrassment all around 'hen the 'ish to hear a story is expressed+ 6t is as if something that seemed inaliena(le to us, the securest among our possessions, 'ere ta&en from usE the a(ility to exchange experiences+ Dne reason for this phenomenon is o(viousE experience has fallen in value+ /nd it loo&s as if it is continuing to fall into (ottomlessness+ very glance at a ne'spaper demonstrates that it has reached a ne' lo', that our picture, not only of the external 'orld (ut of the moral 'orld as 'ell, overnight has undergone changes 'hich 'ere never thought possi(le+ 7ith the AFirstB 7orld 7ar a process (egan to (ecome apparent 'hich has not halted since then+ 7as it not noticea(le at the end of the 'ar that men returned from the (attlefield gro'n silent#not richer, (ut poorer in communica(le experienceG 7hat ten years later 'as poured out in the flood of 'ar (oo&s 'as anything (ut experience that goes from mouth to mouth+ /nd there 'as nothing remar&a(le a(out that+ For never has experience (een contradicted more thoroughly than strategic experience (y tactical 'arfare, economic experience (y inflation, (odily experience (y mechanical 'arfare, moral experience (y those in po'er+ / generation that had gone to school on a horse-dra'n streetcar no' stood under the open s&y in a countryside in 'hich nothing remained unchanged (ut the clouds, and (eneath these clouds, in a field of force of destructive torrents and explosions, 'as the tiny, fragile human (ody+

N9es&ov 'as a <ussian painter, novelist, short story 'riter and play'right+ 9i&e 1en4amin he esche'ed mysticism and the Drthodox 8hurch+ 6n 9as&ov3s 'or&s, the emphasis 'as on the impersonal craft that is free from intellectual li(eral sympathies and Drthodox spirituality+

Louis +lthusser and )deology 6n the 1$L"s the French Marxist 9ouis /lthusser (1$18-$") postulated that the structure of society is not a monolithic 'hole, (ut is constituted (y a diversity of )non-

synchronous) social formations, or )ideological state apparatuses)+ possesses a )relative autonomy+)

ach of these

/lthusser emphasi*es that the ideology of each mode of state apparatus is different, and operates (y means of a discourse 'hich interpellates (calls upon) the individual to ta&e up a pre-esta(lished )su(4ect position) that is, a position as a person 'ith certain vie's and values, 'hich, ho'ever, in every instance serve the ultimate interests of the ruling class+ /lthusser puts forth in =6deology O 6deological :tate /pparatuses> that =6deology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence+> ,his :tate /pparatus (church, family, education, legal system, media) persuades us to (ehave in a particular manner+ Dn the other hand, social control can (e exerted (y deploying repressive forces through 'hat /lthusser calls, <epressive :tate /pparatus, 'hich includes the government, police, courts, prison, and armed forces+ /lthusser affirms, furthermore, that a great 'or& of literature is not a mere product of ideology, (ecause its fiction esta(lishes for the reader a distance from 'hich to recogni*e, hence expose, =the ideology from 'hich it is (orn++ from 'hich it detaches itself as art, and to 'hich it alludes+> <ather than tal&ing in terms of the Marxist concepts of (ase and superstructure, /lthusser prefers the idea of social formation 'hich consists of three practicesE the economic, the political and the ideological+ / good example of ideology is the film Triumph of Will (1$3K) (y 9eni <eifenstahl, 'here the propaganda in favour of 2itler is conscious and visi(le+

+ntonio Gramsci,s concept o& -egemony ,he 6talian 8ommunist thin&er /ntonio -ramsci (18$1-1$3P) , 'hile imprisoned (y the fascist government (during 1$!$-3%), 'rote several documents on political, social, and cultural su(4ects, &no'n as the )prison note(oo&s+) -ramsci maintains the original Marxist distinction (et'een the economic (ase and the cultural superstructure, (ut replaces the claim that culture is a disguised )reflection) of the material (ase 'ith the concept that the relationship (et'een the t'o is one of )reciprocity,) or interactive influence+ -ramsci places special emphasis on the popular, as opposed to the elite elements of culture, ranging from fol lore and popular music to the cinema+

-ramsci3s most 'idely echoed concept is that of hegemony, that a social class achieves a predominant influence and po'er, not (y direct and overt means, (ut (y succeeding in ma&ing its ideological vie's so pervasive that the su(ordinate classes un'ittingly accept and participate in their o'n oppression+ 2egemony in other 'ords descri(es the 'inning of consent of the su(ordinate classes to support the prevailingCdominant ideology+ 7ithin the 'estern 'orld the dominants groups govern, chiefly the 'hite, middle class, heterosexual , maleI 'hile the su(ordinates are made to see that it is in the general interest to collude 'ith that construct+ ,his consensus is possi(le not (y coercion (ut from a desire to (elong to a socioCpoliticalCcultural system+ /nother interesting feature of -ramsci3s thought to recent theorists is his emphasis on the role of intellectuals and opinion ma&ers in helping people understand ho' they can effect their o'n transformation+ -ramsci3s prison 'ritings (egan to (e translated into nglish in 1$P1, and had a strong influence on literary and social critics such as ,erry agleton in ngland and Fredric .ameson and d'ard :aid in /merica+ -ramsci3s 'ritings also inspired a num(er of post-Marxist thin&ers+ /mong these :tuart 2all is the foremost from the 1ritish 8ultural :tudies Movement+ 2all insisted that ideology must not (e considered a )false consciousness) or &ind of concealment, (ut rather as a multifaceted force in the struggle for cultural po'er, carried on in the mode of the production of meaning+

./I0 1+ *nswer in +riefE i+ 7hy did -eorg 9u&acs find pro(lems 'ith modernismG ii+ 7hat are the &ey arguments in 1en4amin3s =,he 7or& of /rt in the /ge of Mechanical <eproduction>G iii+ 1riefly explain -ramsci3s concept of hegemony+

!+ ,ill in the +lan$sE i1 ,he %rank&urt 'chool of -erman Marxists, especially QQQand QQQ++appreciated modernist 'riters+ ii1 For /lthusser2 33333includes the government, police, courts, prison, and armed forces+ iii1 9u&acs cele(rates QQQ++ in the novels of masters such as 1al*ac or ,olstoy and ,homas Mann+

+ns4er key i- ,heodor /dorno and Max 2or&heimer I ii- <epressive :tate /pparatus I iii- realism

'elected readings5 1+ /t&ins, ;ouglas -+ O Morro', 9aura+ Contemporary -iterary Theory+ MassE ,he 0niversity of Massachusetts 5ress, 1$8$+

'elected 4e6sites5 httpECCsocialsciences+arts+uns'+edu+auCts'CMarx+html httpECC'''+marxists+orgCreferenceCsu(4ectCphilosophyC'or&sCenCslaughte+htm httpECCen+'i&ipedia+orgC'i&iCFran&furtR:chool