Political
Two Tendencies
Liberty Society
Person People
“me” “we”
freedom Obligation
rights Duties
weak Strong
alone together
Cannot have liberty without society
Communism
Two classes (marx)
oBourgeoisie = “class of modern capitalists”
Own means of production
Current day corporations
oProletariat = “class of modern day wage-laborers”
Work for the owners in exchange for money
Current day employees
Workers are exploited
Feudal system
oWorkers were lesser beings
Under bourgeoisie
oWorkers = commodities
New exploitation: naked, shameless, direct, brutal
oSingle unconscionable freedom: free trade
Consequence is shrinking middle class
oMiddle class sinks into proletariat
oGap widens. Rich get richer, poor get poorer
Communist solution
Bridge the gap between the two
Workers must own means of production (at least in part)
oUnions give workers the power
oCapital is “not a personal, but a social power
Marx: better for it to be inefficient than exploiting workers
mo r e
