Contradiction and Change

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Contradiction and Change

• Structural marxism and modes of production

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Marx Levi-StraussMaurice Godelier

• Features of structural marxism
• From Marx, structural marxists took the ideas of
  class, contradiction, and mode of production.
• Like Levi-Strauss, they believed that all
  societies possessed underlying, hidden
  structures.

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Their main concept was mode of production

• Consist of relations of production, relations of
  exchange and forces of production.
• Relations of Productionthe culturally determined
  way in which control, possession or ownership of
  major resources occurs in given society.
• Forces of Productionthe technology and technical
  knowledge required in a given society to
  reproduce the means of society.
• Relations of production and forces of production
  may be in contradiction these contradictions
  lead to change.
• In general, relations of production are
  considered to be primary.
• Most societies consist of several modes of
  production, in this case the concept of
  articulation of modes of production is important.
• articulation means both linking and to give
  expression to.
• Articulation specifies the nature of the
  contradictory linkages btween modes of
  production.

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Modes of Production in England, c. 1600-1900

• Forces of Production Intensive peasant
  agriculture, use of ploughs and irrigation.
  Increase in mercantile activity and trade.
• Relations of Production Largely
  feudal/mercantile Key resource remains land, and
  landownership is defined by relations of private
  property, influenced by heredity, descent and an
  inheritance of aristocratic title dukes, earls,
  counts, princes, etc.
• However, rise of mercantilism and the beginnings
  of application of technology to manufacturing
• Social Classes linked to the relations of
  production during this period
• A. Agriculture
• Landlords
• Yeoman farmers
• Tenants
• B. Mercantilism and Industry
• Merchants
• Artisans
• Workers
• The mode of production CHANGED in ENGLAND between
  1750 and 1850, to one referred to as industrial
  capitalism, a mode of production that has spread
  throughout the world, first through colonialism.

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Existence of Different Modes of Production in a
World Market

• Feudalism and Capitalism in Latin America
• Feudalism in the form of latifundias, alongside a
  plantation sector in the West Indies and Brazil.
  Both of these, although producing for a world
  market, depended upon extra-economic coercion.
• Laclau capitalism is based on the free
  labourers sale of labour power, not on serf-like
  or slave-like relations.

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Modes of Production in Post-Mao Rural China

• Change from collective farms to household
  responsibility system after 1978. Allowed
  individual households to market produce and
  decentralized the collectives into separate farms
  and businesses.
• Han this process is uneven in 2 villages she
  studied.
• Both villages are characterized by an
  articulation between
• The tributary mode of production (TMP)
• The petty commodity mode of production (PCMP)
• However, the TMP is dominant in Nanyi, while the
  PCMP is dominant in Baifu.
• What are the consequences of the different modes
  of production for kinship, gender and family
  relations?

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PCMP characteristics

• PCMP Consists of commodity production by kin
  corporations which can be households, groups of
  brothers, patrilineages, or simply a conjugal
  family consisting of a husband and his wife.
  Patri-corporations own and control production
  resources. Produce more for sale than for use.
  Capitalist-lie in that it is profit-driven , but
  does not employ large numbers of wage workers and
  technical inputs remain low-cost and not
  capital-intensive.
• No explicit gender differentiation women as well
  as men can head small business enterprises.

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TMP characteristics

• Consists of a stratified society in which the
  state controls surplus production and
  redistributes it.
• State also owns territory and landed property.
• Heirarchical ideology characterizes relations
  between rulers and ruled, but also some
  reciprocity. State seen as a large family.
• In China, this ideology was expressed through
  Confucian norms, which held that balance and
  harmony resulted from the subordination of
  children to parents, subjects to rulers, and
  women to men.
• It is associated in China with traditional
  gender practises
• Inheritance of land by elder sons.
• Patrilineages
• Patrilocality
• Dowry
• Concubinage
• Women involved mostly in domestic work, men in
  public production.

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Baifu and Nanyi as mixed villages

• Baifu has adopted the household responsibility
  system to a greater extent. Farms and industries
  are decentralized and independently run.
• Nanyi large amounts of land have been devoted to
  industry hence political decentralization has
  not been necessary. Village committee still
  possesses a great deal of authority.
• Baifu is dominated by a PCMP with many
  independent enterprises.
• Nanyi by the TMP, where the state has more
  control over everyday decisions.
• Baifu has more heterodox gender relations e.g.
  uxorilocality, women retaining their household
  registration in their natal villages, women have
  more control over birth choices.
• Nanyi has more orthodox gender and familial
  relations patrilocality is enforced and the
  communist party birth control worker controls
  birth decisions.

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Modes of production, gender, dowry and bridewealth

• Goody major differences between Africa and
  Eurasia in terms of marriage payments.
• Sub-Saharan Africa bridewealth
• Eurasia dowry.

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Intensive agriculture and dowry

• Intensive agriculture agriculture with the use
  of plough and irrigation.
• Often land is privately owned or owned by the
  state.
• Population increases and wealth increases land
  is a scarce means of production.
• Upper strata (castes or classes) will attempt to
  control the marriage choices of their offspring.
• Patrilineal inheritance of land daughters
  inherit moveable property through dowry.
• Diverging inheritance immoveablesons moveable
  daughters.
• Emphasis on virginity of daughters, fidelity of
  wives, often patrilocality, controlled or
  arranged marriages. like marries like.
• Found in Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Confucian,
  Greek and Roman Law, Christianity until the
  industrial revolution. Stresses similarities
  between Europe and Asia.
• Class and caste endogamy is also a feature of
  these societies.
• Status of a family is reflected in the behaviour
  of women associated also with notions of honour
  and shame, e.g. honour killings..
• E.g. India upper-caste womens propriety was a
  reflection of the purity of the caste. Arranged
  marriages, bans on widow remarriage, fidelity of
  wives, lack of divorce, etc.
• When a caste attempted to increase its status, it
  would more strictly control the behaviour of
  women.