Marxism and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marxism and Culture - Essay Example Marxism is not a culture, but has necessarily created a culture that Marxism depends on to self-replicate across time and throughout the class stratifications. Classical Marxism was a strict theory of labor and economics and was for all practical purposes devoid of any culture. Structural Marxism began to see the interactions of social classes and their impact on production. The media portrays the classes that are necessary for an orderly economic system and they become a part of our culture. Economic status, occupation, and social position all become cultural values. According to Butler, "Marx himself argued that pre-capitalist economic formations could not be fully extricated from the cultural and symbolic worlds in which they were embedded" (42). Values, norms, history, and heritage all become the ingredients of a culture that provides a willing and capable workforce for the ruling class. The culture, social structure, intellectual debate, and economic system cannot be divorced or stand independently. The world is made up of social groups that work either independently or interdependently to create their own culture. Groups may be formed and maintained on the basis of family, economics, geography, education, or occupation. Closely related to these social groups is the functional quality that they contribute to society's ability to produce and sustain.