2024 ACTUAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED
ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES (VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY
GRADED A+
KARL MARX
what are the types of value?
use value
exchange value
surplus value
what is use value?
subjective, qualitative measure of some human want or need (what a commodity is
"used for")
what is exchange value?
objective, quantitative measure of value of a commodity (and what it is "exchanged
for"), based upon quantity of labor required to produce it
what is surplus value?
value extracted by capital during production process by not paying the workers the full
value of their labor in terms of how much value the added to the product through their
work; using this "surplus labor time" as the eventual source of profit.... IMAGINE a
worker is paid 10 dollars an hour to work a machine that gives the capitalist 40 dollars of
work...-20 for costs so capitalist= 10 dollars of SURPLUS VALUE... think added value
what is Socially Necessary Labor Time?
the quantitative measure of exchange value, determined by the average amount of
labor it takes to produce a certain commodity in a particular society
what are the two types of labor?
Concrete Useful Labor and Abstract Labor
what is concrete useful labor?
specific or skilled labor, associated with production of use values
, what is abstract labor?
general unskilled labor, associated with production of exchange values or value
what is the exploitation of labor under capitalism?
Use of wage labor to produce commodities by paying workers a wage rather than the
full value added by the workers to the product during the labor process
what is human labor vs. bee labor?
Human labor involves creativity and imagination, even if result is poor
Bee labor involves instinctual repetition, often with beautiful results
what are the 4 social classes?
Bourgeoisie - owners of large capitalist enterprises
Proletariat - modern working class, mainly in factories
Peasantry -- rural laboring class, in situation of serfdom under European feudalism
Aristocracy (Lords) -- large landowners, more dominant under precapitalist societies like
feudalism
what is historical materialism?
a way of viewing society that emphasizes material production, how we gain our
economic sustenance as key to rest of our social arrangements
what is idealism?
the belief that ideas are the driving force of change in human societies
what is dialectic?
contradiction, clash, or "dialogue" between two polar opposites. Can be between ideas
and society, "ought" vs. "is," ideal vs. actual, material vs. ideal, internal (mental) vs.
external (physical), etc. Often the result of such a clash is another clash.
what is subjective marxism vs objective marxism?
Subjective Marxism: emphasizes human agency and human ability to intentionally alter
the course of history
Objective Marxism: emphasizes the ways in which capital has a "life of its own" and
comes to dominate people (think The Matrix)
what is commodity fetishism?
Commodity Fetishism is a form of interaction under industrial capitalism in which the
following take place: