The Next Socialist Revolution

I feel that the text we read in class seemed to really doubt the possibility of another socialist revolution, especially in America.  While I did not completly agree with Marx, I feel that another socialist revolution could came around.  Maybe not in America (the bourgeoisie establishment has convinced the entire population that socialism is evil), but I think it's possible that yet-to-exist technologies might further widen the gap between rich and poor.  In one game series I have played, humanity has reached a point in their understanding of biology and technology where they can augment humans with cybernetics.  While this allows the disabled to walk, hear, see, etc, again, augmentations are only available to the very wealthy.  Even if someone in the lower castes of society can afford the augments, the body typically rejects the metallic limbs and a series of expensive drugs are needed to keep the body from outright rejecting them.  Throughout the game, there are riots other prices of augments and drugs and society across the globe is at a breaking point.  While the work is entirely fictional, it presents the possibility that some near-future tech could further the divide between the classes and cause a socialist revolution to erupt.

Q&A: How far does modern capitalism stretch today?

As part of Marx's famous theory on the basis of society, the rich should control the ideological superstructure, just as they control the economic base.  Politics, or government, is merely an extension of the corporations that own the senators and representatives.  Millionaires only make up 5% of the US population yet they account for 47% of all members of Congress.  Congress is full of lobbyists courting elected officials to vote in favor of large corporations and secure elusive contracts for them.  With the arrival of Super PAC's on the political scene, the bourgeoisie are given an unprecedented and disproportionate say in how our government is run.  The wealthy even manage to pay lower taxes than their secretaries.
The bourgeoisie influence extends far beyond just the government.  The media celebrates the wealthy, even if they contribute nothing to society.  The Kardashians are stars.  The media even pays attention to famous individuals with drug addictions.  When Micheal Jackson, Whitney Hudson, and Amy Winehouse died of drug overdoses or cocaine addictions, they suddenly became relevant again in the news.  Paris Hilton gets out of jail early for drunk driving and avoided jail time for possession of cocaine.  With our capitalist base, we are a nation for the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations.

Modern Day Imperialism

Socialists have tended to opposed imperialism in all its forms.  I argue that even today, imperialism still exists and that the US is among the leaders of the imperial forces.  Within this imperial sphere of influence, the main motivator is of course the economy and the bourgeoisie.  A prime example comes off the heals of the Libyan Revolution and the NATO air-strikes.  Following the collapse of Gadhafi's rule on the country and the rise of the new government in its place, the American  Securities and Exchange Commission is launching investigations into Italy's ENI and France's Total oil companies, both of which have sizable assets in the country.  This lets American and British companies to have free reign over the oil fields in Libya.  The US is willing to go to any length to secure oil, like the 1953 coup in Iran that gave the Shah authoritarian powers and led up to the Iran Revolution in 1979.  With a new civil war brewing in Libya, it's only a matter of time before the US feels the effect of their imperial adventures in North Africa.

Q&A: To what extent does the economic base effect the superstructure?

I agree with Marx on how the economy is one of the most overwhelmingly important, if not, the most critical factor in shaping a society.  Like, Marx, I don't think it shapes very aspect of a civilization,but gives it its distinctive shape.  I came across an example of how economics affects people's religious views over Easter weekend in a Time magazine.  The topic was the emerging view that heaven was not a place on Earth, but rather, was achieved when a person helped those in need.  Giving food to the hunger created a little slice of heaven of Earth.  This view was being picked up by the middle-class and upper-class suburbanites.  The traditional view that heaven was a joyous place of peace and ease was being held en masse by the poorer castes of society.  They struggled all their lives to provide for themsleves and want to believe that their suffering will be rewarded.  Slaves had held the same belief before the Civil War and it still continues into the modern day in many black churches across America.  The famous Protestant Work ethic that Max Weber talked about is a reflection of the desired traits in a capitalist economy.  While the economy does not go as far as creating a religion about worshiping Adam Smith's Invisible Hand, it makes up a big part of our society.