Capitalist social relations

Instrumental Marxism

• Laws are made and enforced by the rich to maintain their power over society.

• The rich decide what counts as legal or illegal in ways that benefit themselves and keep the working class in check.

• The process of making laws can be influenced by the ruling class to favor their economic and social interests.

• Rich people use their wealth to gain political influence.

• Government institutions mainly protect the property and power of the rich, rather than being neutral.

• They shape laws in their favor using money and connections.

• Wealthy families keep power concentrated by marrying within their class, reinforcing social and economic advantages.

• This system encourages a mindset that normalizes inequality, making people believe the social system is natural or fair.

Structural Marxism

• Unlike Instrumental Marxism, law isn’t just a tool the rich use personally; it has some independence.

• Relative autonomy → Law can operate somewhat on its own, influenced by broader social forces, not just elites.

• The effects of law and society depend on historical circumstances, not fixed rules.

• Everyone in society is affected by the system’s structure, not just the poor or rich.

• Social outcomes come from the interaction of economic systems, political power, and ideology.

• At any given time, one of these forces might have more influence than the others.

• Law results from the combined influence of economic, political, and ideological forces at a specific time.

• The most powerful group tries to maintain a “general interest” that seems fair to everyone, even if it mainly benefits them.

Base and Superstructure

The economic base of a society (resources, skills, technology, and relationships around production) determines the rest of society—its laws, politics, culture, ideology (the “superstructure”).

Historical Materialism

• Society is fundamentally shaped by how people produce the things they need to survive—food, shelter, clothing, tools, etc.

• The way people produce these things also shapes their social relationships (e.g., who works for whom, who owns what).

• Different societies organize production in different ways. Examples: slavery, feudalism, capitalism, communism.

• Societies develop patterns for producing and distributing goods.

• Over time, these patterns create historical stages (like feudalism → capitalism → socialism).

• People are often part of social and economic systems that they don’t choose but are born into (e.g., a serf in feudal times or a worker in capitalism).

• Ideas, beliefs, and culture are largely shaped by material conditions and the economic system, not the other way around.

New Technologies Changed Everyday Life

• Agriculture: Tools like the cotton gin, steel plow, and mechanical reaper made farming faster and more efficient.

• Transportation: Railways, steam-powered boats, and locomotives made travel and shipping faster.

• Communication: Telegraph (Morse code) and telephone (Alexander Graham Bell) made it easier to send messages quickly.

Downsides: Inequality & Harsh Working Conditions

• Working Class Exploitation: Workers faced dangerous, long, and low-paid shifts.

• Child Labor: Children worked at very low wages.

• Women’s Labor: Worked long hours with no job security or rights.

• Enslaved Labor: Numbers grew in the US alongside cotton production.

• Urbanization Problems: Cities became dirty, overcrowded, unsanitary, with poor access to clean water.