TERMS

dialectical materialism - the concept that a society’s economic system controls the foundation of its institutions, values, and beliefs

base - the economic system that organizes a society’s production of goods. It includes employer-employee work conditions, the technical division of labor, and property relations, which people enter into to produce the necessities and amenities of life (e.g. capitalism, communism)

superstructure - the social, political, and ideological 

systems generated by the base (e.g. media, family, 

education, religion)

material circumstances - the economic conditions 

underlying a society

historical situation - the social, political, and ideological 

atmosphere generated by the material circumstances

ideology - the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc. that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group. Often related to 

politics (i.e. political ideology)

bourgeoisie - the bourgeois class; the class that, in contrast to the proletariat or wage-earning class, controls the world’s natural, economic, and human resources

proletariat - the working class, especially those who earn their living by manual labor or who are dependent for support on daily or casual employment; the major of the global population who live in substandard conditions and perform that manual labor that help make the rich rich

commodification - when an object that does not usually have value has an economic value attached to it; the subordination of both private and public realms to the logic of capitalism (e.g. when things such as friendship, knowledge, or human beings are understood only in terms of their monetary value)

use-value - the usefulness of a commodity

exchange-value - the monetary value of a commodity

sign value - the value that is placed on a commodity for its ability to impress others

conspicuous consumption - extreme focus on material acquisition; spending in a lavish or ostentatious way to impress others with one’s wealth

false consciousness - a way of thinking that prevents a person from perceiving the true nature of their economic/social situation (e.g. when people are being oppressed but are not aware of it)

interpellation - the process by which we encounter our culture’s values and internalize them

capitalism - an economic system in which the means of production, or the base, are privately owned by individuals or corporations to competitively produce goods and services for the public

communism - an economic and political system in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs

reflectionism - the assumption that a text will reflect the society that produced it