Question

Your understanding of Marx's concept of Real Subsumption of Labour is accurate. It indeed refers to the process where capitalist production transitions from formal subsumption (utilizing pre-existing methods of production) to real subsumption, where new methods are employed to more fully control and extract surplus value from workers.

When extending this concept beyond the realm of labor and into society as a whole, particularly encompassing the social and cultural spheres, Marxists often explore the idea of cultural hegemony. While this term is more closely associated with Antonio Gramsci than Karl Marx himself, it captures the notion that the ruling class in a capitalist society extends its dominance not only through economic means but also through cultural and ideological influence.

Gramsci argued that the ruling class, in addition to controlling the means of production, seeks to shape the prevailing ideas, values, and norms of society. This cultural influence helps maintain and legitimize the existing social order. In the context of capitalism, cultural hegemony involves the dissemination of ideas that align with the interests of the ruling class, thereby ensuring social stability and the reproduction of the capitalist system.

In the specific context you mentioned—commodification of culture—this aligns with the idea of cultural hegemony. The process involves turning cultural products, including art, entertainment, and media, into commodities for consumption. This commodification serves the interests of capitalism by not only providing avenues for profit but also by shaping cultural narratives that support the prevailing economic system.

In essence, cultural hegemony captures the broader concept of capitalist control extending into the cultural and social realms, influencing not only how labor is organized and valued but also shaping the ideas and values that permeate society. It offers a framework for understanding how capitalism, beyond its economic mechanisms, seeks to maintain and reinforce its dominance through cultural and ideological means.

Answer 1

Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony underlines the cultural and societal dominance by the ruling class in capitalist societies, extending Marxist theory into the realm of culture. Ideas like the power elite and false consciousness build on this, examining how the dominant class shapes ideology to maintain control. Marx's concept of surplus value is seen as an inherent contradiction within capitalism, leading to its eventual downfall.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept of hegemony, as articulated by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, plays a critical role in understanding the complex interplay between culture and power dynamics within capitalist societies. Gramsci's work emphasizes the ruling class's ability to maintain dominance not solely through economic means but also through the shaping of cultural and societal norms. This encompasses the institutions of media, education, and religion to establish a sense of 'normalcy' that serves the interests of the ruling class, and derails challenges to the status quo, including the idea of a proletarian revolution. Marxist theory, broadly speaking, details the journey of societies through stages culminating in communism as envisaged by Karl Marx whose ideas outlived him, inspiring revolutions and influencing political discourse worldwide.

Gramsci's insights have been developed further by other prominent thinkers like C. Wright Mills, who introduced the concept of the power elite, and G. William Domhoff, who explored the social patterns and networks that bind this elite. The Marxist paradigm delves deeper into the capitalist superstructure revealing concepts such as 'false consciousness', which posits that the working class's belief system is manipulated to prioritize bourgeois ideals over their own interests. Marx himself highlighted the core contradiction of capitalism in surplus value, which he foresaw as the eventual catalyst for proletarian revolution.