According to Marxism, the mode of production of material things determines the general character of the social, political, and spiritual processes of life. And, social beings determine consciousness. In a society with class, the upper class, the ruling class, will have more power over consciousness. Our economic society shapes the ideas individuals have and affects the ideas institutions establish. The economic system found in a society, the mode of production, influences the institutions and values of a given society. And these institutions influence everyone in a society, giving them things to believe in, or disbelieve. Classes are formed when there are different economic conditions between groups of people in a certain time period. Ideas transfer to people through the superstructure (institutions, philosophical systems, religious organizations, arts found in a society, ect). Because the economic system is always changing, the ideas are also changing. According to Marxism, in a society that has class structure, there will be conflict. There will be the bourgeoisie, the ruling class, and the proletariats, the workers exploited by the ruling class. These people experience increasingly desperate conditions. If the conflicts of the society are being “fixed” by the bourgeoisie, then they are just dealing with conflicts with “ruling class ideas”. Because of classes, a hierarchy society will form, ultimately creating a society with people afraid of those in power, a terrorist state. People of the lower classes will soon feel alienated, and will suffer from false consciousness, ultimately, the upper class will be dominating their thinking.
According to Marxism, Menen was one of the people who made up the ruling class of Argentina. These were the people who dominated material force, they dominate intellectual force, they were thinkers, producers of ideas, but most of all, the ruling class regulates the production and distribution of ideas of their age. Masses of people were being manipulated and exploited by Menen and the ruling class. Menen was creating a successful economy at one time. President Menen imposed a peso-dollar fixed exchange rate, which contributed to significant increases in investment and growth with stable prices through most of the 1990s. But soon, his model failed, causing massive imports to diminish, which damaged national industry and reduced employment and economic crises. Half of the country slid into poverty, the currency dropped, and bank accounts became locked. According to Marx, any class society will have conflict and false consciousness. Argentina is proof that a bourgeoisie society is not the way.
I think The Take is an illustration of a Marxist Revolution, but may not have been the sole influence in the making of this film. It can defiantly be related and analyzed through Marxism. I think it may be a combination of Marxism and a model of worker suffrage. The Take was explaining the economic and social situation of Argentina of that time, and we were able to understand how the workers suffered, and what they did about it. And after learning about Marxism, this video is a great example of a Marxist revolution and how class and current social and economic situations will determine and influence the future of a country. The working class of Argentina was constantly loosing their jobs. Factories were being shut down and the workers were without jobs, and without money. It still costs money to live in Argentina. But only the upper classes were actually able to afford to live. Workers came together and started to run the factories themselves. There was no boss, everyone was equal. They all got paid the same. They all voted on decisions. Multiple factories were under worker control. According to Marx, social and economic arrangements found in a given society at a given time are historical, created by people, and therefore capable of being changed by people. And that is exactly what the people in Argentina did. They were changing the social and economical arrangements in their society. It truly was a Marxist Revolution. People stood up for their rights and jobs, some people got shot, and even killed. There were riots and protest. But the working class soon had their jobs back. The factories were open again, and the economy was on it’s way back up. Kirchner was the next President, who restructured and paid off its debt, and renegotiated contracts with utilities. The economy became stable again, and more factories re-opened, providing more people with jobs again.
What happened in Argentina is a perfect example of a Marxism revolution, but there is still class and corruption. With different classes of power, there will always be different ideas, and manipulation to those under the high class ideas.
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