Marcuse Critical Essay
Ruben Valdez
POLS 421
Critical Essay #2- Marcuse
October 23, 2014
Consumer Ethics within Society
The readings of Marcuse have really opened my eyes to the reality of my life and the false needs we are un-aware of on a daily basis. I believe that Marcuse could be related to a Marxian standpoint on social reality and false consciousness. According to Marx, false consciousness provides a mental framework, thoughts and identities. The mental construct of a person which is shaped by institutions can sometimes create distortions, errors, blind spots in a person’s consciousness. Therefore, the person’s thoughts, ideas and frameworks develop in such a way that generates a false consciousness. In my opinion, Marcuse’s true and false needs and Marx’s …show more content…
No matter how much the population grows, if everyone worked at producing goods to meet the basic needs of life, there would be far too many of these goods. This in turn would drive the price down and nobody would make a profit. For example, if every worker in the United States was a taught how to build cars in an assembly line, and car production was all we did, then the price of cars would not range in the thousands of dollars. Instead, they would become a lot cheaper because of their over production. Sadly this is not the case, and although it may be a unrealistic metaphor it gets the point across. What Marcuse is trying to say is, in order to keep the capitalist system going, work must be done for socially created needs that have little to do with basic human …show more content…
Although I feel like I “need” them at that moment, it becomes more of a problem in the future when I look back at the amount of money I’ve spent on one particular item. For example, I would get a refund check from my Financial Aid every year and spend a vast amount of money on posters, shoes, clothes and other miscellaneous items, but now that my bank account is thinning out- did I really need those items? During the summer I would work almost 70 hours a week just to satisfy my habit of shopping; seems like I am just another person falling victim to consumerism. Marcuse’s argument on work and consumer related issues really made me think why I need to spend this money on these things that I really don’t need. The feeling of “”If I don’t buy this then I’m going to go crazy” really does take its
POLS 421
Critical Essay #2- Marcuse
October 23, 2014
Consumer Ethics within Society
The readings of Marcuse have really opened my eyes to the reality of my life and the false needs we are un-aware of on a daily basis. I believe that Marcuse could be related to a Marxian standpoint on social reality and false consciousness. According to Marx, false consciousness provides a mental framework, thoughts and identities. The mental construct of a person which is shaped by institutions can sometimes create distortions, errors, blind spots in a person’s consciousness. Therefore, the person’s thoughts, ideas and frameworks develop in such a way that generates a false consciousness. In my opinion, Marcuse’s true and false needs and Marx’s …show more content…
No matter how much the population grows, if everyone worked at producing goods to meet the basic needs of life, there would be far too many of these goods. This in turn would drive the price down and nobody would make a profit. For example, if every worker in the United States was a taught how to build cars in an assembly line, and car production was all we did, then the price of cars would not range in the thousands of dollars. Instead, they would become a lot cheaper because of their over production. Sadly this is not the case, and although it may be a unrealistic metaphor it gets the point across. What Marcuse is trying to say is, in order to keep the capitalist system going, work must be done for socially created needs that have little to do with basic human …show more content…
Although I feel like I “need” them at that moment, it becomes more of a problem in the future when I look back at the amount of money I’ve spent on one particular item. For example, I would get a refund check from my Financial Aid every year and spend a vast amount of money on posters, shoes, clothes and other miscellaneous items, but now that my bank account is thinning out- did I really need those items? During the summer I would work almost 70 hours a week just to satisfy my habit of shopping; seems like I am just another person falling victim to consumerism. Marcuse’s argument on work and consumer related issues really made me think why I need to spend this money on these things that I really don’t need. The feeling of “”If I don’t buy this then I’m going to go crazy” really does take its