15 December 2011

The Factory of Bourgeois Ideology Production At Work

I took this picture last night at an Economics 103 (Introduction to Micro Economics) final exam at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

No where is it more clear to me than during a large lecture final exam how much our education system is designed to produce obedient and productive capitalist works.  People are expected to be faceless, and nameless, complete their assigned task and leave.  Any deviation from this will result in serious reprocussions, both from the overseers, as well as I would imagine discipline from the other faceless, nameless ones who are attempting to succeed within the system.

The goal is obviously different, a grade instead of a paycheck, but the mechanism certainly prepares the student for their future of being exploited and/or perpetuating exploitation of the working class. 

Regarding the teaching of micro economics by a bunch of Marxists:
This will be a future post, but I don't have an enormous problem with it.  If nothing else neoclassical theory is an important part of economic history.  My hope is that someday it will ONLY be taught as such.  For now, teaching it allows many who are attempting to subvert the theory to reproduce their labor power.  A contradiction certainly, but I can think of worse aspects of what the young Marxist scholar is asked to do on a day to day basis.

Finally, a shout out to Mark S.  The very serious gentleman patrolling the ranks in my photo.  Check out some of his writings here at The Cognitive Footprint. 

1 comment:

Mark Silverman said...

thanks for the shout-out, James. Clearly I was meant to be a manager in the capitalist workplace and raising the rate of exploitation S/V. I've missed my calling.