Power Relations: Class and capitalism
Monday, 24 February, 1 pm, Lecture Block Room 1, Sidgwick Site
Power Relations: Class and capitalism
(Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley; Lecturer in Political Sociology) [Monday, 24 February 2014]
Neoclassical economics contains almost no analysis of power. Yet, power relations are an intrinsic aspect of human society, although they can assume widely different forms. This lecture explores how capitalism shapes social groups (dare we say classes) and the power relations between them. Taking Britain as an example, it will be shown how a relatively small number of people, through their ownership and/or management of economic resources, possess a great deal of power, as opposed to the vast majority of people whose real power lies only in their numbers and ability to organize. How are such groupings constituted, are their interests always in conflict, do they merely vie for the control of the state, or is the state an independent power node in society? These are some of the key questions that this lecture will answer.
(Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley; Lecturer in Political Sociology) [Monday, 24 February 2014]
Neoclassical economics contains almost no analysis of power. Yet, power relations are an intrinsic aspect of human society, although they can assume widely different forms. This lecture explores how capitalism shapes social groups (dare we say classes) and the power relations between them. Taking Britain as an example, it will be shown how a relatively small number of people, through their ownership and/or management of economic resources, possess a great deal of power, as opposed to the vast majority of people whose real power lies only in their numbers and ability to organize. How are such groupings constituted, are their interests always in conflict, do they merely vie for the control of the state, or is the state an independent power node in society? These are some of the key questions that this lecture will answer.
