Political Economy of Mass Media - Term Paper Example

Political Economy of Mass Media Curse Political Economy of Mass Media Describe What The Political Economy In General According to Weingast and Wittman (2008), Political economy is a term used to refer to the science of managing all the resources a state or a country in order to make wealth available. Political economy can also be described as the study of how owning various means of production affected the Marx processes in history. They also define political economy as association between politics and economics in the 20th century (Weingast and Wittman, 2008). In short political economy is a methodology that deals with emphasis public choice or economic approach, and institutional adaptation. The concept of political economy can be attributed a lot from Marxism. However, the concept of political economy was replaced by economics after Alfred Marshall released his book in 1980, (Weingast and Wittman, 2008). Political economy is divided into various approaches, which include political choice and Marxian analysis which emanated from the Virginia School and the Chicago school, (Weingast and Wittman, 2008). However, as time went by various approaches to political economy. They include International political economy and new political economy. Political economy is associated with various disciplines. It is associated with communication, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, human geography, anthropology, ecology, and ecology, (Weingast and Wittman, 2008). It is important to understand political economy, and how it influences communication specifically mass media. This will help in understanding how mass media has evolved in regard to theories in political economy. This can be achieved by dissecting political economy of mass media. 2. Describe What The Political Economy Of Mass Media According to (Weingast and Wittman, 2008), political economy of mass media can be defined as an approach to political economy that focuses branches of media production and the industries of communication within capitalism, and consumption and production of communications and media in regard to flow of information. Political economy of mass media is normally used to measure the effect of mass media on politics. For example, during an election a presidential candidate who is favored by a majority of media houses or is favored by the most popular media houses tends to win the election in question. This is because these media houses tend to give more coverage to him or her hence reaching more people than his or her candidate(s). Hence, governments try to control mass media to make sure they are not biased when it comes to politics. This creates a need for setting of rules that are based on the principles of political economy. Political economy of mass media is to some extent important because it ensures that mass media is controlled. This means that media houses do not broadcast anything as they feel like but must follow a certain protocol set by the government (Weingast and Wittman, 2008). This does not necessarily mean that governments should gag media houses. For example, media houses have a wide viewership. If they were to report on false accusation, that would later bring about national insecurity then this would result in serious consequences such the economy falling. Hence, the role of the government in controlling mass media through political economy. 3. Describe Mosco Opinion On The Political Economy Of Mass Media Various academics argued that mass media should be approached in more a economical way than culturally. One of these academics is Vincent Mosco, (Inflence, 2013). However, Vincent Mosco is considered to be moderate in his approach to political economy of mass media. This is because he advocates for the three communication processes instead of totalisation. These three processes are spatialization, commoditization, and structuration (Inflence, 2013). He refers to these three processes as entry points in communication. He defines spatialization as the process of going beyond the constraints of time and space in social life. He also defines commoditization as taking the value of services and goods in the form of utility and transforming them into commodities. Finally, Vincet Mosco defines structuration as understanding the interconnection between action and structure in reproducing social life. By considering the above entry points, Vincent Mosco’s opinion on political economy of mass media was that human consumption habits in regard to mass media should be approached in such a way that they are considered as human needs or wants. A good example is the commoditization of media such as the internet in such a way that consumers believe that they cannot do without it. He also points out that media should be structured in regard to social classes, race, and gender. However, Vincent Mosco’s opinion on political economy in mass media is faced by a lot of criticism. Firstly his approaches are criticized in that it focuses a lot on the class rather than a general outlook. The fact that his opinion emphasizes mostly on dependency and stricter, it leaves little if no room for agency. His opinion is also said to be too functionalist. 4. Describe The Meaning Of Liberalism And The History Of Liberalism According (Rawls, 2011), liberalism can be defined as a philosophy in politics that is based on equality and liberty. Theorists in liberalism often have various views on the philosophy with regard to their understanding of its principles. However, all of them support the ideas of liberalism which are free trade, freedom of the press, free and fair elections, freedom of religion, private property, and civic rights, (Rawls, 2011). John Locke is considered to be the father of liberalism (Rawls, 2011). He proposed that every human being had a right to acquire property, liberty, and most importantly right to life. He also argued that in accordance to social contract, no government should violate any of these rights. Liberalism became spread during the Age of enlightenment (Rawls, 2011) where it became popular among economists and philosophers. It opposed the notions that were in place at that time. These notions included, state religion, devine right of kings, hereditary privilege, and absolute monarchy. The philosophy of liberalism was the core driver of major revolutions in the world. The most notable of these were the French and American revolutions. In the 19th century classical conservation was the major opponent to liberalism (Rawls, 2011). The 20th century saw the spread of liberalism throughout the world. A good example is during the 1st and the 2nd world wars. Countries which had liberal democracies found themselves at the winning side of both the 1st and the 2nd world wars (Rawls, 2011). However, in the 20th century liberalism faced challenges from other ideologies such as communism and Fascism (Rawls, 2011). In both North America and Europe, the ideology of liberalism was replaced with social liberalism and social democracy in various countries. The ideology also faced the challenge of interpretation. For example, according to Rawls, interpretation of liberalism in Europe was different to it interpretation in the United States of America (USA), (Rawls, 2011). In Europe, Laissez-Faire and limited government economic policies were often associated with the ideology while in the United States of America (USA), welfare of state politics was associated with the ideology especially during the precidency of Franklin Roosevelt, (Rawls, 2011). Despite all this, liberalism has remained the major ideology in most political parties resulting in a remarkable influence. This influence has shaped the current political situation in most countries in all continents. 5. Describe The Meaning Of Marxism And Marxism History Marxism is a social, political and economic of inquiring methods in social economics based on interpreting historical development, (DAmato, 2006). It also incorporates view of social changes by analyzing relations of different classes in a society with respect to the development of capitalism. The ideology of Marxism was pioneered in the in the 19th century by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx who were two German philosophers. It is said that Marxism has influenced various social movements and political ideologies. Materialist approach of social development is the basis of which the Marxism ideology is based on. This approach argues that societal development is the beginning point necessary for a society to provide its needs, (DAmato, 2006). According to the ideology one major problem of capitalism is the conflict of classes as a result of contradiction between high production and social production, (DAmato, 2006). In short Marxism advocates for socialism rather than capitalsim The October revolution of 1917 was the first significant attempt to impose Marxist ideas, (DAmato, 2006). This revolution saw a spread of communism throughout the world. This is because the leader of this revolution Vladimir Lenin, argued that in order for socialism to work it needs to be supported internationally and not just in one country, (DAmato, 2006). However, in Europe, socialism failed and was only successful in the United Social Soviet Republic (USSR). The end of the world war saw the spread of the Marxist ideology of governance which was spread by the United Social Soviet Republic (USSR), which at this time was a major rival to capitalism. The USSR influenced countries such as, Yugoslavia, Vietnam, East Germany, Ethiopia, Albania, South Yemen, Cambodia, Cuba, and the Peoples Republic of China Romania among others (DAmato, 2006). However, Marxism ideology has been blamed for the poor economy in most of the countries that use it in governance. 6. Describe What Impact Liberalism And Marxism Against The Mass Media The role played by the mass media in influencing class and mass media has been critically explored by various academics. Emphasis has been made on links to big businesses by the media, corporate interests, and promotion of wars, political bias, and ties to the state among other issues. Both liberal and Marxist paradigms have been used to check on the relation of mass opinion and mass media. Mass media is considered instrumental in the domination of the ruling class in a democracy according to liberalism, (Petras, 2013). By this liberalism stipulates that power is concentrated to a small number of people who generally control various aspects of the economy including mass media. These leaders build control of the mass media thus inhibiting change resulting in the corporate elite ruling, (Petras, 2013). Hence, liberalism tries to unmask mass media by exposing its fabrications, hypocrisy and deceptions by establishing a clear difference between lies of the corporate elite and the real democratic values, (Petras, 2013). Marxism stipulates that citizens’ political interests are greatly influenced, but wht they get from the mass media, (Petras, 2013). Marxists argue that mass media possesses maximum influence where their class struggle and organization is not present. A good example of this is the situation in the United States of America. This can be proved by using countries like Chile and Venezuela where class organization was present. Here, political positions taken by the mass media had very minimal impact on the opinion of the public, (Petras, 2013). 7. How Is The Background History Of The Frankfurt School And What Is The Essence Of His Teachings The Frankfurt school is an institution that is known for its neo-Marxism. The school is associated with the Institute for Social Research in the University of Frankfurt. The school was established by Carl Grunberg in 1923, (Berry, 2012). The school was established to bring about scholars who would progress further the theory of Marxism, (Berry, 2012). The teachings of the institution have had an impact in developing the Marxism ideology. This is because as the ideology was being developed in times which were very different compared to today (Berry, 2012). The school has helped in making sure that the ideology of Marxism is adaptable to change hence can be adapted by many countries, which are experiencing change. The institution has also helped in developing the ideology in such a way it faces not much rejection as in the 1950’s, (Berry, 2012). References Mendieta, E. (2005). The Frankfurt School on Religion: Key Writings by the Major Thinkers. London: Routledge. DAmato, P. (2006). The Meaning of Marxism. Chicago: Haymarket Books. Wittman, D &Weingas, B. (2008). The Oxford Handbook of Political Economy. Oxford: Oxford Handbooks. Petras, J. (2008). Conservative, Liberal and Marxist Perspectives. Retrieved from: http://www.voltairenet.org/article158619.html Berry, D. (2012). Revisiting the Frankfurt School: Essays on Culture, Media and Theory. New York: Ashgate. Rawls, J. (2011). Political Liberalism: Expanded Edition. New York: Columbia University Press. Read More