Applying Marxism and Materialism to Bram Stokers Dracula - Assignment Example

Applying Marxism and Materialism to Bram Stoker’s Dracula BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE Applying Marxism and Materialism to Bram Stoker’s Dracula Introduction Karl Marx was a German economist who put much attention into understanding society in the field of sociology. Marx built theories that tried to explain the relationship of capital to labour that built today’s views of economics. Marx believed that in capitalist society, there would be struggles between different classes and that this system was not useful for making a productive society in the long term. Marx was believed to be the father of communism. Communists believe that society works more productive when resources are distributed fair between all members of society. Communism beliefs have men been freed from hard labour so that workers will explore more positive social activities and have better lifestyle (Holmes 2009). The main goal of Communism is to have a society built where there are no class differences and all society members have ownership of social and national resources. These resources are made of distribution systems, agriculture and manufacturing. Communism states that a social system should seek to give citizens better well-being by allocating all state resources in a way that is equal no matter what each person’s class position (Lamb and Docherty 2006). Marxism shows itself in Bram Stoker’s Dracula in many different ways. In this text, there are class divisions, capitalist values, materialism and class struggles. Marx, if still alive today would be prone for arguing that Dracula gives evidence of the danger of allowing a capitalist system to exist. Even though the text was written during the Victorian Era where materialism and gain were regular values for society, Marx could use this text to defend the benefits of Communism. This essay looks at the beliefs of Marxism and Materialism and how they are plain in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The essay argues that Marx was right and having a classless society is better for a nation state. Marxism, Materialism and Capitalism in Dracula The Marxists believe that societies will have many class struggles where there are class divisions. Class divisions form when there is unequal wealth between all society members. When some citizens have higher resources (finance or assets), those without these benefit will want to gain more power and resource. In a capitalist society, the dominating class (the wealthy and powerful) have the ability to force their beliefs on members of lower classes. This is done to make the less powerful agree with the beliefs of the elite so that the higher class can keep power and control within society. Class struggle can be seen throughout Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In the text, one of the main characters, Jonathan Harker, is a solicitor that takes up Dracula as a client. Dracula is desire to acquire property in London and need legal representation to make the transactions proper and legal. The readers find out the Dracula has a very strong heritage. He has a namesake, a Count, which gives him power in society. He lives in a large castle and has obvious wealth. In the text, Harker learns that Dracula is very wealthy and hoards money and other resources. Therefore, Dracula is shown to be a monopolist who has a better lifestyle by having resources and advantages that others in society do not. Added with Dracula’s birthright, he is in a much better position than others in society. Dracula, in the text, tries to build a vampire colony in London and has many gypsies that follow his orders without any argument. This shows that Dracula’s namesake and his resources give him power and domination over others who are not in a position to disagree with Dracula’s commands. Society often sees this in capitalistic states. In a capitalistic society, where Marx says there will be class struggles eventually, people with high resources make most politics decisions and control business strategies and operations. Capital is owned by private persons in capitalism and the wealthy are able to get other to labour for them by having control over economic resources. When the wealthy are able to get others to perform labour and tasks for them, it is the private individual that gets the most gain whilst labourers receive little compensation for their efforts. This is not like communism where services should, as said by Marx, be made to improve the utility of the labourer and not the wealthy (Degen 2008). Dracula is able to make the gypsies conform to his requests by being a dominant upper class member and these gypsies have little chance to refuse Dracula’s needs and labour requests. When such characters as Jonathan Harker, Van Helsing and Arthur Holmwood see the type of control that Dracula has over gypsies and others in the lower classes, they become angry that Dracula has this control level. Dracula as a monopolist has the ability to get others to do what he demands and there seems to be a kind of fear that argument could lead to harm. Therefore, the lower class characters such as Arthur and Van Helsing come to believe that Dracula should be defeated because he can oppress others with his wealth and status. This is what Marx warned against. In history, people fear being dominated by others and will work to remove this type of being oppressed by defeating or stopping monopolists from having this authority level. Marx, himself, argued that in a state like this, dominating figures will eventually be removed through being overthrown by struggling lower class to get rid of this kind of oppress (Marx 2010). Marx is clear that class struggles are going to be in a capitalistic state or in a monopoly situation that goes on for a long period of time. What though makes this struggle happen as a reality of capitalism? People have a universal need for living more with autonomy and self-control needs. Over time, Dahrendorf (1976) states that when people feel they are being exploited it creates antagonism and hostility. Even psychology states that people have a universal need for social belonging. Therefore, if members of a society feel that they forced into a different class, it might affect their basic psychological needs. Being an exploited labourer made to comply with the wealthy would show much power distance. When the dominant class is able to force labour for their own personal needs and benefits, there can be no belonging in this sense. This might drive why there is antagonism, anger and unhappiness in the lower, exploited class that drives a need to overthrow the monopolist or wealthy individual who has this control level. In Dracula, even though it is known that the vampire harms others in his search for blood and life, it might be just a human nature factor that makes them want to defeat Dracula. Marx, being a sociology expert, seems to understand this part of human behaviour. This is why Marx says Communism is better because people have this need for belonging and do not want to be oppressed. In capitalism, people are going to be oppressed and exploited as labourers and cannot live a good lifestyle without the resources given to them by people in control of production and resources. Over time the exploited grow frustrated and annoyed by this and want to show that they, themselves, have power and authority. Some will even turn to violence in order to get this control. Again, Marx says that capitalistic beliefs and systems will create difficulty in keeping social order and harmony. Bram Stoker’s Dracula shows this as the main characters in the lower class quickly become angry and worried about Dracula’s ability to dominate others and control others in this way. Neumayer (2004) shows a link between inequality and violent crimes. This seems to be the main reason for why capitalistic systems do not work in the long term. People have strong emotions toward smug and dominating figures in society which will eventually bring hostile behaviour and a need to defeat the elite. Calhoun (2002) provides that Karl Marx clearly stated that exploitation of the proletariat would guarantee that a capitalistic system collapse. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Van Helsing and Harker begin destroying Dracula’s resources, such as his treasured soil, to remove the vampire from dominating others. The inequality between Dracula and members of society in a lower class, the proletariat, forces others to take severe methods to make sure Dracula cannot exploit or harm others by his powerful position. Therefore, when thinking of class struggles, this is why Marx was right about the benefit of Communism and why his Marxism views were correct. Bram Stoker’s Dracula shows why economics and sociology are related. In an unfair economic system like capitalism people have needs and when these needs are not met, they will turn toward drastic measure to improve their lifestyle and social position. Marx was correct that economics create behaviour changes in people and serve as the reason for why there are problems in society. From another view, materialism also shows why Marx was correct about why Communism and a fair allocation of resources are more productive for a state. There are many in society that gain products and services (consumption) to show that they have a better power and position in society. This is known as conspicuous consumption (O’Cass and McEwen 2004). Many people that have gained wealth have a need to make sure others see this power by seeking out luxury products with high cost. Why would this be dangerous though in Marxist beliefs? When people with high wealth that control factors of production are able to live in luxury, it will be seen by others in the lower class as well. It might be interpreted as being smugness and care only for the self. Taylor and Brown (1988) offer that people have a need to believe they are better than others. This is recognised as a real human behaviour situation in the field of psychology. Therefore, this need of the wealthy to always show others they are superior could be a torment to people with less resources and cause others to feel second rate. This need of people with more resources and social influence to show others their superiority could drive why Marx believed that capitalism would not work long term. When people believe that others are better than they are, it makes many strong emotional responses. These feelings of lowliness have a negative impact on self-esteem and basic well being (Taylor and Brown). Again, psychology states that people need to feel secure as a primary motivation. In a situation where the wealthy parade their wealth and status in front of others, like with conspicuous consumption, it will likely make the lesser angry and unhappy. Therefore, as Marx stated, in a system with such high class divisions, revolution is going to be the end result. This can be seen in Bram Stoker’s Dracula where Dracula lives in a large castle and is looking to acquire high profile real estate in London. Moretti (1983) however argues that Dracula actually is not about conspicuous consumption, as in the text the vampire cleans his home, drives his own carriage and even cooks his own meals. However, this view is not accurate because Dracula seems constant growth and shows signs of strong materialism. His desire to expand his domain can be seen by others in lesser class status. Neocleous (2003) refers to Dracula’s capital as being asset totally unashamed of itself. In the text, Harker describes the castle environment: “The furniture had more an air of comfort than any I had seen” (Stoker 2000, p.19). In the text, whilst Dracula seems to be humble, welcoming Jonathan Harker to his house in a positive way, the text shows that Dracula is really concerned about materialism. The constant need for getting real estate and hoarding his assets might be seen by members of the lesser class as being flashy and showy. As Taylor and Brown (1988) stated, this creates a feeling of being inferior to others that has strong negative emotions attached to it. Dialectical materialism, or the class conflict that occurs, is why capitalism cannot be upheld according to Marx. Materialism and Dracula’s capitalistic values in Bram Stoker’s Dracula support Marx’s view that only a sense of equality can build a productive society without conflict. The main characters in the proletariat class are very much against Dracula’s expansion and growth. Harker and Van Helsing want very much for Dracula’s influence to be lessened. They are concerned not only about causing harm to others in his search for blood, but Dracula’s spirituality and ethical values. They seem to feel that Dracula’s material goals are stronger than his ethical goals which drive his need for draining blood from others in society. Buying new real estate is a foundation for expanding his vampire community and through materialism goals it destroys Dracula’s ability to respect the well being of others. Therefore, the quality of life of those harmed by Dracula is negative whilst the vampire looks to build more material wealth. This is what Marx warns against. He argues that throughout history it is materialism that becomes more dominant over other insights (such as ethics) that destroys a desire to have more positive social relationships with others in society (Thomas 2008). Materialism becomes a dominant goal and the utility of the self becomes a chief goal. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this can be seen when efforts to show Dracula that he was viewed as a monster met with failure. In Chapter Four of the text, Harker shows strong negative feelings about the terror he experiences and what he has witnessed. Harker stated: “The last of Count Dracula I saw was his kissing hand to me, with a red light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas in Hell might be proud of” (Stoker 2000, p.32). Whilst Dracula seems to be courteous to Harker, welcoming him as a kind of equal in the castle, when it comes to his consuming Dracula is unashamed and even proud that he can exploit people for his own gain. Marx seems to understand that capital breaks down a person’s ethical values and beliefs. Therefore, capital gains create in people who gather it less concern about the well being of others. This makes them more willing to exploit others and dominate them if their own utility is improved. This can be seen in many examples in a capitalistic society. Bernie Madoff, an investment expert, exploited many people to improve his own utility. Madoff was convicted of fraud when presenting himself as a helpful investment advisor and broker who stole nearly $65 billion USD from his clients (McCool and Graybow 2009). The famous Enron case had managers purposely filing false financial data to make the company’s stock higher without showing any concern for the stakeholders affected by these actions. High bonuses led to managers’ personal utility improving even though the company was really in terrible financial condition. Marxism warns again about this. People with wealth and power will marginalise others in society and alienate workers from having a position of authority. Therefore, economics drive this unethical and self-serving set of behaviours. The condition of people exploited or oppressed is less important to the wealthy, due to human behaviour characteristics, which begins the start of class struggles and anger between classes. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the vampire seemed to find delight about harming others because his wealth and social status allowed him to get away with it. If Dracula had been in a lower class, he might have held values that focused more on equality and helping others. Basically, Dracula’s financial and status advantages and pursuit of hoarding material wealth made him feel amused knowing that he was abusing others in society with lesser status. When main characters of Stoker’s text do finally destroy Dracula, Marx would be confident that this was a positive Communist achievement. A main character of the text, Mina, is given a scar by Dracula and, when he is defeated, the scar disappears. Marx would likely see this as the ultimate end of oppression and the ability of the proletariats to begin finding power in society with the end of a dominant ruling class. Dracula, in the text, clearly did not want competition or challenge for his beliefs and actions. It was only through an overthrow that Nina and others who felt threatened by the vampire could be secure and have a quality of lifestyle. However, Bram Stoker’s Dracula does not go further to describe how Nina, Van Helsing or Harker use this new power and equality. Marx was firm that materialism values brought about the final end of a person’s ethical values. It is interesting to think that the proletariat class in Dracula might find more opportunity and be without oppression that made them more powerful. Marx might argue that this new power and security could also transform them into the same type of self-serving person that seeks wealth. Marx was firm that in history materialism was a regular theme that changed people’s behaviours and ethical reasoning. If Bram Stoker’s Dracula followed the lives of those who defeated the vampire, the sociology of human behaviour might find that these main characters began to show the same values as Dracula, finding humour in exploiting others. Calhoun (2002) had said that Marx believed exploiting others would, at some point in a society, lead to violent overthrow of the dominant. Therefore, Marxism would seem to see this class struggle in an unequal society as being a cycle that will not stop until there is true equality in society. At the same time, there must be a real belief about the importance of equality or people will eventually become corrupted and seek to exploit others. In capitalism, where materialism is a strong motivation, the dominating corporation has negatively impacted moral community (Alvesson and Willmott 1999). To avoid competition, managers of a business will try to block innovations to block democracy and keep their power in a society (Alvesson and Willmott). Marx and Engels (2002) were concerned about limitless expansion of the corporation, but recognised that this was a real truth about businesses. However, the Communist Manifesto is firm that business leaders must be responsible about making sure that outputs of expansion are allocated equally within society and for the labourers that make these outputs. To block innovation, Marxism beliefs would see this as oppression and would likely create class struggles in the long term and break down the quality of life of all members of society. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by expanding the vampire’s real estate holdings, Dracula would have more control and influence in London. This could give Count Dracula the ability to block business innovations and make sure that he is not held accountable for his actions. This power would also give the vampire more authority in political decision-making. He could make sure there is no democracy both in the vampire community and outside of it. Marxism recognises that in a class divided society there is more influence in politics and business for those who hold resources and wealth. In the time of Dracula, even a namesake gave a person aristocratic control and power. By building a vampire empire in London, Dracula would have had many opportunities to exploit people for capital (blood) and expand his authority. This might create a feudal system with Dracula in control that Marxism believes is not productive to a quality society. Marx would also argue that this would lead to a final uprising of angry and exploited individuals that would finally give power to the emerging class that rose up against this dominance. However, in the short term, Marxism recognises that people must conform to this dominance. When Harker is about to be seduced by female vampires, Dracula states: “How dare you touch him, any of you? How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it? This man belongs to me! Beware how you meddle with him or you’ll have to deal with me!” (Stoker 2000, p.42). Dracula showed signs that he was a typical feudal master. He oppresses liberty for his vampire females serving his interests. His vampirellas have no choice but to obey Dracula unless the wish to face a termination of their relationship or physical harm. It was shown that certain parts of his castle were setup for comfort and to disobey would mean having no quality of life if they were thrown out of the castle. Without their own resources to gain independence and liberty, the vampirellas must comply. Marxism recognises the reality of the oppressed and those who conform to dominant class members. Dracula, if able to expand his vampire empire would treat other vampire servants the same way. They would be forced to obey his every command or witness their lifestyles (or safety) threatened. This is common in a feudal system. This same type of power dominance was present in the aforesaid Enron case where labourers who questioned the business managers’ actions were threatened with job loss. Job losses would lead to less quality of life and put them into an even lower class position. To argue with Enron management, or Dracula, would mean facing many negative problems including starvation, loss of home or even health problems. Dracula is a prime example of a monopolist, materialist and feudal master that uses their economic and social position to control and exploit others. Marx would argue that Dracula would have been defeated eventually in this type of system as these behaviours finally cause others to become fed up with this domination. Conclusion In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the vampire is not concern about equality or allocating resources to remove class divisions. Dracula enjoys his power and ability to control others without argument and uses this power over others to have more personal utility. Dracula approaches Harker as though they might be one in the same, though even Dracula knows that he has more power than Harker and finds delight in this. These behaviours at the expense of others show that Marx was correct about materialism and having a capitalistic set of values. It tends to corrupt those who have these values, which shows that Marx was right about how economics are linked with sociology and human behaviour. In a way, Dracula was much like a corporate employer that gave service positions to his vampirellas and gypsies that followed his commands. Without Dracula’s resources, these people would have no resources themselves. Fear of insecurity or quality of life for disobeying or challenging Dracula makes these characters compliant. In every way, for these characters, Count Dracula controls the factors of production that leads to a real type of exploitation of others. If Marx were to review Bram Stoker’s Dracula, he would call Dracula an example of why capitalistic systems are not productive in a society or state. In the end, Dracula was defeated and those under his rule had a chance to be liberated because of this. His vampirellas now had opportunity to seek their own utility and independence (if they so wished). Those in society that had their capital removed (blood) no longer had to be victimised by a dominating and ethically immoral social figure. Even though this text was an example of Victorian Era capitalism, it does show that even today Marxism can serve as a warning against capitalistic values and materialism in a society. Marx was correct that excess and exploitation could bring down a ruling elite. He sees this as a false ideology. Social angst, as said by Marx, will happen if there is not a balance and equality between all citizens of a community or nation. Dracula’s efforts to build more class domination cannot be productive long term and eventually the exploited will cooperate to put an end to this type of oppression and dominance. Literature Review and Bibliographic Analysis There is much debate in society and for philosophers about whether Marxism is a valid set of beliefs. Marxism challenges the view of capitalism which is supportive of private ownership of assets and resources and allows for wealth to be unequally distributed. This creates class division. However, the topic was selected for analysis and argument since large and successful economies such as the United States and the UK are founded on capitalistic values. To fully analyse whether Marxism was valid, it was important to apply the belief to a type of case study to make comparisons. Marxism is only a theory and there is more success in capitalism today than in communism. To properly frame Marxist values, the theory needs a point of comparison. Realising that Marxism is concerned about social and economic dominance, Bram Stoker’s Dracula seemed an interesting topic study since it talks of wealth, society, spiritualism and community that have been described in Marxist ideology. No theory can be made valid or made void unless it can be applied to a situation related to the theory’s concepts. Marxism talks of human behaviour characteristics, economics, as well as spiritualism and morality. Therefore, to properly research the theory and belief, it was necessary to explore many different domains of knowledge. This made research more valid by finding material in a library that has academic references in these different areas of study. Marxism suggests that sociology, psychology and economics are linked and have influence in what makes a poor or productive nation. Therefore, it would not be quality research to rely on Internet sources, but to seek information from experts in these fields that have experience. How people behave should be confirmed with study data if it is to be considered reliable. In the process of research, it was learned that there are many different perspectives about a certain concept or idea. Some studies conflict one another. Therefore, it was learned that being impartial and approaching a research project from a neutral lends is necessary to provide quality and valid research findings. Decisions created by analysis cannot be given without exploring many different theories or research evidence (such as those in journal article studies). By seeking the most quality academic-based resources, results and analyses given were founded on time tested sociology, psychology, economics, political and human behaviour texts. With Marx pointing toward all of these being part of a Marxist set of beliefs, it was learned that one must view many different views to see which are similar and which are very different. The following describes the sources used for the essay and how they were used in research and analysis. Bibliographical details Holmes, L. (2009). Communism: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. This text gives knowledge about communism and how it differs from other systems. It was used to understand what Marx felt was more profitable for a nation state and what founds social equality. The text helped frame Marxism as a belief. Lamb, P. and Docherty, J.C. (2006). Historical Dictionary of Socialism. Oxford: Scarecrow Press Inc. Because communism is founded on socialism, it was important to understand socialist beliefs. This helped to strengthen the understanding of Marxist values with a more in depth explore of social equality not given by the Holmes (2009) text. Degen, R. (2008). The triumph of capitalism. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. 2008. Marx’s belief that capitalism is not sustainable is just that: a belief. To be unbiased and responsible in research, finding an author that provides evidence that capitalism is profitable is necessary to give a valid set of analyses. Marx, K. (2010). A contribution to the critique of political economy. Ithaca: International Library Publishing Company. This text gave insight into Marx’s personal values. It showed how Marx believed sociology and economics were inter-dependent. The text focused on politics of a state which helped identify how capitalists gain control not only over business, but in government. Dahrendorf, R. (1976). Class and class conflict in an industrial society. London: Routledge. This text is all about class division and class conflicts. It gives a historical view of class development and what types of systems create it. Marxism talks of dangers of class conflict and this text described many factors that influence class struggles. Neumayer, E. (2004). Is inequality really a major cause of violent crime? Evidence from cross-national panels of robbery and violent theft rates. [online] Available at: http://econwpa.wustl.edu/eps/le/papers/0312/0312002.pdf (accessed 25 January 2015). Marx described that when there is inequality, it will lead to an overthrow or removal of dominant elites. This study explored whether inequality really motivates this behaviour which was felt to investigate whether Marx was correct from a violence view. Calhoun, C.J. (2002). Classical sociological theory. London: Wiley-Blackwell. This text explores the foundation of sociology. It was very helpful in finding out about social belonging and what might drive conspicuous consumption which was present in many Marxist readings. O’Cass, A. and McEwen, H. (2004). Exploring Consumer Status and Conspicuous Consumption, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 4(1), pp. 25–39. To analyse conspicuous consumption, it was important to understand it. This journal article identifies why conspicuous consumption occurs and what it means to those who do it. Taylor, S.E. and Brown, J. (1988). Illusion and well-being: a social psychological perspective on mental health, Psychological Bulletin, 103(2), pp.193-210. After learning about the elements of conspicuous consumption, the findings showed a hint that it might be about social superiority and status. This article helped describe the psychology of conspicuous consumption and why human behaviour might found class struggles. Moretti, F. (1983). Signs taken for wonders: essays in the sociology of literary forms. London: Verso. On the Internet, Moretti was mentioned as being an expert in sociology with an opinion about Marxism. This text was beneficial in understanding Moretti’s credentials and provided an unbiased view of Marxism. Neocleous, M. (2003). The political economy of the dead: Marx’s vampires, History of Political Thought, 24(4). This text was chosen because it stemmed from a professor in political and economic theory. It allowed for an examination of existing views on Dracula in order to compare to the researcher’s findings and synthesis of how Marxism might be applied to Dracula. Stoker, B. (2000). Dracula. Mineola: Dover Publications. This was the novel necessary to find examples of where Marxism might be present or relevant. It was used as the foundation for case study examples needed to determine whether the theory was relevant for providing support for Marxism. Thomas, P. (2008). Marxism and scientific socialism: from Engels to Althusser. London: Routledge. This text was a basic definition of Marxism and its foundations in socialism. It gave perspectives of those who have similar views of Marx which enhanced researcher knowledge about the theory; in general. McCool, G. and Graybow, M. (2009). Madoff pleads guilty, is jailed for $65 billion fraud. Reuters. [online] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/03/13/us-madoff-idUSTRE52A5JK20090313 (accessed 26 January 2015). A general article describing a situation within a capitalistic society where exploitation of others has occurred. With Marx stating this could happen, understanding the case study was necessary to support or make void Marx’s views of capitalism. Alvesson, M. and Willmott, H. (1999). Critical management studies. London: Sage. A text that talks about how management can be productive or corrupt in a business environment. Marx had found that personal utility of managers can outweigh a desire for equality. This text had a chapter on capitalism that was interesting in realising how the corporation might exploit others. Marx, K. and Engels, F. (2002). The Communist manifesto. London: Penguin Books. A very detailed book about Communism that gave many views of its beliefs and ideals. It gave an excellent understanding of communism and how this relates to Marx’s views on capitalism. Read More