der Geist

“The general conclusion at which I arrived and which, once reached, became the guiding principle of my studies can be summarised as follows: In the social production of their existence, men inevitably enter into definite relations, which are independent of their will, namely relations of production appropriate to a given stage in the development of their material forces of production. The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which arises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness. At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production or – this merely expresses the same thing in legal terms – with the property relations within the framework of which they have operated hitherto. From forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution. The changes in the economic foundation lead sooner or later to the transformation of the whole immense superstructure(Marx, 1859).”

  “한국사회 구성원은 민주노총에 대해, 전교조에 대해, 공무원 노조에 대해 알고 있을까요? 실제로 알고 있는 사람은 거의 없지만, 거의 모든 사람이 알고 있다고 믿고 있습니다. 어떻게 알고 있다고 믿고 있을까요? ‘알 필요가 없는 것’으로 입니다. … [이것이] 한국 사회에서 ‘사회적 존재가 의식을 규정한다’라는 마르크스의 명제가 전혀 통하지 않는 이유입니다. 이미 의식화가 되어 있는 것입니다. ‘존재를 배반하는 의식’으로(홍세화, 06년 04월).”