Saturday, March 21, 2020

Mode Of Production in Marxism

Mode Of Production in Marxism The mode of production is a central concept in Marxism and is defined as the way a society is organized to produce goods and services. It consists of two major aspects: the forces of production and the relations of production. The forces of production include all of the elements that are brought together in production – from land, raw material, and fuel to human skill and labor to machinery, tools, and factories. The relations of production include relationships among people and people’s relationships to the forces of production through which decisions are made about what to do with the results. In Marxist theory, the  mode of production concept was used to illustrate the historical differences between different societies economies, and Karl Marx most commonly commented on Asiatic, slavery/ancient, feudalism, and capitalism. Karl  Marx and Economic Theory The ultimate end-goal of Marxs economic theory was a post-class society formed around principles of socialism or communism; in either case, the mode of production concept played a key role in understanding the means through which to achieve this goal. With this theory, Marx differentiated various economies throughout history, documenting what he called historical materialisms dialectical stages of development. However, Marx failed to be consistent in his invented terminology, resulting in a vast number of synonyms, subsets and related terms to describe the various  systems. All of these names, of course, depended upon the means through which communities obtained and provided necessary goods and services to one another. Therefore relationships between these people became the  source of their namesake. Such is the case with communal, independent peasant, state, and slave while others operated from a more  universal  or national  standpoint like  capitalist, socialist and communist. Modern Application Even now, the idea of overthrowing the capitalist system in favor of a communist or socialist one that favors the employee over the company, the citizen over state, and the countryman over country, but its a hotly contested debate. To give context to the argument against capitalism, Marx argues that by its very nature, capitalism can be viewed as a positive, and indeed revolutionary, economic system whos downfall is its dependence on exploiting and alienating the worker.   Marx further argued that capitalism is inherently doomed to fail for this very reason: the worker would eventually consider itself oppressed by the capitalist and start a social movement to change the system to a more communist or socialist means of production. However, he warned, this would occur only if a class-conscious proletariat organized successfully to challenge and overthrow the domination of capital.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Book Awards Open to Self-Published Books

Book Awards Open to Self-Published Books Book awards have made great strides in broadening eligibility rules to allow authors to submit self-published books. When I first began collecting information about awards for published books, many of them only accepted submissions and nominations from publishers themselves. This has changed. The following is a list of some of the many book awards that are open to self-published authors. Some of the awards are limited to authors writing in specific genres, while others have a regional focus. North Street Book Prize http://winningwriters.com/our-contests Winning Writers recently announced it is sponsoring the North Street Book Prize, aimed at recognizing outstanding self-published books. Categories for this first year are Mainstream/Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction. The cost is $50.00 per entry, and the winner in each category will receive $1,500 plus a variety of marketing services. Two honorable mentions in each category will receive $250. All contestants receive a selection of helpful guides for publishing and promotion. The Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards https://indiefab.forewordreviews.com Accepts self-published books in more than 60 categories/genres, including Fantasy, Humor, Travel, Juvenile Fiction, Picture Books, and True Crime. The early-bird entry fee is $79, plus two copies of the book, for each category in which the book is entered. The top three winners in each category receive publicity and can order stickers to put on their books. Monetary awards are given to one best â€Å"fiction† and one best â€Å"nonfiction† book. The Eric Hoffer Award for Independent Books hofferaward.com Offers awards in several writing categories, including Poetry, General Fiction, E-book Fiction, and E-book Nonfiction, as well as categories Debut-litzer Prizes http://latenightlibrary.org The literary non-profit organization Late-Night Library sponsors the Debut-litzer Prizes for a first work of fiction or poetry. Submissions are accepted from authors or publishers, and self-published works are eligible, provided the work is the â€Å"first† in the genre Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award http://kansascity-mo.aauw.net/events/thorpe-menn-literary-award/ Presented American Book Awards beforecolumbusfoundation.com/american-book-awards/ The Before Columbus Foundation sponsors the American Book Awards, which has no restrictions on self-published books. It is open to anyone, and there are no categories; awardees are selected solely based on literary excellence. The cost to enter is two copies of the book. While there is no monetary prize, award winners are formally recognized at a ceremony, and are given publicity through the Before Columbus Foundation website. Other awards include the Minnesota Book Awards (http://thefriends.org/events/mnba/nominations-applications/book-award-nomination/), the Brockman-Campbell Book Award (ncpoetrysociety.org/bcaward/), the Lambda Literary Awards (lambdaliterary.org/award-guidelines/), and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (hurstonwright.org). Although these do not have restrictions on self-published books, other eligibility requirements may apply. Please refer to award websites for complete and updated information, as well as details on entry deadlines.