Was Karl Marx a Determinist?

Was Karl Marx a Determinist? The aim of this essay is to address to what extent Karl Marx could be considered a determinist. In doing so it will consider: (a) what constitutes determinism; (b) Marx’s theories on history; and (c) whether these theories are compatible with the notion of determinism. Precedence is given to section (b) due to the sheer volume of existing literature in this field. Analysis is limited to Marx’s personal theories on history as opposed to Marxist theory on history, as the latter is largely tangential to the issue in question.[1] (a) Determinism Determinism has many facets. In the broad sense it can be summarised as the philosophical proposition that every historical event is causally determined by an unbroken or predetermined chain of prior events. In rudimentary terms, therefore, determinism is the antithesis of free will – the notion that there is no predestined fate for mankind except that which it determines for itself. Determinism should not be confused with fatalism, which dictates that all future events are already predetermined and will definitely occur. Rather determinism is associated with and depends upon the concepts of materialism and causality. More specifically, it is economic determinism with which, rightly or wrongly, Marx has become associated. Economic determinism can be defined as a form of determinism which explains social structure and culture as a product of the social and technical organisation of economic life.[2] It essentially lends primacy to economics over politics in the development of human history. It has been interpreted as the belief that economic laws determine the course of history, in much the same way as Auguste Comte considered that laws governed society.[3] On a more elementary level, Fleischer writes that as self-preservation is the supreme instinct in man, therefore the entire pattern of human conduct must always have been governed by the fundamental laws governing survival – a dialectical process between man and nature. This reasoning gives rise to the conclusion that all elements of historical consequence result from economic determinism, or man’s instinctive effort to survive.[4] In order for us to understand Marx’s association with economic determinism, an analysis of his theories on history is essential. (b) Marx’s theories on history Jon Elster writes that Marx had ‘both an empirical theory of history and a speculative philosophy of history.’[5] It is the former, better known as historical materialism, which concerns us. Historical materialism as an explanatory system has been expanded and refined by many academic studies since Marx’s death in 1883, despite no formal exposition of the concept ever having been published by Marx himself.[6] It looks for the causes of developments and changes in human societies in the way in which humans collectively make the means to life, thus giving an emphasis, through economic analysis, to everything that co-exists with the economic base of society, such as social classes, political structures and ideologies. While Marx claimed only to be proposing a guideline to historical research, by the twentieth century the concept of historical materialism had become a keystone of modern Communist doctrine. An understanding of the origins of Marx’s attachment to materialism is essential in appreciating its concept. These origins can largely be attributed to his research on the philosophy of Epicurus and his reading of Adam Smith and other political economists. Historical materialism builds upon the idea that became current in philosophy from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries that the development of human society has moved through a series of stages, from hunting and gathering, through pastoralism and cultivation, to commercial society. Marx argued that the history of Western society had progressed though the following stages or ‘modes of production.’ Each mode of production had its own economic system which gave rise to a system of class division based around ownership of the means of production: (i) primitive communism (ii) slave society (iii)feudalism (iv)capitalism Marxists say that society moves from one stage to the next when the dominant class is displaced by a new emerging class. The final stage in the chain, communism (as we know it today), would eventually supplant capitalism on a global scale, and would therefore represent both the intended target and end result of social history. The fundamental theory of historical materialism stems from the fact that people must procure or produce the necessities by which they can survive and reproduce themselves. Human beings are producers, and their production consists of two distinct aspects: the material and the social. The material refers to the physical necessities of life. In producing physical necessities, human beings create the social form, within which they produce. The social form of production is a social process by which people cooperate (through a division of labour in more complex social forms) to produce the things they need. This aspect always involves the social relations of those involved. These relations crucially concern the control of the process of production and the distribution of its products. The material aspect of production implies a certain organisation of production, possession of the appropriate tools, and knowledge. This material aspect of production is known as the ‘productive forces .’ The social form in which people produce is called the ‘relations of production.’ Together, the forces and relations of production make up the ‘mode of production.’ The next stage in the argument is more controversial. Initially, the interacting factors in the productive system of a class-based economy, including the forces and relations of production, are in a state of relative equilibrium. The forces of production determine and limit or at least correspond to the relations of production. Let us consider an example to help make this relationship more transparent. The earliest humans reproduced themselves by hunting animals and producing simple crops. Such a society could not produce cars, computers or engage in the mass production we have today. They lacked the tools and knowledge to do so. Knowledge and tools are part of the productive forces, which constrain the nature of the relations of production. This material limitation on what earlier societies could produce also constrained the types of relationships that existed between people. However, at some point the expanding forces of production clash with the contracting relations of production . In mankind’s harnessing of technology, the forces develop more rapidly, and in a direction incompatible with the relations of production. As the capacity to produce expands, the ownership of the means of production contracts. Consequently, the forces of production can no longer freely develop within the confines of the class structure. This conflict between the forces and relations of production intensifies until, by means of revolution, the social relations are reorganised so as to harmonise with the productive forces. It is anticipated that mankind will ultimately establish control over the material powers of the economy.[7] Historians such as Jon Elster and David McLellan have scoured Marx’s writings for evidence of his rationale on historical materialism. Elster points to Das Kapital, Marx’s preface in A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, and what he refers to as ‘rambling, disconnected passages’ in The German Ideology as key sources.[8] He explains: Historical materialism is not simply a theory that accords a privileged place to economic factors. It is, more specifically, a form of technological determinism. The rise and fall of successive property regimes are explained by their tendency to promote or fetter technical change.[9] On Marx’s writings on the historical modes of production, Elster argues that Marx ‘does not provide applications and clarifications of the general theory.’[10] According to Elster, there is no suggestion that each of the three precapitalist modes of production (primitive communism, slave society and feudalism) divides into a progressive stage (in which the relations of production correspond to the forces of production) and a regressive stage (in which the correspondence becomes a contradiction). On the contrary, Marx consistently claims that technology was essentially unchanging from antiquity to the early modern period (with the exception of the invention of gunpowder, the printing press and the compass), and that the destabilising element in the ancient world was not the development of the forces of production but population growth. Elster is also critical of Marx’s account of the (then) impending transition from capitalism to communism. He argues that as Marx insisted that technical change in capitalism was accelerating rather than slowing down, he could not claim that capitalism was moribund in its stagnation. Rather, Elster insists, Marx would have to argue that the proletariat would be motivated by the prospect of a communist society which would benefit from technical change at an even more accelerated pace. This in itself is an unlikely motivation as people revolt when conditions deteriorate or when their expectations of improvement are not fulfilled, rather than when there is an abstract possibility of a society in which conditions could be even better than they are already. McLellan is less critical, appearing to methodically signpost the scholar through the confused abstracts. While he does not specifically mention determinism, he points to it by highlighting the inevitability of worldwide communist revolution above all else. He draws the reader’s attention to the following Marx quotations: Things have come to the point where individuals must appropriate the existing totality of productive forces not merely to achieve self-activity but to secure their very existence. In all appropriations up to now a mass of individuals remained subservient to a single instrument of production. In the appropriation by the proletarians, a mass of instruments of production must be subservient to each individual and the property of all. The only way for individuals to control modern universal interaction is to make it subject to the control of all. Communism is not [†¦] a state of affairs still to be established, not an ideal to which reality will have to adjust. We call communism the real movement which abolishes the present state of affairs. [11] The salient point here is that McLellan draws on these passages to illustrate that socialism for Marx was an economic reality rather than an ethical ideal. This represents a paradigm of determinism in Marx’s writing. The fundamental assumptions of historical materialism as viewed by Marx, irrespective of any period of history, can therefore be summarised as follows: humans are social animals who live in a complex society; human society consists of humans collectively working on nature to make the means to life; human society develops a complex division of labour; over time humans advance their harnessing of nature through the development of science and technology; human beings have the ability to reflect on their society and interaction with nature, but their thinking and organisation are always preconditioned by and dependent on the state of development of their society and of the power structures in their society. Let us now consider whether these assumptions are compatible with the concept of economic determinism. (c) Marxist theory and economic determinism As discussed in section (b), according to Marx, each social mode of production produces the material conditions of its reproduction, that is ideology (which encompasses all the political, law and cultural spheres). Thus ideology permits the mode of production to reproduce itself. Marx also believed that in the event of a revolutionary force changing the mode of production, the dominant class would immediately set out to create a new society to protect this new economic order. In the nineteenth century, Marx felt as if the bourgeoisie had essentially accomplished the establishment of a new societal and economic order, instinctively creating a society protective of their capitalist interests. This prompted Marx (and Engels) to direct this statement from the Communist Manifesto at the bourgeoisie: Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class, made into law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economic conditions of the existence of your class.[12] From this, it is argued that Marx and Engels did not believe men could arbitrarily choose any one of several forms of society, but only that one which promotes the prevailing mode of production. The very nature of man’s materialistic constitution requires that he do this. Marx hence criticised man’s alienation, a concept which he latter replaced by the critique of commodity fetishism. ‘Vulgar Marxism’ has considered that the relation between the economical infrastructure and the ideological superstructure was an unicausal one, and thus believed in economic determinism. This has been criticised by Marxist theorists such as Helmut Fleischer, who dismissed it as a form of economism or economic reductionism. He claimed the relationship is much more reciprocal and complex than unilateral determinism would have it. There are also scholars who reject this view. Fleischer highlights those who objected that economic determinism is a meaningless generality, and that any serious historical explanation of economic realities must also refer to non-economic realities. This becomes a more conspicuous problem when it is unclear which branch of determinism is implied. In this respect, when Marx writes of the ‘economic base’ and the ‘ideological superstructure’ of society, he was making a generalisation about the broad sweep of history, to the effect that people ultimately will follow their material self-interests, whatever else they may imagine about their motivations. However, according to Marx, the dynamics of history were shaped precisely by the clash of those interests (class struggle), and that clash could not be understood simply in terms of economic self-interest, because it also involved human traditions and values. The end result of economic determinism in this view is b oth economism (a narrow focus on how people earn their livelihood) and economic reductionism (the attempt to reduce a complex social reality to one factor – i.e. the economic – such that this one factor causes all other aspects of society). This plays directly into the hands of the business class, and ultimately ended in an anti-working class position, whereby the allegiance of the working class is merely a ‘tool’ to be used by the political class to modernise an economy, with the aid of forced labour if need be.[13] Taking the above points into account, it could be argued that Marx considered economic determinism as the creative force in human evolution. He clearly advocated a change in economic structure as the only feasible means by which to effect social change and to refine the intellectual make-up of humanity. His advocacy of the inevitability of worldwide socialist revolution and communist society could certainly be described as deterministic in outlook. At the same time it should be remembered that Marx was fully aware that the economic aspects of life did not constitute the sum total of mankind’s preoccupation and social make-up. On this basis, therefore, it would appear that Marx’s historical materialism is compatible with the specific notion of economic determinism, rather than falling under the broader category of determinism as a whole. Bibliography Berlin, Isaiah, ‘Historical Materialism’ in Tom Bottomore (ed.), Karl Marx (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1973) Easton, Loyd D. Guddat, Kurt H. (trans. ed.), Writings of the young Marx on philosophy and society (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967) Elster, Jon, An Introduction to Karl Marx (Cambridge: CUP, 1986) Fleischer, Helmut, Marxism and History (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1973) McLellan, David, The Thought of Karl Marx: An Introduction (London: Macmillan, 1971) Rader, Melvin, Marx’s Interpretation of History (New York: OUP, 1979) Web references Economic determinism, Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences, maintained by Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada (http://bitbucket.icaap.org) Karl Marx Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, Australian National University (www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html) 1 Footnotes [1] It is almost impossible to discuss Marx’s theories on history without referring to Friedrich Engels, Marx’s lifelong friend, fellow philosopher and co-author of many works. The influence of Engels has been intentionally minimalised for the purposes of this essay as the issue in question refers to Marx alone. [2] Economic determinism, Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences, maintained by Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada (http://bitbucket.icaap.org, accessed July 28, 2006). [3] Helmut Fleischer, Marxism and History (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1973), passim. [4] ibid. [5] Jon Elster, An Introduction to Karl Marx (Cambridge: CUP, 1986), p. 103. [6] Isaiah Berlin, ‘Historical Materialism’ in Tom Bottomore (ed.), Karl Marx (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1973), p. 56. [7] Isaiah Berlin, ‘Historical Materialism’ in Tom Bottomore, op. cit., pp. 58-60; Melvin Rader, Marx’s Interpretation of History (New York: OUP, 1979), pp. 12-14. [8] Jon Elster, op. cit., p. 104. Marx published A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy in London in 1859. Marx and Engles co-wrote The German Ideology during the spring of 1845. It was published posthumously by the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow in 1932. [9] Jon Elster, op. cit., pp. 104-105. [10] ibid, pp. 106-108. [11] Loyd D. Easton Kurt H. Guddat (trans. ed.), Writings of the young Marx on philosophy and society (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967), pp. 426, 467 et seq, reproduced in David McLellan, The Thought of Karl Marx: An Introduction (London: Macmillan, 1971), p. 36. [12] Karl Marx Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party (first published 1848), accessed online at the Australian National University website (http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/ marx/classics/manifesto.html, July 30, 2006). [13] Helmut Fleischer, op. cit., pp. 45 et seq.

Cognitive psychology Essay

Cognitive psychology focuses on how a person interprets a picture or message. For example, a double figure drawing such as the top down example below is one part of the cognitive thinking process. Another mental exercise is the bottom-up perception of drawings and messages.   Often times, the judge in court cases would ask the professional interpretation of the psychologist to help mitigate or aggravate the current sentence of a criminal offender. The following paragraphs explain in detail what cognitive psychology means. 1. what advice would you give a judge to persuade her or him of the potential danger of wrongful conviction based on eyewitness testimony as the sole or primary kind of evidence? Support your claim using cognitive psychology research. The judge should not base his sentencing only on the sole eyewitness’ statement. For, the judgment should be mitigated or aggravated by the professional opinion of the psychologist.  Ã‚   It is a standard procedure for the U.S. judge to ask the Forensic psychologist  Ã‚   to give a psychological profile of the defendant. The psychologist will then make a profile of the psychological well –being of the person charged in court. The psychologist then applies the theories of cognitive psychology to determine the behavior, pathology and motivation and submit his findings to the judge. The judge will then include the psychologist’s professional opinion increase the defendant’s sentence for aggravating reasons (Burke 1). On the other hand, the judge could also decrease the defendant’s sentence for mitigating reasons. And the psychologist’s findings will be used either as an aggravating or mitigating evidence.   Normally, the psychologist can draw up the behavioral tendencies of the defendant by viewing the other evidences on the crime scene, the statements of various witness, friends, neighbors and relatives and prior psychological findings.   The psychologist is very much needed in the juvenile courts because the child’s behavior is not as mature as those who are eighteen yrs old and above. Generally, the juveniles commit crimes because of their psychological growth is not normal ( or abnormal?), The psychologist can recommend to the judge to transfer the child to child rehabilitation center for psychological rehabilitation(Barsalou 5). Likewise, the psychologist can persuade the judge to lessen the sentence in adult criminal cases.   The psychologist can opine that the sexual offense was psychologically caused by the defendant’s state of mind at the time of the crime. He or she could have been abnormal then. The psychologist can recommend a plea bargaining agreement with the Judge using his psychological findings in order to reduce the sentence that has been mandated by the criminal laws of the United States( Berger 10). In addition, the psychologist can issue his opinion to the courts regarding the reliability of the lone witness’ psychological profile. For, the witness may not qualify as a lone witness if the psychologist opines that witness’ statements were hallucinations, a big lie, or simply made because of the witness had misinterpreted the situation as what is was not. The psychologist will then assess the stimuli – response   makeup (cognitive psychology) of the offender. The psychologist can also assess the criminal offender’s impulse control and potential for the individual to commit crimes. Likewise, the psychologist can opine to the judge that he defendant cannot psychologically defend himself or herself in the witness stand (Gillespie , 27). This will then be a ground to decrease the sentence of the defendant upon conviction. To reiterate, the psychologist can tell the court that the defendant was psychologically abnormal when he or she committed the crime. Thus, the judge must compulsorily use the psychologist’s evaluations of the defendants and the witnesses to plug the holes in his sentencing process. Also, the sex offenders would need the psychologist’s hand to help them. The psychologist would then tell the court that the sexual offender’s sentence be reduced to being jailed at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center.   The psychologist would go about by stating that the defendant’s psychological makeup is the main cause of his continuing spree of sexual abuse cases. 2. Describe what implicit memory is. Based on Reber (1993) how is implicit learning and memory different from explicit learning and memory. Implicit memory states that prior experiences affect the current behavior of a person even though the person does not intentionally exert a single effort to ponder over his or her prior experiences.   Likewise, repressed memories of the past are equated with implicit memory.   For example, improving ones’ job performance falls under implicit memory and learning. This is the main reason why many companies prefer to hire and give higher salaries to people who have many years of hands –on experience behind them when they apply for a job. Definitely, a carpenter that has worked in house construction for the past twenty years would definitely be more skilled than a carpenter has tucked under his belt only one week’s hands –on experience.   Whereas, explicit memory is the conscious and intentional recalling of a person’s past experiences and informational data (French 26). A very clear example is trying to remember what today’s itinerary or hectic schedule is.   It would include a ride in the park with the family, a meeting with the board of directors in the company, or a customer dropping by to purchase new products. Another is trying to recall the details asked for in the Civil war classroom test. Further, trying to recall the ATM password or the email address log –in username and password when withdrawing money from the ATM machines falls under Explicit learning and memory. In short, explicit memory and learning entails effort exertion which includes thinking about one’s past experiences.   It also includes talking about one’s past experiences and writing them done. Further, it includes studying ones’ past experiences. For, they will surely increase one’s expertise on doing a specific job assignment (Esgate 15). Reber stated that implicit learning refers to the variances in the behavior of a person that is influenced by past experiences. However, the person is not aware or exerts effort to try to recall the past experiences. Reber proved his theory through countless experiments including probability learning.   His probability experiments prove that the subjects were able to recognize or learn the variance in probabilities of recurring events without their knowing that their prior experiences in the same situation have improved their changes of choosing the next probable event. One Reber experiment shows that the subjects were placed in a training phase. The subjects were told to observe   1,000 scenes at the rate of two scenes in one second in one experiment. The findings of this experiment shows that the subjects were able to learn what the next outcome would be in increasing accuracy as the test went on (Reder, and Schunn 46). Another Reber experiment shows that a person that solves several problems of the same will increase his or her speed and accuracy in solving such problems due to experience. However, the subjects were not aware of that their prior acts had influenced their current speed and accuracy. This is very true in classroom math exercises (Reder, and Schunn 69). Reber further emphasizes that memory and learning consists of conscious (Explicit) and unconscious (Implicit) learning processes (O’Brien-malone, and Maybery 38).   And, Reber insists that the questionnaire index test is an explicit learning process (O’Brien-malone, and Maybery 38). 3. Define what cognitive psychology is about. Cognitive Psychology is that branch of psychology that delves into the process of how a person uses his mind to find solutions to problems, memory as well as communication. It had metamorphosed from the Gestalt school of Max Wertheirmer, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka. However, it was Jean   Piaget who increased interest in Cognitive Psychology with his theory that people have different cognitive processes from infancy to old age. Naturally, he emphasized that child cognitive learning is much different from a married person’s cognitive learning. Going deeper, cognitive psychology involves how the brain solves mathematical and other real life problems. And, the cognitive scientists believe that the problem solving cognitive process boils down to the basic stimulus and response theory.   For, each stimulus gives different responses to different people (Fleck, 6). What are the main topics? History. Cognitive psychology had branched out from mainline psychology into its own specialized field in the 1950s and 1960s as discussed in Donald Broadbent’s masterpiece entitled Perception and Communication in 1958.   It focused on the processing of information with the incorporation of Donald Broadbent’s paradigm theory. Basically it was a study on how a person thinks and reasons as he tackles each problem or situation in real life or in the classroom. Broadbent emphasized that the brain is a the central processing unit of the human being.   Then, George Miller created the WordNet which is the foundation for many machine ontologies today. This was also the basis that has permeated from cognitive psychology to other fields like social psychology, personality psychology, abnormal psychology,developmental psychology.   Currently, current cognitive theories are being attacked from many sides. One such side is the dynamic system proponents. Further, cognitive psychology has gathered the fruits of researches in artificial intelligence and other fields of expertise in the 1960s and the 1970s (Esgate 15). Major research areas.   Currently, the major research areas of cognitive psychology are general perception, psychophysics, attention, pattern recognition, object recognition and time sensation (Berger ). Cognitive psychologists.   The list of cognitive psychologists continues to grow through the years. Some of the more famous ones are Johan Anderson, Robbie Case, Lev Vygotsksy, Alan Baddeley, Frederic Barlett, Aaron T. Beck, Donald Broadbent, Reber, Jerome Bruner, Fergus, Craik, Keneth Craik, Hermann Ebbinghaus. Albert Ellis, and Jean Piaglet (Berger, 4). What are some basic assumptions? Cognitive process involves a stimulus and the corresponding response to such stimulus. Basically, cognitive theory states the problems in math and other real life situations can be easily accomplished with the use of algorithm. Algorithm is the set of rules that will give a specific solution for a set of inputs. For example, one plus one (inputs) is equal to two ( the algorithm here is to count how many ones are there). Here, the rules for cognitively solving problems are rather vague or too complex for the simple -minded person to comprehend.  Ã‚   Logically, there is another way of cognitively solving problems. This is what is called in psychology circles as heuristics. In sharp contrast, heuristics shows that the rules of solving classroom and real life problems are clearly understood but the final solution varies from one situation to another. What are some of the different methods employed by cognitive psychologists? The psychologists employ several methods to deepen their study of cognitive psychology. One such method is the scientific method. Another method is to use a person’s cognitive outfit in terms of belief, motivation and desire that are part of the mental processes. But, they always use subjects in their researches on how a person interprets a picture, a messages or other types of communication signals passing his or her way.

The Effects Of Childhood Maltreatment On Children And...

According to the Administration for Children and Families (2013), there are one million verified cases of childhood maltreatment reported annually in the United States. This constitutes approximately 35% of the childhood population in the United States. Of these cases, 79.5% were the result of neglect, emotional abuse, and abandonment. Over 3% of these children attempted or completed suicide (Administration for Children and Families, 2013). Dr. Todd Herrenkohl and colleagues conducted a 30 year longitudinal study children in the child welfare system, Head Start programs, and daycare centers (Herrenkohl, Hong, Kilka, Russo, 2013). Throughout the study, Herrenkohl conducted the GAD general anxiety assessment, the Beck Depression†¦show more content†¦One’s experiences in early childhood create the foundation from which perceptions of the self and others are created (Marmarosh Tasca, 2013 and Snyder, Shapiro, Treleaven, 2012). These experiences are associated with the development of neural pathways in the brain that control responses to stress (Marmarosh Tasca, 2013), and impact attachments and relationships in adulthood (Snyder, Shapiro, Treleaven, 2012). The diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been used for nearly three decades (Kisiel, Fehrenback, Torgersen, 2014). It has been proposed that the various consequences of interpersonal traumas, particularly in young children, are not sufficiently explained by the diagnosis of PTSD (Kisiel et al., 2014). According to Carruth (2006), psychological trauma is the most frequently observed complication in those in recovery from alcohol and substance use disorders. Failing to diagnose and treat those individuals with substance use disorders who have also gone through some form of trauma early in life perpetuates the cycle of addiction. Attachment theory, first hypothesized by Bowlby over five decades ago, has seen resurgence in recent years (De Rick, Vanheule; Verhaeghe, 2009). Significant aspects of attachment theory have reinforced the idea that the relationship

Pros and Cons of a Closed Shop in the Workplace

If you decide to go to work for a company that tells you it operates under a â€Å"closed shop† arrangement, what does that mean to you and how might it affect your future employment? The term closed shop refers to a business that requires all workers to join a particular labor union as a precondition of being hired and to remain a member of that union during the entire term of their employment. The purpose of a closed shop agreement is to guarantee that all workers observe the union rules, such as paying monthly dues, taking part in strikes and work-stoppages, and accepting the terms of wage and working conditions approved by the union leaders in collective bargaining agreements with company management. Key Takeaways: Closed Shop â€Å"Closed shops† are businesses that require all of their workers to join a labor union as a precondition of employment and to remain members of the union in order to keep their jobs. The opposite of a closed shop is an â€Å"open shop.†Closed shops are allowed under the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, intended to prevent businesses from engaging in labor practices that harm workers.  While union membership offers workers advantages, such as the power to negotiate for higher wages and better working conditions, it also has potential  drawbacks. Similar to a closed shop, a â€Å"union shop,† refers to a business that requires all workers to join the union within a specified length of time after they are hired as a condition of their continued employment. At the other end of the labor spectrum is the â€Å"open shop,† which does not require its workers to join or financially support a union as a condition of hiring or continued employment. History of the Closed Shop Arrangement The ability of companies to enter into closed shop arrangements was one of the many workers’ rights provided by the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) — popularly called the Wagner Act — signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 5, 1935. The NLRA protects the rights of workers to organize, bargain collectively, and prevent management from taking part in labor practices that might interfere with those rights. To the benefit of businesses, the NLRA prohibits certain private sector labor and management practices, which could harm workers, businesses, and ultimately the U.S. economy. Immediately after enactment of the NLRA, the practice of collective bargaining was not viewed favorably  by businesses or the courts, which considered the practice to be illegal and anti-competitive. As courts began to accept the legality of labor unions, the unions began to assert greater influence over hiring practices, including the requirement for closed shop union membership.   The surging economy and growth of new businesses following World War II spurred a backlash against union practices. In reaction, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which banned closed and union shop arrangements unless authorized by a majority of the workers in a secret vote. In 1951, however, this provision of Taft-Hartley was amended to allow union shops without a vote of the majority of the workers.   Today, 28 states have enacted so-called â€Å"Right to Work† laws, under which employees in unionized workplaces may not be required to either join the union or pay union dues in order to receive the same benefits as dues-paying union members. However, state-level Right to Work laws do not apply to industries that operate in interstate commerce such as trucking, railroads and airlines. Pros and Cons of Closed Shop Arrangements Justification of the closed shop arrangement is built on the unions’ belief that only through unanimous participation and â€Å"united we stand† solidarity can they ensure the fair treatment of workers by company management. Despite its promised benefits to workers, union membership has decreased notably since the late 1990s. This is largely attributable to the fact that while closed shop union membership offers workers several advantages such as higher wages and better benefits, the unavoidably complex nature of the unionized employer-employee relationship means that those advantages can be largely wiped out by their potential negative impact. Wages, Benefits, and Working Conditions Pros: The process of collective bargaining empowers unions to negotiate higher wages, improved benefits and better working conditions for their members. Cons: The higher wages and enhanced benefits that often won in union collective bargaining negations can drive a business’s costs to dangerously high levels. Companies that become unable to pay the costs associated with union labor are left with options that can harm both consumers and workers. They may raise the prices of their goods or services to consumers. They may also outsource jobs to lower-paid contract workers or stop hiring new union employees, resulting in a workforce that is unable to handle the workload.   By forcing even unwilling workers to pay union dues, leaving their only option being to work somewhere else, the closed shop requirement can be viewed as an infringement of their rights. When a union’s initiation fees become so high that they effectively bar new members from joining, employers lose their privilege of hiring competent new workers or firing incompetent ones. Job Security Pros: Union employees are guaranteed a voice — and a vote — in the affairs of their workplace. The union represents and advocates for the employee in disciplinary actions, including terminations. Unions typically fight to prevent worker layoffs, hiring freezes, and permanent staff reductions, thus resulting in greater job security. Cons: The protection of union intervention often makes it hard for companies to discipline, terminate or even promote employees. Union membership can be influenced by cronyism, or a â€Å"good-old-boy† mentality. Unions ultimately decide who does and who does not become a member. Particularly in unions that accept new members only through union-approved apprenticeship programs, gaining membership can become more about â€Å"who† you know and less about ​â€Å"what† you know. Power In the Workplace Pros: Drawing from the old adage of â€Å"power in numbers,† union employees have a collective voice. In order to remain productive and profitable, companies are compelled to negotiate with employees on workplace-related issues. Of course, the ultimate example of the power of union workers is their right to halt all production through strikes. Cons: The potentially adversarial relationship between the union and management — us vs. them — creates a counterproductive environment. The combative nature of the relationship, spiked by constant threats of strikes or work slowdowns, promotes hostility and disloyalty in the workplace rather than cooperation and collaboration. Unlike their non-union counterparts, all union workers are forced to take part in strikes called by a majority vote of the membership. The result is lost income for the workers and lost profit for the company. In addition, strikes rarely enjoy public support. Especially if striking union members are already better paid than non-union workers, striking can make them appear to the public as greedy and self-serving. Finally, strikes in critical public sector agencies such as law enforcement, emergency services, and sanitation can create dangerous threats to public health and safety.