Opinion: Without declaring independence, Naath can never get ahead!

By Chatim Thorkurjock,

July 29, 2021 — It was recognized that many Naath (nuer) are victims of South Sudan’s oppressive system and without declaring independence they can never get ahead. I am not a freedom fighter. Freedom fighters do not exist. The people fight for themselves in 2021. Naath need to value themselves since the rest of the world only value their oil. 

Many things are very clear in South Sudan,we learned perfectly that the oil in South Sudan is in Naath(nuer) territory and my father Tito ThorKurjock taught me perfectly that the life of a single ‘Ran’ (1 Nuer) is worth millions times more than all the resources in South Sudan. 

Marx was an influential thinker, who helped develop many ideas which advanced sociological theory. A key concept of sociological theory is that it can be applied to society in many different ways and consistently reapplied to evaluate what is occurring between Naath and Dinka and why. Karl Marx laid the foundation for many advances in sociological theory, revealing that history can provide lessons for humans living in modern times. In this paper, I will outline three key concepts developed by Marx; the concept of society being produced rather than prearranged, the concept of capitalism and the theory of conflict. I will also discuss how these three concepts are useful in exploring contemporary society by explaining why they still hold relevant today. The three areas of Marxist thought which I will discuss all advanced sociological theory by creating an examination of economic social relations in a much deeper and connected way. 

Marx opposed the idea that society is pre-arranged. Instead, Marx argued that society is the outcome of man’s actions. Marx claimed that people are products of circumstances and upbringing, not helpless beings subject to the world predestined for them (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 86). Marx argued the society we experience around us is the outcome of people’s actions; therefore we have influence on our experience by creating the circumstances of the world in which we live. It is upto Naath to remain in

South Sudan or declare their independence. This concept is relevant to Naath nation today because it can be used to create important dialogue around how an independent nation is formed. The power imbalances and systematic issues of South Sudan today arose from the interactions between British,Naath,Dinka,Arabs and institutional barriers maintained by various power structures in South Sudan. Marx offered a warning to future nations, to remain aware that the world we live in is not pre-set, but in fact rises from our actions. He left seeds of revolutionary possibility for sociological theorists to read, think and expand on. As many modern day sociologists highlight, the Western world seems to accept systems of power as inevitable. We live under patriarchy and race,tribes and class imbalances, where most people in society simply accept these things as “the way it is”. Marx’s concept of society being produced is significant in 2019 because it allows us to question the systems of power that currently dominate our society. The steps towards positive change and moving society towards equality are complex, but part of the solution is contributions from sociological theory highlighting why inequalities and injustice exist within our world. An example of this is the sociological lens used to look at poverty; considering the wider causes which contribute to someone being poor, such as the intersections of gender, race,tribe and class. In evaluating poverty this way, it was recognized that many people are victims of an oppressive system and without declaring independence they can never get ahead, this in turn leads to social programs such as financial support and low income housing being developed. We must acknowledge the inequality that exists in society rises out of systemic issues, something Marx recognized early on in his theory of society being the outcome of people’s actions. 

Marx’s theory of capitalism is one of his most famous concepts. Many people associate Marx with this idea. For Marx, capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are mostly privately owned and capital is invested in production, distribution and other trade goods and services for profit. The key for Marx is humans are alienated from the product they produce, the profit and one another (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 97). For Marx, the alienated labor reduces human freedom and this combines with the workers being separated from the profit, because in capitalism a profit exists outside

the hands of the proletariat, to limit the poor lower class in all aspects (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 98). Marx held objectification, alienation and extraction of surplus profit was the framework of capitalism. These fundamental flaws, Marx argued, would lead to the dissatisfaction of the working class (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 101). The concept of capitalism helped advance sociological theory by directing scholars to study the interaction between those who owned and controlled the means of production, thus gaining profit, and those who provided alienated labor. The concept of alienation that is strongly linked to Marx’s theory of capitalism is valuable for sociological theorists today because people are becoming more and more alienated from the goods they produce and also consume. Capitalism is not only useful to examine contemporary society, it is absolutely crucial to bring into sociological consideration of the modern Western world. Capitalism essentially dictates our society; many of human interactions are based on the desire to gain profit and surplus. The very base of society, structured around business and markets, production, selling and consuming, is rooted in the ideas highlighted by Marx early on. Marx recognized capitalism was dangerous for social relationships (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 100). This is significant, especially today, because in many ways our society is fuelled by capitalism more than ever before. Marx suggests that sociological theorists seriously evaluate the structures of capitalism and highlight the issues this system of economic exchange creates for society. I believe that if Western society is to shift in a way that can help the environment and keep us from becoming totally isolated consumers, we must revisit Marx’s critiques of the capitalist system. Marx suggested early on that this dominant system of isolating exchange would cause problems, and I believe we are seeing the climax of some of these problems today. People in other countries are exploited for cheap labor, people buy more than they need, and everyone is motivated by profit. Sociologists today can apply Marx’s approach, if not his concept of capitalism, in critiquing what we see happening in the world around us, in hopes we can make people question their motivations for engaging in such a consumer based society and perhaps re-evaluate their participation in it.

In a famous quote from the Communist Manifesto Karl Marx states, “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles’ ‘ (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 109). This links to the third and final concept I will discuss from Marx, conflict theory and exploitation. Marx explores class and conflict in relation to the means of production. For Marx, conflict is inevitable within human societies, because he saw society as based on economics and class divides in which one group was exploited (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 109). Marx claimed that conflict inevitably arose from capitalism causing alienation for certain individuals. Marx theorized that those who control the means of production will always hold the power; putting them in conflict with the lower working class (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 110). Marx held that so long as society is based on a capitalist system, where human interactions are based on labor, there will always be class divides of rich and poor; and these divides will result in conflict between the two groups. This links strongly to Marx’s concept of exploitation because Marx theorized that eventually the working poor, proletariat, would rise up and rebel against the rich, bourgeoisie, once they realized the exploitative nature of the system. In his work Capital, Marx discusses how exploitation of workers will become worse with improvements in machinery, longer working hours to substitute lower wages and increasing pace of work (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 135). Marx held that this exploitation would inevitably lead to conflict, which he argued would be violent and disruptive. Conflict theory is perhaps one of the most relevant terms from Marx in examining contemporary society, because this theory explains how exploitation of lower classes will result in clashes in society. This is significant for sociologists in 2019 because we are seeing these conflicts rising up more and more. Modern society has become a hotbed of class struggles and violence, often due to exploitation of certain groups over others. 

Theory often emerges from one specific area, as with Marx posing conflict theory based in economic exploitation, but then it can be applied to broader areas. When considering conflict theory through a sociological lens, a contemporary example I can think of links to my own life. In my home country of Sudan, Nuer and Dinka are two groups who are fighting despite being incredibly similar. These two tribes were not always at war, much like Marx suggests that the poor working class is forced into

conflict due to circumstances; the same can apply to social situations. Nuer and Dinka began fighting intensely due to the arrival of British colonists in Sudan. Nuer did not want to be colonized, but the Dinka formed relationships with the British, and thus conflict between the two tribes arose. However, this was not the people’s natural way and violence never existed this way prior to colonization. This is evidence for what Marx suggests, that when conflict arises out of power imbalance and economic disparity, it is often violent (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 108). 

Marx theorized the imbalance of power is what creates tension, which builds until the boiling point, when conflict inevitably erupts and the upper class fall via the revolutions started by the lower class (Bratton & Denham, 2019, p. 108). For Marx, conflict is linked to economics and because we live in a capitalist society, there will always be conflict as a part of human life. For Marx, so long as humans are functioning under a capitalist system, there will be conflict. This concept of conflict is a particularly important topic for sociologists to consider in 2019. As the human population reaches staggering numbers, understanding the ways we can best interact to maintain peace is crucial. The stakes of human conflict have been raised drastically with the development of nuclear weapons and brutal military technology. I have experienced firsthand the devastation that war can evoke on a society; and I understand how vital it is for us as sociologists to delve into questions of human nature around conflict, so that we may better prepare ourselves to avoid or mediate conflict peacefully whenever possible. 

In many ways, Marx’s early theories set him as a prophet of areas to be explored by contemporary sociologists. Marx studied and discussed the outcomes of our produced (rather than prearranged) society, economic exploitation and class struggles. In forming the base of these ideas, Marx provided areas of focus which advanced sociological theory. In this paper, I discussed three key concepts developed by Marx; the concept of society being produced rather than prearranged, the concept of capitalism and the theory of conflict. I highlighted how these three concepts are useful in exploring contemporary society by explaining why they are relevant for sociologists today. Karl Marx laid the foundation for many advances in sociological theory. As we move forward as sociologists in the modern world, it is crucial that we

consider how past theories link to our current social issues in South Sudan. Perhaps applying lessons first noted decades ago will assist us in navigating the complex social problems of contemporary society. Even if that means the birth of a new nation. #Rolh Naath 

The author can be reached through email at cthor109@mtroyal.ca

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