Karl Marx - Capitalist Alienation Essay - 665 Words

Karl Marx - Capitalist Alienation THE TERM alienation in normal usage refers to a feeling of separateness, of being alone and apart from others. For Marx, alienation was not a feeling or a mental condition, but an economic and social condition of class society--in particular, capitalist society. Alienation, in Marxist terms, refers to the separation of the mass of wage workers from the products of their own labor. Marx first expressed the idea, somewhat poetically, in his 1844 Manuscripts: The object that labor produces, its product, stands opposed to it as something alien, as a power independent of the producer. Most of us own neither the tools and machinery we work with nor the products that we produce--they belong to the†¦show more content†¦Hence, Marx wrote, the worker feels himself only when he is not working; when he is working, he does not feel himself. He is at home when he is not working, and not at home when he is working. His labor is, therefore, not voluntary but forced, it is forced labor. It is, therefore, not the satisfaction of a need but a mere means to satisfy needs outside itself. Its alien character is clearly demonstrated by the fact that as soon as no physical or other compulsion exists, it is shunned like the plague. In capitalist production, goods are produced for the market in order to get a profit. What matters for the worker, as I’ve said, is that he or she gets an adequate amount for his or her labor. What is being produced is, in this sense, immaterial. It is also completely immaterial to the capitalists. So long as whatever they are making can find a market and be sold at a profit, they care not a whit whether they are selling pet rocks or bottled water. In this process, the capitalist sees the worker as merely a component of the production--a commodity (labor) to be squeezed as much as possible. Moreover, because the aim of production is profit rather than human need, the products of past labor--the machinery and materials, controlled by the capitalists--completely dominate living labor. Workers are literally slaves to the machine and the work process. It controls them, rather thanShow MoreRelated Karl Marx - Capitalist Alienation Essay709 Words   |  3 Pagesand a half ago, Karl Marx established a theory that today is known as the backbone to modern socialism and communism. Marx viewed the early capitalism of his own day as inherently exploitive. At the core of capitalist production is what is considered surplus value, the value left over after the producer (in Marx’s case, factory owner) had paid the fixed costs of production such as raw materials, machinery, overhead and wages. The left over amount was kept as profit, a profit that Marx saw that was earnedRead MoreEssay on Karl Marx and Capitalist Alienation1828 Words   |  8 Pages The concept of alienation plays a significant role in Marxs early political writing, especially in the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1848, but it is rarely mentioned in his later works. This implies that while Marx found alienation useful in investigating certain basic aspects of the development of capitalist society, it is less useful in putting forward the predictions of the collapse of capitalism. The aim of this essay is to explain alienation, and show how it fits into the patternRead MoreKarl Marx s Theory Of Alienation Essay1686 Words   |  7 PagesSociologist Karl Marx concentrated deeply on economic problems and related these matters to social issues. For example, when Marx examined capitalism in the labour sector he came to the conclusion that it drove workers to feel alienated from the product, themselves and those surrounding them. This essay will firstly give a brief overview of industrial capitalism and discuss Karl Marx’s early life and how he came up with the theory of alienation through his influences and life experiences. SecondlyRead MoreThe Economic And Philosophic Manuscripts Of 18441592 Words   |  7 Pages1844 was not published in Karl Marx’s lifetime. It is a series of fragmentary notes. Part of these notes is a piece called â€Å"Estranged Labor†. In this piece Marx rarely disputes the alienation of the bourgeoisie and focuses on the alienation of the proletariat relating to the hard work in factories in a capitalist society. I believe Marx is correct on his point of workers during his time and even so, it’s still relatable to today; there is alienation of the worker and of theRead MoreKarl Marx : A German Influential Philosopher And One Of The Intellectual Fathers Of Communism1477 Words   |  6 PagesKarl Marx is known to be a German influential philosopher and one of the intellectual fathers of communism, writing when the industrial revolution and imperialism per iod was changing the nature of both the economies of individual nations and the global economy itself. He eradicated his view on the effects these changes had on individual workers and society. This introduced many of his theories, one of which was the idea of alienated labor. Alienated labor was written in 1844, Marx sets the view thatRead MoreAdolf Marx : A Central Concern For The Young Karl Marx Essay1729 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Alienation‟ was a central concern for the young Karl Marx. Discuss the dimensions of this alienation in connection to Marx’s critique of capitalist society and comment on the contemporary relevance of this concept. Karl Marx is a critically renowned, prolific and revolutionary figure amongst historic academia and is considered to be one of the three founding fathers of Sociology. Working throughout the 19th century Marx’s work included the theory of ‘alienation’. Born in Germany, young Marx wasRead MoreEmile Durkheim vs. Karl Marx1689 Words   |  7 Pages------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Emile Durkheim vs. Karl Marx Durkheim vs. Marx Introduction: For so many years, authorities from each field have deliberated normative theories to explain what holds the society together. Almost each specialist, from structural functionalism, positivism and conflict theory perspective, had contributed their works trying to illustrate main problematic to our society. In one way, one of the EmileRead MoreKarl Marx And Alienation ( 2000 )1034 Words   |  5 PagesKarl Marx and Alienation (1,800 – 2,000 words) Introduction about Marx (1818 – 1883): mention the materials that are going to be used to back up your points (minimum of 5 scholarly materials) Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) was a German theorist who had taken the theory of alienation into consideration. He was also involved in communist party in Germany, trying to overthrow the class system. Marx had been banished from Germany for his critical thinking, and moved to England where he had become a communistRead MoreEssay about Karl Marx and a Capitalist Society764 Words   |  4 PagesKarl Marx and a Capitalist Society Through out history money, wealth and capital have dictated a way of life to the masses. Wealth dictated the lives that the rich lived and the lives of the poor that worked for and surrounded them. In some cultures your class could never be escaped in life, you had to wait for your next incarnation, while in other cultures the idea of wealth transcended a life and allowed for growth from one class to another. This is the reality of a capitalist society thatRead MoreKarl Marx, Alienation of Labor784 Words   |  4 PagesKarl Marx believed that there are four aspects of a mans alienation that occur in a capitalist society. The product of labor, the labor process, our fellow human beings, and human nature are the four specific aspects of alienation that occur in a capitalist society. Marx said that in the product of labor the worker is alienated from the object he produces because it is bought, owned and disposed of by someone else, the capitalist. In all societies people use their creative abilities to produce