Marxist Theory Paper

Marxist Theory

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Marxist Theory of Alienation

Introduction

Karl Marx’s theory of alienation was presented in his “Economic and Philosophic

Manuscripts of 1844” which was produced in 1932. In the theory, he opined that the

proletariat (the working class; which includes, for example, low-skilled factory workers and

farmers) had become estranged from the essence of their humanity due to the dominant

capitalist mode of production. Where workers sell their knowledge, skills, and power to

capital holding bourgeoisie (the wealthy), but do not retain any control over the product

(Kalekin-Fishman, 2015). Marx outlines that alienation occurs because capitalism stops the

individual from determining their own life, as they accept control over their actions,

relationships and the product of their labour whilst at work. A capitalist society is a private

system of economic interactions, which reduces workers to objects and commodities by

moulding them into efficient and mechanised producers. The implication is that work - an

area traditionally from which fulfillment could be derived is now a source of alienation due

to the limited expression that is available through production.

Types of Alienation

Marx outlines that Alienation takes different forms depending on estrangement due to

separation from the product, the production process, and other members of the capitalist

society or the essence of man as a species.

1. Alienation from product

According to Marx (1970), a worker puts his life into the object and his life no longer

belong to him but to the object However, this situation does not cause alienation in an

agrarian society where the worker owns the capital (land) which allows him to profit from his

labour. This works because the cost of production is less than the revenue from the product.

When the worker does not own the means of production then this creates alienation, because

the value put into producing the goods (which is, in essence, the worker's life) is less than the

value of the product. This means the product has a higher value than the worker, thereby

creating a power dynamic between the worker and their product. Additionally, the worker

does not have control over the product as he neither owns nor can influence the product; this

perpetuates the feeling of alienation (Rubin, 1982).

2. Alienation from the act of production

Marx described human beings as "labouring animals" given that production is a

permanent aspect of human life. This implies that it is critically important especially since it

is such an integral way of expressing oneself (Shah, 2015). Through the division of labour,

however, the worker is forced to carry out a single, replaceable, monotonous job utilising

“only one or two aspects of their human powers at the expense of all the others” (Cox, 1998).

Therefore, the worker cannot find satisfaction or fulfilment in their job. As such, they feel

unrelated and disassociated from the process of production, which instils the perception of

work as "forced-labour". This 'feeling' is further perpetuated by the provision of wages,

which only serves to make work a 'necessary evil' in order to satisfy external financial needs.

In this regard, money generates a disconnect between work and reward.

3. Species Alienation

Species alienation refers to the instance in which human beings feel separated from

their natural human characteristics. Marx outlines that our natural human characteristics or

‘species essence’ is what separates us from other animals as we have a "consciousness of our

work" and attempt to innovate, change and improve it. However, in capitalism, money - and

therefore work - is a necessity that dictates and controls the worker’s life, which is not

“spontaneous, free activity”, but rather instructed and rigid thereby suppressing our natural

human instinct (Marx, 1970). This causes an alienation from your species and the workers

natural self.

4. Alienation from other People

Karl Marx believed that human beings are social and universal beings who cannot live

in isolation (Shah, 2015). Therefore, as the mentioned forms of alienation begin to erode the

stability of the worker’s self, it affects the worker's ability to relate to their surroundings,

which means the worker begins to become alienated from other people. The power relations

created by the means of production are such that interactions with other people are estranged

through objectification. The colleagues who work with or around the individual become

commoditised objects of competition, who are pitted against each other to see who can most

efficiently complete a task in the eyes of the capitalist. Furthermore, the competition is

presided over by the 'management' who control the workers’ actions; imposing a suppressive

force on the workers self. This further perpetuates the workers’ alienation from other people.

Alienation in the 21st Century

Karl Marx formulated his idea of alienation at a time when mechanised industries

were taking over from the handicraft economy of the agrarian era. In the 21st century,

according to the Mckinsey report, similar changes have occurred with technological

advancements driving further divisions of labour and automating many traditionally manual

jobs (Bughin, 2012). The results is a breakdown of the skilled labour force, resulting in

higher demands in the labour market for both high-skilled jobs such as doctors and low-

skilled jobs like those of waiters and call centre operators which perpetuates the increasing

income gap. As such alienation in the 21st century is still present, as skilled labour roles

break down into smaller mechanised roles, workers feel isolated from a production process

they once knew and now have to accept a lower skilled and less fulfilling job. This further

separates them from their basic human instinct or human essence. Moreover, the polarisation

of skills in the workplace fuels further alienation from other workers as low-skilled

individuals become increasingly homogenous and commodified. Using technology,

capitalists are able to easily control and monitor the workplace, which strengthens the class

divide between capitalists and workers. Furthermore, the fact that the workplace is becoming

increasingly dominated by technology is causing an exteriorisation of knowledge. The reason

for this is that individuals have to acquire and retain less information and perform less

complex tasks, hence reducing the fulfilment in production and in the worker's basic instincts

(Lyotard, 1979).

The reduction in face to face contact due to increasing use of technology has

perpetuated alienation at home; where communication with friends and family may be

separated and alienated mainly due to social media and smartphones. These “novel forms of

separation” facilitate an alienation from the realities of daily life (Kellner, 2006). The worker

is now alienated at work by the reduction in human contact, and in normal daily necessities -

due to new technologies such as self-checkout machines and online stores - he is now further

being alienated at home; which should be his sanctuary (Haddad and Senter Jr, 2017). This

could be considered as simply a problem with modern society; however, it is more likely that

this is an expansion of capitalisms reach. The basic relationship between alienation and

technology has remained constant, yet the effect of this relationship depends on the

individual's economic and social context. A recent study that asked people to record their

daily momentary happiness on their smartphones found that paid work was consistently the

unhappiest time in an individual’s day, with the exception of being sick in bed. Therefore, we

are clearly still unhappy at work which is inevitable just as Marx theorised (Bryson 2017).

Conversely, it could be argued that new technologies have been crucial in reducing

alienation, particularly through the internet, which has improved access to information,

education and different types of jobs through globalisation. Vercellone (2007) calls this effect

“cognitive capitalism”, which is characterised by a highly digitised labour force which he

argues helps to disseminate knowledge through increased connectivity (Vercellone, 2007). In

addition growth of affordable higher education, particularly in the global north, gives people

the skills and knowledge that allows them to find better paid and more fulfilling work. Carter

(2014) argues that if the worker could find a job that is fulfilling “he would be able to largely

circumvent personal sacrifice, and therefore the alienation of his labour” (Carter, 2014).

However, Öksüz and Öztürk (2017) suggest that online degree courses that are used as an

affordable alternative in many developed and developing countries have incurred problems

with alienation as well. The lack of contact creates a dissociation which means it is both

harder to learn and teach (Öksüz and Öztürk, 2017).

Hothschilds (1985) identifies the emotional cost the worker has incurred as the service

industry has taken over from manufacturing industries in the global north. This means that

rather than selling the worker's body for use in labour, the worker is required to sell their

private emotional self -hence engaging in emotional labour which is often in the form of "a

smile to the capitalist", who uses it to provide a service (Hothschilds, 1985). Despite this,

Marx’s critique of alienation allows for the possibility to overcome capitalism. The worker

can gain their dignity by recognising their fundamental humanity through self-determination -

when they engage with their natural human ‘essence’. However, this cannot happen unless

individuals are within inclusive communities that permit growth of self-esteem (Langman

and Albanese, 2014).

The rise of neoliberalism has led to an increase in the value of leisure and

consumption, consequently, the value assigned to work - when viewed as an integral part of

self - has decreased. This means that people have much higher expectations for their

consumption, meaning they feel less alienated by work because it does not feel an integral

part of them. However, they are increasingly alienated by the limitations of their

consumption. This is because although capitalism seemingly caters and liberates our

demands, in reality, it is a calculated objectification of the individual that gives rise to a

standardised and normative sense of choice (Archibald, 2009). When this is analysed with the

alienation an individual endures because of work, it demonstrates a displacement of their

basic human needs for hedonism and consumerist patterns. As such, enough satisfaction is

derived from work that they are alienated from themselves and cannot comprehend their

situation. However, when people’s needs are not met, or they realise they are being ignored

or alienated, it leads to populist uprisings like those that have been seen in the 'Arab spring'

and more recently in the election of President Donald Trump and the Brexit vote (Marcuse

1969; Tejerina, 2013). This means that the essence of alienation is conserved, however, it

(alienation) now stems from consumer trends and disillusionment with the government.

In conclusion, Marx’s theory of alienation is still relevant today, despite a subtle

change in through alienation. The concept of alienation is highly applicable to the modern

day, yet it is now more associated with consumption and production-based alienation. The

central element is the quest for dignity, for recognition as a worthy human being - this was a

central concern for Marx. Since there is significant scope for the realisation of dignity, a

concerted effort should be given to assign social characteristics to capitalist processes. This

would overcome the inherent problems within capitalism; however, the alienation

experienced through consumption will be hard to combat. Marx’s solution would be to make

everything we consumed ourselves, although this is extremely unrealistic given the current

rate of our society.

References

Adibifar, K. (2016). Technology and Alienation in Modern-Day Societies. Int'l J. Soc. Sci.

Stud. 4

Archibald, W.P. (2009). Marx, globalization and alienation: received and underappreciated

wisdoms. Critical Sociology. 35:151-174.

Bryson, A. and MacKerron, G. (2017). Are you happy while you work? The Economic

Journal. 127:106-125.

Bughin, J., et. al. (2012). The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through

social technologies.

Carter, G.L. (2014) Alienation in Capitalism: Rediscovering Fulfilment. Honours thesis. Uni.

of New Hampshire.

Christ, O. (2015). The Concept of Alienation in the Early Works of Karl Marx. European

Scientific Journal. 11

Cox, J. (1998) An Introduction to Marx’s Theory of Alienation. International Socialism. 79

Haddad, A., and Senter, R. (2017). The Relationship of Technology to Workers Alienation.

Sociological Focus. 50:159-182.

Hochschild, A. (1985) The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. Uni. of

California Press.

Kalekin-Fishman, D. (2015). Designs for alienation: exploring diverse realities.

Langman, L. and Albanese, D. (2015). Political economy and the normative: Marx on human

nature and the quest for dignity. Constructing Marxist ethics: critique, normativity,

and praxis.

Langman, L. (2006). Globalization, Alienation, and Identity: A Critical Approach. The

Evolution of Alienation: Trauma, Promise, and the Millennium. 179-200.

Lyotard, J. (1984) The Field: Knowledge in Computerised Societies. Manchester Uni Press.

Marcuse, H. (1969). An essay on liberation (Vol. 319).

Marx, K. (1970) Estranged Labour. Economic and philosophic manuscripts of 1844.

Öksüz, Y., and Öztürk, M. (2017). Relationship between Levels of Student Alienation and

Attitudes of University Students. Universal Journal of Educational Research. 5:1182-

1191.

Shahm I, M. (2015). Marx’s Concept of Alienation and Its Impact on Human Life. Al-

Hikmat. 3:43-54.

Tejerina, B., et. al. (2013). From indignation to occupation: A new wave of global

mobilization. Current Sociology. 61:377-392.

Vercellone, C. (2007) From formal subsumption to general intellect: Elements for a Marxist

reading of the thesis of cognitive capitalism. Historical Materialism. 15:13–36.

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