Karl Marx Alienation Essay

For Marx, observable, material realities write history and shape society, which is why he focuses on human societies and their development over time, asserting that they follow a number of observable patterns of conflict.

The best point of reference for Marx when attempting to analyse society on an individual level is his writing in the “1844 Manuscripts”. Marx sees individuals as trapped in world controlled by modes of production. He views man as alienated, driven by animal instincts and lacking fundamental morality. With a focus on social psychology Marx is fixated on liberation and increasing individuals ability to directly participate in the development of their own social sphere. He proposes a theory of society within which human behaviour

This form of alienation represents the oppression of the producing class by capitalist elites. The products that workers produce no longer belong to the worker who produced them but rather to the individual who owns the worker. This form of alienation traps the worker is vicious cycle within which the more they produce, the less they actually have. This affects the worker both physically and mentally as they not only have no control over how their work is organized but also the conditions under which they work. This leads to the next form of alienation; workers are alienated from the labour process. When production occurs for the sole purpose of producing profit a couple of problems occur. The labour does not satisfy the worker by any means because the work is forced and the product produced belongs to another making it only a means to an end. The last two types of alienation exist in a more philosophical realm. The first is when the worker becomes alienated not only from their body but from their human potential. They produce out of necessity and lose the ability become a true craftsman or artist. Finally, workers become alienated from their other workers, creating a lack of morality. In a world driven by private profit, competition becomes central to survival. Individuals become experts at their craft but lack a moral understanding of life's bigger picture.