Outline Marx's Theory Of Alienation

1. Outline Marx’s theory of alienation, including the four forms experienced specifically by the ‘proletariat’, and the notion of ‘species-being’. Is the theory at all persuasive? Give detailed reasons for your answer.

Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Prussia to a middle class family. He witnessed first-hand the rise of the industrial revolution and the beginning of capitalism. He became one of capitalism’s strongest critics. Personally, I tend to agree with Marx’s views. Marx identified two social classes in his time: the bourgeoisie (owner) and the proletariat (labourer). The bourgeoisie owned the product, the means of production, distribution and the profit. The worker only had the means to offer labour. Marx was a strong supporter of the proletariat.

It defines us and lets us express our full potential as people. It lets us fulfil our species-being. Before the industrial revolution, many people had skills and worked for themselves as carpenters, bakers, tailors or blacksmiths. They identified the work they did as an extension of themselves. Their specific craft made them feel valued by society and gave them a sense of pride and purpose. Let’s take the example of a baker, they were in charge of the entire process of their craft. They had to choose the ingredients; decide on the method of baking as well as distribute it. They were also in charge of their own hours and had some control over how much money they made. In this way, the baker’s bread was an extension of his self and he was living his full human potential. That was not the case with capitalism. Under capitalism, the proletariat experienced alienation from one’s species-being. Alienation from one’s self robs a person of all they can contribute to world and well as deprives us of a feeling of purpose and pride from doing work that makes us feel valued. What we contribute to the world is a manifestation of our creativity. In a product-based capitalist society people lose their sense of self and who they are, because all they are is a cog in a gigantic machine. We should do work that fulfils our inherent purposes in life and achieve our full potential as human beings. There are three others types of

Due to the fact that a laborers vision and purpose is reduced to wages and because they lack connection the product and process, it is logical that people would be alienated from one another. The capitalist society puts people in competition and because of this, everyone looks out for themselves. Laborers compete for higher wages, better hours and better benefits. They look out for themselves and their needs and not for the best interests of the group. There is little to no concern about a collective common good and a sense of cooperation. This is sad because there are so many benefits of people working together for a common purpose. Working as a group fosters creativity and learning. Instead of an individual deciding on all the aspects of the product and thus only having one pool of a knowledge, by working as a group, new and fresh ideas are likely to arise. Collaborating on a project creates enthusiasm for learning that solitary work usually lacks. This will evoke passion in the laborers for producing the product. This would also ensure that laborers get to express their individual creativity, thus fulfilling their species being. Working as a group increases efficiency in the production of the product. Working hours could therefore be decreased because they’re working faster. Wages could possibly also increase because they’re making more products and therefore making a higher profit. Working in a group also fosters a