Aspects of Social Life - Essay Example

? Aspects of Social Life: Marx's Concept of Alienation Introduction Alienation refers to the concept of an individual being separated from their natural relations. In general, alienation refers to the state of an object or an individual being separated from its natural conditions of existence for any number or type of reason (Meszaros, 2006). With regard to human beings therefore, the concept of alienation as postulated by Karl Marx refers to human beings been separated from the natural conditions which they are supposed to live in. Marx argues that the social systems put into place have led to this alienation. In particular, Marx blamed the means of production such as capitalism as leading to human alienation due to its nature (Ollman, 1976). Specifically, what Marx was most critical about with regard to capitalism was the fact that capitalism had the following issues; Profit Motive Marx’s argument against capitalism as a means of production was the fact it was not optimum due to the fact that the owners of capital were driven by the need to make profits rather than the need to just meet their economic needs. Alienation in light of the mode of production refers to the existence of antagonism between the things which should otherwise belong together. In this respect, it can now be seen how the capitalistic mode of production can lead to alienation. Since capitalism creates two sets of social classes with differing and actually contrasting needs and interests, these two classes of human beings are separated from each other (Churchich, 1990). Marx was a believer in materialism. His argument for materialism as a way to understand humanity and the essence of humans was because naturalism could not be used to define human since humans are a part of nature and therefore nature cannot be referenced in the definitions of humans. Material needs and the human desire to improve his material provisions thus become the measure by which human relations can be measured. The two groups of people who should naturally belong together are now alienated from each other by something which is not natural (a mode of production). The two groups of people are the lower class people who are the labour source for the capital owners (their employers). As Churchich (1990) says, the antagonism between the two groups arises from the fact that in a capitalistic mode of production, the capital owners will seek to get the most from the labour which the labourers provide. This would then mean that they will seek to give the least possible compensations for the labour they provide and at the same time seek to have them work as much as can be possibly achieved by a human being. The labour providers on the other hand will be looking to get the highest compensation for their labour and seek to do the least work. As these differences continue to build, tensions will be built between the two classes of people and they will be estranged from each other (Churchich, 1990). Marx’s concept of alienation clearly comes in the modern American capitalistic system where several private firms have been embroiled as the public (usually the poor workers) have accused these firms of unfairly overexploitation through overworking and underpaying them. This has led to these two classes of human beings been alienated from each other, and also to look at each other as enemies. These conflicting interests can be seen as causing alienation in a number of ways. For instance, apart from leading to alienation between different groups of human beings who should otherwise belong together, it also causes alienation in a more dehumanizing manner, which is alienation from the natural mode of producction (Fromm, 2004). Marx was a believer in materialism. His argument for materialism as a way to understand humanity, and the essence of humans was because naturalism could not be used to define human since humans are part of nature and therefore, nature cannot be referenced in the definitions of humans. Material needs and the human desire to improve his material provisions thus become the measure by which human relations can be measured. According to Fromm (2004), capitalistic mode of production alienates individuals from their very essence of being human beings. For example, while those providing labour for the richer in society are denied the essence of expressing their humanity through the means of production as they should, the higher classes also fails to use this opportunity to do actual productive work and express their human nature. For instance, those in the upper class may not do the actual production work and therefore as long as the production work can be seen as a defining process to a human being, those from the upper class who live behind well furnished offices as the lower class work lose the opportunity to involve themselves in the production activity which is essential in the development of some essential aspects of the human existence. According to his own theory, Marx reveals a completely different understanding of human cognitive development, as well as, the role of human labour in economic production and social development. Since Marx looked at labour not just as a means to an end but rather an end to itself, he argued that a person’s work defines their personality, and identity and it is not just a means of getting a livelihood (Fromm, 2004). This can be seen in today’s social world where people identify themselves in terms of what they do. For instance, when two people meet, some of the first pieces of information which they seek from each other about each other include the name and their occupation. On the other hand, Marx identified that the process of working and the end result of any form of labour leads to a satisfaction of the individual carrying out that task. In this regard, since the process of producing an economic unit from the natural resources is a vital part for the producer of the product to define their personality and identity, interfering with this process can mean that the individual is not able to interact with the process and the end product as well as they should (Churchich, 1990). This is what capitalism does to the society because it shifts the process of production. Therefore, capitalism brings disorder to humans and makes it impossible for human beings to live in harmony with nature and elements of nature. Moreover, it makes it harder for human race to live in harmony, which is the original intention of nature for human beings in terms of interactions at the same level as equals rather than with classes. Through this, Marx emphasizes on why the capitalistic mode of production is a source of alienation. Capitalism Social Classes Capitalism leads to classifications (stratification) of humans through social classes. Apart from that, in capitalism, individuals are directed by other people and thus do not act upon their own actions and feelings which define their own humanity. Due to the fact that humans are classified into to different classes, the higher classes (usually those who have the means of productions), have more power over the others and this means that the individuals are in the lower classes are not able to live their lives in full capacity as human beings (Ollman, 1976). In this regard, one may be tempted to ask how this affects the human nature and how this can alienate a human being from his nature. But Marx had a different idea on how the work of an individual affects their nature and their identity. Marx believed that the work that an individual does defines that person. Basically, what individuals do defines how they feel about themselves, how they see themselves and the value they place on themselves. According to Marx, what an individual does for a living is not just a means of survival but an essential part of their own human development, this is regardless of who that person is and what they do as individuals (Fromm, 2004). Yet, under capitalism the producer is alienated from his own work, as well as, the process of productions. First, the individual does not have the total control of how they work and how they produce what they produce. Since the individual person is using the production means of the employer who is the owner of the means of production, they can only do what the owner of the capital thinks is what is best. Considering that economic production to a human being is not just a way of survival but a way to define oneself, this causes a number of issues. The other issue which makes capitalistic mode of production to lead to social alienation is the fact that under capitalism, the individual does not own the end product but is only paid by the owner of the means of production which he or she used to produce the product. To understand how this affects the individual and the social status quo, it is necessary to refer to the above discussed issue. As Fromm (2004) identifies, Marx argued that the work of an individual is a vital part of the human nature and the development of the social and cognitive faculties of the particular individuals. In this regard, when an individual is involved in a certain production activity, they are not just engaging in a process of looking for a livelihood but are actually engaging in a process of developing a personality and self-image. If for instance a carpenter produces a piece of furniture, apart from being able to sell the furniture at a profit so that the carpenter gets as a way to get a livelihood, the carpenter sees his image, his personality and identity in the piece of work which he produces. This is because the worker first owns the product he produces with his hands and skills as a producer of his creative being before he sells it. This is however not the case under a capitalistic mode of production because the individual worker never owns the part of work he or she produces but rather the work is owned by the owner of the productions means. Division of labour Under capitalism, there is division of labour which means that the individual does not produce a finished product but rather they produce a part of a finished product. Division of labour has meant that individuals can only participate in producing one part of the product and all these many pieces are then joined together into one piece to make a whole product. This method of production is very useful to the capitalist because it means that they can increase the productivity of the individual worker thus increasing profits. In most cases, the individual workers do not benefit from the increased profits which are accumulated by making them specialised in only one area of life (Ollman, 1976). Yet, ironically, this same issue of specialisation of labour makes it impossible for individuals to be able to use their work to meet their identity needs as individuals. This is because individuals under the capitalistic mode of production rarely ever produce a complete product which they can relate to in order to see their complete works and benefit from it in way that is complete. Conclusion Marx had a very different understanding of life, nature and human socialism. Some of his philosophical ideas were not only controversial but also revolutionary. For instance, contrary to the old concept of defining humans by relating them to nature or natural things, Marx tried to understand human nature by looking at artificial things such as the mode of production which is in use in a particular society. By the time Marx was putting forward his theories the western world was just emerging from feudalism mode of production and coming to the capitalist mode of production. While Marx does not seem to attack capitalism directly, he seems to point to the fact that it is not the most efficient or optimum mode of production for a society especially due to its inability to meet social needs of the society. This is because as he argues, there are imbalances brought about by the fact that the capitalist mode of production is driven by profits and this creates a lift between the capital owners and the workers. However, capitalism seems to be a better form of production than feudalism and in this case, Marx seems to be pointing to the fact that the mode of economic production is evolving towards an optimum mode of production, with each older one being replaced by a better mode of production. Reference List: Churchich, N. (1990). Marxism and Alienation. Fairleigh: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. Fromm, E. (2004). Marx's Concept of Man. London, London: Continuum Publishers. Meszaros, I. (2006). Marx's Theory of Alienation. Delhi: Aakar Books. Ollman, B. (1976). Alienation: Marx's Conception of Man in a Capitalist Society, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More