Marx's theory of alienation

The alienated labor (also alienated labor) is a coined by Karl Marx concept of alienation under capitalism. In a broader sense provides work for Marx a central category is to understand alienation in various social formations.

" Economic- philosophical manuscripts "

The concept of alienated labor, Marx formulated in the unpublished in his lifetime Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, representing the first major political-economic work of Marx and were not published until 1932. Marx came there to the conclusion that the workers still a growing, foreign to him wealth in the form of private property produced by its activity in the hands of the capitalist class, by means of which it is exploited again. Private ownership would therefore product of alienated labor, as well as means by which the alienation of labor further implemented constantly. The worker therefore produced in its activities not only a growing number of foreign goods to him, with them, he reproduced also at the same time it exploitative wage labor itself and the commodification of his work. With the ongoing "recovery of the thing world " suppose " to devaluation of the human world in direct proportion. " The The workers will all the poorer the more wealth he produces. The alienation by the employer-employee relationship between worker and capitalist manifests itself in four forms:

Changes in the " Theses on Feuerbach " and " The German Ideology "

Marx was the time of writing the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts in his argument still strongly influenced by the concepts of Ludwig Feuerbach, as reflected for example in the reflection on alienation of species-being. 1845 Marx criticized in the unpublished also during his lifetime, and in 1888 brought out by Friedrich Engels Theses on Feuerbach feuerbach materialism and his man. Feuerbach would look at the people and nature as finished articles, and do not realize that the people themselves deal with their environment and and change. The human being must therefore be regarded as an ensemble of concrete social relations, rather than as an out of real life processes of people sitting abstraction. Those phenomena of reality, which were passed under the concept of alienation, it is in the Scripture also first published in 1932 held The German Ideology (1845 /46), could not an idea, or be conceived an abstract human being. The alienation must be obtained from the real social contradictions, which must be received by the people in their life process. To combat those phenomena that were passed as alienation, can not be appealed to an idea or abstract human beings, it must be change those social conditions that produce alienation.

In Scripture, The German Ideology, Marx also problematizes even the concept of alienation to the effect that this would be pre-embossed idealistic and therefore often could be misinterpreted. So he 's speaking only of " alienation ", " to the philosopher to remain comprehensible. " He means here with alienation, especially that the hierarchical social division of labor, the establishment of social activity, in short, the formation of classes and the associated disposal of the labor of others individuals in their free development limits. The social interaction in the production of life does not appear to individuals as their own power, it is a strange, standing outside them, mediated by the social relations of violence. This circumstance could only be lifted by the fact that people are able both to recognize their own forces as social forces and organize them to identify and remove the social contradictions that arise from the concrete social relations of the people. On the other hand, are fully developed productive forces is a prerequisite, and a repeal of the hierarchical division of labor allow. Thus, the man could make his environmental conscious act and change his social existence would not confront him as an alien, determining power him, but as a permit to comprehensive individual development.

"Das Kapital"

In Marx's economic masterpiece, the capital, is alienated labor is no theoretical category. Marx uses only occasionally the term in different contexts. Whether he has the concept of alienation systematically integrated into his theory of the capitalist mode of production, or whether he used other concepts it is controversial.

For example, notes Marx, that the " become independent and alienated form which ever the working conditions and the work product against the workers is the capitalist mode of production ", with "the machinery to complete contrast " himself ( MEW 23: 455 ) develop. This consideration he formulated in connection with the production of relative surplus value ( increase the added value through increased productivity ) and the real subsumption of labor under capital. In the big industry is not the tools means of the workers, but the workers would only accessory to production machinery.

Elsewhere he formulated similarly to the German ideology alienation as a power that comes from the social relations and the actors confronts as an alien power. Thus he writes, the capital show - ( MEW 23: 274), " more and more as social power ... but an alienated social power became independent, the opposite occurs as a thing, and as the power of the capitalists through this thing of society."

In a summary of certain remarks in Capital, Marx takes up some points of alienated labor, as he already formulated in the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts:

Reception

Key works of Marx's theory of alienation were not published until the 30s of the 20th century, which is why former Marxist theorist with these Marxian considerations could not deal in itself way as later. With the release began a boom in reception who tried often to reinterpret Marx's theory in the context of the changed source location. In particular, the economic- philosophical manuscripts were taken into account are to face it the real socialist practice.

The reception can be roughly divided into two directions. One saw in the early work of the philosophical basis for the later economic studies and the philosophical program of Marx. His work revolves around the conditions for the abolition of alienation of man in modern society and therefore to the emancipation of the people. Others, however, emphasized the theoretical break between the early work and the later - Marxist - works. Marx argued in his early work in the world of ideas of Feuerbach and Hegel. He grab for example, coming back to Feuerbach's version of the generic nature of man (as he criticized in the Theses on Feuerbach ) back and think otherwise in categories Feuerbach and Hegel. The theoretical revolution of Marx would be just at the break with Hegel and Feuerbach. The later Marx practically abandoned concept of alienation tends to suggest that he replaced this theoretical concept by other concepts. The suggestions outlined in the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts theses can not be understood as a philosophical program of Marx, therefore, according to this view.