Karl Marx’s Theory of alienation describes the separation of things that in nature belong together. It also discusses the placement of resentment between things that ought to be in harmony with each other. In particular, the theory describes social alienation or the estrangement of people from certain aspects of human nature as a result of living in societies that are divided into social classes between the rich and the poor (Krugman, 2002).
Marx’s theory of alienation in respect o capitalism is very relevant in our contemporary society. According to Mészáros, (1970) alienation can almost be seen everywhere in the modern society. In this case, alienation means separation from what is desirable. Marx idea of alienation is in the context of capitalism where production is geared purely towards obtaining profits disregarding human value and exploiting nature to attain selfish ends.
Marx recognized the process through which people find things that are useful in nature and changing them into more useful things. Marx fondly referred to the process of converting cotton into cloths and the conversion of iron ores into iron bars and steel. According to Cox, (1998) this was the genesis of capitalism (Mészáros, 2006). It was impossible for all the people to discover and exploit the resources that were found in the ancient times jointly and all at once. Those who were nearer the sources dominated the exploitation and claimed the resources. They then employed other people to dig the resources and they would pay them wages. This is rife in the modern society where some people have inherited wealth and resources and they continually amass more wealth by employing those who have limited access to resources (Dahms, 2006).
At the moment the world is in a state of unequal and combined development which leads to alienation. The alienation exists in the form of those who currently produce being alienated from those who benefit from the produced goods (Mészáros, 1970). The contemporary society relies on money which replaced barter trade. The use of a universal commodity- money as a medium of exchange has changed trading making it more dynamic (Geyer, 1980). The produce of commodities that are of value is now less important as that of the consumer or the one who has the purchasing power.
The contemporary society is rife with claims of ownership which negates nature where there is nothing such as ownership. According to Marx nature own us and it is now people who own nature. In the contemporary society whatever a person strives to create becomes his or hers and they can trade in that commodity in a manner that they deem fit (Rifkin, 1995). This means that people who are less endowed with the ability and the natural resources to create are left out and have to be at the mercy of those which create. This is best exemplified by the oil producing nations which dictate the market prices and affect the growth of nations that are energy-deficient.
When land was taken up by the bourgeois, some people became landless. The coming of industrialisation provided a loophole through which the landless could make a living. They trooped to cities in search of employment. The people were thus “forced” to work for money in order to survive. Money became a universal commodity that was a fetish of adoration and it was seen as having a magical power to convert into everything else that was important to human life (Blackledge, 2008). To date money is the single most sought after commodity in the world. In itself money, cannot be worn or eaten but its exaltation has reached unprecedented level in contemporary society. Money has become an alienating factor in the modern society and societies that do not regard its importance and are still rooted in barter trade are termed as backward and uncivilised.
There has been widespread alienation in production due to the advent of technology. Marx argued that the existence of machines to replace human labour served as a critical point if alienating the rich from the poor. The rich own the production facilities and their use of machines renders people jobless thus denying them money to purchase basic commodities such as food. This is true in modern society where robots and other technologically advanced devices have replaced human labour say in the production of motor vehicles (Devorah et al, 2006). This trend is continuing and many industries are automating their production functions thereby rendering many people jobless. This has led to massive strikes as the “have-nots” complain of alienation by the “haves” in the society.
The number of labour unions in the world is increasing to ensure that workers are treated properly and remunerated accordingly. This follows in the theory of alienation by Marx posited that the more the poor in the society are alienated, the more they join up to fight the rich in the society. In contemporary society people have come to believe in the strength that is inherent in unity especially in situations where people are fighting for common interests (Pappenheim, 1964). The fall of major oppressive empires and dictatorships in the Arab World, and in the communist societies in the USSR attests to this claims.
References
Blackledge, P. 2008. Marxism and Ethics. The Journal of International Socialism 23(212) 12-18.
Cox. J. 1998. An introduction to Marx’s theory of alienation. Issue 79 of INTERNATIONAL SOCIALISM, quarterly journal of the Socialist Workers Party (Britain) Published July 1998 Copyright © International Socialism. Retrieved, 29 April 2013 from; http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj79/cox.htm
Dahms, H. 2006. Does “Alienation” Have a Future? — Recapturing the Core of Critical Theory, John Wiley. NY.
Devorah K. Fishman, Lauren Langman & Lanham, 2006. The Evolution of Alienation: Trauma, Promise, and the Millennium. John Wiley. NY
Geyer, R. F. 1980. Alienation theories: A general systems approach. Amsterdam.
Krugman, P. 2002. "The Class Wars. Part I: The End of Middle-Class America (and the Triumph of the Plutocrats). The New York Times Magazine (October 20), pp. 62ff
Mészáros, I. 1970. Marx’s Theory of Alienation. New York: Harper.
Mészáros, I. 2006. Marx's theory of alienation. Delhi: Aakar Books.
Pappenheim, F. 1964. Alienation in American Society, in Monthly Review Volume 52, Number 2.
Rifkin, J 1995. The End of Work. The Decline of the Global Labour Force and the Dawn of the Post-Market Era. New York: Tarcher/Putnam.
