Critically explain the salient features of ‘alienation’ as propounded by Karl Marx. 10 Marks (UPSC CSE Mains 2024 - Sociology, Paper 1).
Marx first explained the concept of alienation in Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts. Alienation occupies a central role in the Marxian understanding of exploitation. He dwells on it in his work Economic and Political Manuscripts 1844. Alienation is a feeling of estrangement and disenchantment from a group, a situation in society, and even oneself. It refers to a situation of powerlessness isolation and meaninglessness experienced by the people when they confront social institutions which they cannot control and consider oppressive.
Marx discussed four forms of alienation
- Alienation of the worker from their product: The design and development of a production rest not in the hands of a worker but within the decisions of the capitalists. A worker does not have control over what he or she intends to produce or the specifications of his or her product.
- Alienation of the worker from the act of production: The production of goods and services within a capitalist society is repetitive and mechanical which offers little to no psychological satisfaction to the worker. Labor seems coerced because a worker undertakes this as a means of survival.
- Alienation of the worker from their species-essence: The species-essence or "Gattungswesen" of an individual comprises all of his or her innate potential. Under a capitalist mode of production, an individual losses identity and the opportunity for self-development as he or she is forced to sell his or her labor power as a market commodity.
- Alienation of the worker from other workers: The reduction of labor to a mere market commodity creates the so-called labor market in which a worker competes against another worker. Labor is traded in a competitive labor market instead of considered as a constructive socio-economic activity characterized by collective common effort.
Criticisms
- First, later thinkers have said that Marx’s explanation was not worked out in terms of its implications and how it might be eliminated. The solution of communism has not occurred and does not seem a likely prospect in the near future.
- Second, while Marx’s approach to the study of alienation helps us understand the labor market as well as its living and working conditions, all of these have changed considerably since his time. Today, there are labor laws in place everywhere. While one could argue that the Foxconn example is from today’s times, it can equally be argued that it was because of the backlash that the company was forced to respond saying it would replace some of the jobs with robots.
- Third, another common criticism of Marxism is that it focuses solely on class, ignoring other forms of segregation. Marx saw the roots of alienation only in the exchange of labor and private property.
- Fourth, since the term alienation is so popular, it is loaded with meaning and is often used in subjective experiences of estrangement.
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