Theory of Alienation

Marx 's Theory of Alienation

Marx used the `theory of alienation ' to expose what he claimed as a highly exploitative , unfair social relationship existing in a capitalist system which effectively divides society into two opposing groups . He argued that this unfair social relationship came into being because of the concept of private property ' which , according to him , refers to a situation where the means of production (such as factories and plants are owned by private persons . This private ownership of the means of production gave birth to the two antagonistic social classes

: the property owners [or the capitalists] and the propertyless workers (Alienation , n .d

According to Marx , here lies the first alienation of the workers in a capitalist society . The capitalists own the means of production and the workers have only their labor to sell so that they could survive . Using the plants and factories at their disposal , the capitalists utilize the labor of the workers to enrich themselves by producing surplus value or profit . What worsens the situation for the workers is the fact that capitalists , in to increase their profit or maximize their surplus value , are disposed to keep wages to the minimum , often barely enough for workers to live a humanely comfortable life . Needless to say , the lower the wages paid to workers , the greater the profit for the capitalists (Alienation , n .d ) This led Marx to assert that under the capitalist system , the only way to go is for the workers to become poorer and for the capitalists to grow richer . He cited the fact that in capitalist societies , there is an ever increasing number in the `working poor ' families who remain mired in poverty although every family member works , often more than one job . [because] the wealth of the few depends on the poverty of the many (Introduction , n .d ) In other words , capitalism , according to Marx , was tailored so that capitalists who control the means of production should get rich and the workers , whose labor produce the coveted surplus value are shamelessly exploited

Then the workers are alienated from the activity of working ' itself Marx claimed that workers in a capitalist society do not work because they want to , or enjoy what they do . Neither do they work to improve their lot nor to create a happier , more humane society . Rather , they work simply because they have to earn in to live . In other words Marx said that they are forced ' to work - implying that workers in a capitalist society are far from being happy individuals who have no control even over the course or objective of their labor . The decision rests solely on the capitalists who have already acquired control over their labor after paying for it . Since the only goal of capitalists is more profits , their only objective , therefore , is to utilize labor to gainful undertaking regardless of whether their enterprise benefits society or endangers it . Marx declared that If greater profits can be made with weapons than with...