ALIENATION

ALIENATION

 

Marx wrote the Economic and philosophic Manuscript, in 1844 Max’s discussion of alienation in “Estranged Labour “one of his parts of the manuscript. Broadly speaking , alienation denotes the establishment of  the individual a d the root cause of it is  the concept of ‘Fetishism ‘By fetishism he means to suggest that individuals somehow com to disscociate themselves fro. Their own products, whether these be material things or ideas. In this sense these products of humanity ‘own creativity are treated as’ fetishes: they are treated as objects are thus set apart, they are alien and come to dominate people,

The concept alienation ‘occurs a wide variety of disciplines , including , sociology ,social and political  philosophy, psychoanalysis existential philosophy and so on In addition it has been to explain ethnic prejudices , mental illness , class Consciousness, industrial conflict , political apathy and extremism

In order to understand Marx ‘s theory of alienation , it is necessary to look the idea of Hegel ‘s alienation , In fact Hegel was the first who introduced the term “ alienation ‘in his work demanded an investigation into abstract philosophical concept and spiritual forces such as consciousness and  reason “ Though Hegel beloved that struggle for self emancipation takes place between self –consiousness and abstract force in the external world , Marx thought that this struggle was acted out on the economic front .the hence for Marx , the struggle for -realisation is a material struggle played out on the economic front and this shift replaced Hegel’s abstract struggle in thought ,

The central theme of Marx’s theory of alienation is the idea that man has lost control over his own destiny and sees this control vested in other entities In other words, man who creates society but feels alien from his own creation .Marx’s basic analytic concern was with the structures of capitalism that causes alienation. Alienation has been described by Coser  “ as a condition in which Men are dominated by forces of their own , which confront them as alien powers “’ Alienation in domain of work has a fourfold aspect of production , from himself , and from the community of his fellows .

 

(1) Alienation from the product:

The product of their labour does not belong to the workers, to be used by them in order to satisfy basic needs. Instead, the  product belongs to the capitalist who  may use in it any way they wish .Marx rightly stated :

 

The object produced by labour, its products , now stands opposed to it as an alien being ,as a  power independent of the producer ….. The more the worker expands himself in work the more powerful becomes the world of objects which he creates in face of himself the poorer he become in his inner life , and the less he belong to himself ,93 In short ,the worker  spends his life and produces everything not for himself  but for the powers that manipulate him

 

(2) Alienation from productive Activity :

The second form of alienation discussed by Marx is alienation from productive Activity  or the process of production .In this type of alienation “ human beings  lose control over the capacity of their Labour to affirm their being and define their -self -existence “’ As Marx puts it  ,

 

However, alienation appears not  merely in the result but also in the process of production , within productive Activity itself …. If the product of labour is alienation, production itself must be active alienation ….The alienation of the object of labour merely summaries the alienation in the work activity itself .

Workers here do not work for themselves in order to satisfy their own needs .Instead, they work for capitalists who pay them in return for the right to use the workers in any way they see fit Thus Marx identified two “ hostile  groups “ one is the other is the proletariat ‘i.e. working class or labourers .Once object is finished  it belongs to the other man who is free to  use it in whatever manner he chooses

 

(3) Alienation from Himself.

The third type of alienation is discussed by Marx is alienation from himself /herself . Workers in capitalist society are alienated from their own human potential .At this point worker cannot fully develop the many sides of his personality .Marx rightly points out

 

 

Work is external to the worker … It is not part of his nature : consequently he dose not fulfil himself in his work but denies himself … The worker therefore feels home only during his leisure time , whereas at work he feels homeless “ In work (the worker ) dose not belong to himself but to another person “ This is the relationship of the worker to his own activity as  something alien , not belonging to him , activity as  suffering (passivity), strength as  powerlessness, creation as emasculation , the personal physical and mental energy  of the workers , his personal life … as an activity which is directed against , himself , independent of him not belonging to him

 

Therefore, it can be said that individuals perform less and less like human beings as they are reduced in their work to animals beasts of burden, or in human in the spheres

 

(4)  Alienation from the Community :

 

The fourth type of alienation discussed by Marx is alienation from fellow human beings and from the human social community. Marx assumed that “ people basically need and want to work cooperatively in order to appropriate from nature what they need to survive . But in capitalism this natural cooperation is disrupted, and people ,often stranger are forced to work side for the capitalist ‘ In this context , Marx stated :

Man is alienated from men .When man confront himself he also confront other men. What is true of man S’ relationship to his work, to himself, is also true of his relationship to other men … each man is  alienated from human life.

 

 

It can be side on the basis of above question, that the worker is alienated   only from himself but from other men, who belong to his community also   Each man is alienated from other , and each of the others is likewise alienated from human life .

In short, Marx argues that people are alienated from one another from their products , from the process of  production ,and finally from their society .The. root cause of these forms of alienation own is to be found in the way social relations are structured by a social system which is. Organised around the sanctity of the private ownership of the means of production .In capitalist society, such a system dehumanise people into a mere commodity, labour, which can impersonally be bought and sold on the labour market. Thought alienation exists in all societies which have private property of the means of production, Marx argued that only in capitalist society had it reached its fullest, most crippling development.

 

MARX’S THEORY OF SOCIAL CHANGE

 

Marx’s theory o social change is central to his all writings from methodological to theoretical orientation. The nation of social has been found in every stages of human society. Marx’s believed that men make their own history. The major theme of Marx’s theory of social change, according to Coser, is: “Human history is the process through which men change themselves even as they pit themselves against nature to dominate it. In the course of their history men increasingly transform nature to make it better serve their own purposes. And, in the process of transforming nature, they transform themselves.”118

The concepts class struggle, superstructure, substructure and mode of production are key to Marx’s theory of social change. Class struggle, Marx’s believed, plays a very crucial role in the dynamics of social change. According to him, human history is the history of class struggle. However, the various groups and categories are involved in the class struggle differ in different stages to human history depending upon the peculiar mode of production of that period. He sees class struggle as the crucial mechanism for changing social system. In fact, in all stages of human history, two groups are found to be significant: a group having a strong interest in maintaining the existing system, and a group having a strong interest in changing it. Social change comes about through the struggle-political, legal, economic, possibly even military-between these two groups.

Marx’s has discussed two basic structure of society, i.e., the infrastructure or sub-structure and the ‘relations of production’ make up what Marx terms the economic base or the substructure or infrastructure of society. His theory is that changes in society stem from the economic base/substructure. The other parts of society, such as religions, familial and political institutions, are in effect shaped by the nature of the economic base. These other parts he calls the superstructure of society. The figure given below demonstrates in diagrammatic from how these concepts are related. Social change can be represented as starting at the bottom of the triangle and working upward to the top of it

On the basis of above model of society, it can be said that infrastructure of society plays a major role in the process of social change. These changes will automatically brings change in the superstructure. Marx’s theory of social change could be more applicable to the capitalist society and the formation of classless society, I.e., communist society. Marx argued that many factors could bring about social change. In order to bring about a new type of society, the bulk of population, the free labourers, had to become aware of was happening in their society. They had to become an active social group, a social class, based on the common bond, the common plight and common identity. The workers, organise as a class-in and for-itself, Marx called the proletariat. At this stage, the proletariat will overthrow the bourgeoisie and the forces and relation will be replaced by social solidarity in the affaire of human being. As a result, a classless society, i.e., communist society will be formed.

In fact, Marx’s theory of social change is complex in nature and content. Marx’s major concern was to describe and explain the workings of the capitalist system rather than to establish and develop a theory of social change. However, in this thought and writings, theory of social changes has got a key position to describe and explain the dynamics of social change in all types of society.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Karl Marx was greatly influenced by the writings of Hegel especially his writings on the Philosophy of History. Karl Marx believed that Hegel had found a general historical law, called the dialectic, but attempted to make it materialistic by explaining the historical process in economics rather than metaphysical terms and applying its classes rather than nations. He thus tried to explain history in terms of the struggle between classes instead of the struggle between nations as Hegel had done.

 

German philosopher Karl Marx was a great social thinker of the twentieth century. His contribution not only recognised in sociology but also social sciences s whole. Due to his distinct contribution, a special school of thought has been established called Marxism. Marxist ideas have found place in almost all disciplines of social sciences. Marx’s writings mainly discussed in two parts

(1)   Youthful Marx; and
(2)   Mature Marx.
Youthful Marx is mainly for his humanistic thought while mature Marx is for scientific in thought. Marx touched upon all the fields or aspects of society. He sees societal evolution through dialectical approach. His theoretical orientation is also considered as evolutionary in approach.

However, Marx’s great achievement lies in the application of synthetic approach. Marx described wide-ranging body of work in the analysis of sociological thought.  Marxist ideas provide a wide range of methodological, conceptual and theoretical orientation in the field of sociology. In addition, he also gives a direction to revolution, and the communist manifesto is the handbook of revolutionaries around the world. At this point, Marx establishes a theory of class-struggle and the concept of alienation.

The notion of alienation and surplus value make a ground, according to Marx, for class-struggle in which finally a socialist types of society would be established. “History of al hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle” is the central thrust of class-struggle. Here, Marx has applied his methodological tool, i.e., dialectical materialism in different historical stages of society from primitive to capitalist mode of production. This theoretical approach what he calls historical  materialism.  Due to the theory of class-struggle, Marx is considered to be the father of conflict approach. At the same time, he has also analysed social stratification, family and religion from the viewpoint of conflict approach. Religion, he goes on to say is opium for the society. He, therefore, explained everything from the parameters of two classes-dominant and depressed. In his theoretical understanding, social change is the inevitable part of any society.

In a nutshell, Karl Marx is definitely original in thought and approach because he has presented a new theory of and the new philosophy that can bring about emancipation of downtrodden people. He struggled throughout his life and on the basis of his experience, he presented the philosophical understanding of social reality. However, his economical emphasis is still relevant in present context also. In fact, his thought really seems to be practical in nature of his times and space.

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