Marx's theory of alienation

Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) was a German philosopher, sociologist, economist, and political theorist, particularly known for his political theories of Marxism and Communism. Max Weber (1864 – 1920), who along with Durkheim was influenced by Karl Marx, was a German philosopher, and sociologist, educated in law, history, theology, and economics. Both were highly influential in the field of sociology, and both commented on the nature of religion. However, their ideas on the subject did differ. This…

Karl Marx in his work, Manifesto of the Communist Party, states that the history of all existing society is the history of class struggle. Marx’s ideal revolution is set in Europe as communism is spreading. During this ideal revolution, Marx has two main classes, the proletariat which is the industrial working class and the bourgeoisie, the owners of the means of production. The simplification of class antagonisms is caused by globalization and industrialization. Additionally, in an ideal…

In contemporary society, the works of Max Weber and Karl Marx are seen as the foundation of modern social theory. However when I look at these writers, they have lived at different times and as we know “Social Change is ubiquitous and ceaseless” so what the writers lived through would have been times that were always evolving. ( Macionis and Plummer, 2012) Marx lived from 1818 to 1883 and was influenced by the unrest that was erupting across Europe around the time which was caused by social…

Durkheim on Suicide One of Emile Durkheim’s famous theory are his types of suicides. He theorized that there are four different types of suicide; egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic. Egoistic suicide occurs when a person begins to feel as a loner in their social group. Altruistic suicide is when a person becomes too involved in their social group that their own personal needs are forgotten. Anomic suicide occurs when there is a lack of social norms. The last type, fatalistic suicide, is…

of work Karl Marx’s study of estranged labour plays a vital part in understanding today’s contemporary work place. The notion of estranged labour is the separation of labourers or workers from the products of their labor as well as the labor process, their fellow works and from their bodies and human potential. All taken away and alienated by the employers in an attempt to dominant the work force (Marx 1964:111). One of Marx’s great contributions was the highlighting of how alienation is…

Marx’s theory of alienation describes the estrangement of a group of people due to a stringent class structure. The reason this is so important in our present day society is because although we have a relatively moderate class system, the wealthier people of society…

free market capitalism causes this estranged labor. He says that this type of economical and political system causes people to be alienated from “the product…from species-being…from other human beings…in productivity work” (Wolf 2003). He uses this theory to show us the effects that a capitalist society could have on all aspects of a human, his physical ability, his mental capacity, his social life and the obvious economic life. Marx adds to this bashes capitalism and says that unrestricted…

Marx outlined four components of alienation; (I) alienation from the product of labour; (ii) alienation from productive activity; (iii) alienation from the human species; and, (iv) alienation from fellow human beings. Alienation from products…. Productive activity, or the work process, is another aspect of alienation. It is traditionally highly hierarchised, routinised, segmented and seemingly meaningless. However in the very machinery and processes created by Modernity he saw a means of human…

University, which then led him to his book The Wealth of Nations. Smith eventually became a professor at Glasgow University where he taught logic, jurisprudence, and political theory. The next year he became a professor of moral philosophy and ethics. Smith soon became an international celebrity after publishing his two books The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth and…

controversial and important documents in modern world history. It deals with many ideas but the three main ones are class struggle, alienation and communism. These three aspects are still alive and well today which just goes to show how timeless this piece of work is. This essay will discuss these three ideas and critically asses Marx’s and Engel’s views on class struggle, alienation and communism. Class Struggle: One of the most prevailing ideas from the Communist Manifesto is class…