Karl Marx
Eesha David
Professor Young
LA- 102
May 21, 2015
Alienation in the work place Who is Karl Marx? Karl Mark was a German philosopher and revolutionary socialist. “The theory of alienation, as expressed in the writings of Karl Marx, refers to the separation of things that naturally belong together, or to put antagonism between things that are properly in harmony” (Boundless). This means anything that should normally be put together has been alienated in some way at the work place. Marx identifies four aspects of alienation highlighting the correlation between capitalist and the under valued worker. Who is very often ostracized from the labor they’ve produced. The first type of alienation is from the worker and the work he or she has produced. This means although a person may have put all their sweat equity in goods or laboring they have produced, they do not see any of the benefits outside of their pay wages. They work for the market, however they are not appreciated or respected for the work they have done. Many times the goods made by he or she is later sold at a much higher rate. These people start to feel alienated within a world they should feel apart of. The second type of alienation I understand to believe is alienation from other people. This type of alienation is monotonous and tedious behavior in a work place. For example working on an assembly line require little concentration because of the repetition requirements. These workers also provide services and goods, however they also are not recognized. This behavior can make one feel as though they are foreigners in there own world. The third type of alienation is from the species essence. This was the most challenging alienation for me to understand. What I understood this to mean was Marx felt as though people should have a sense of interconnection and satisfaction within their work related environments. By working harmoniously with co-workers as opposed to being alienated from other workers. The
Professor Young
LA- 102
May 21, 2015
Alienation in the work place Who is Karl Marx? Karl Mark was a German philosopher and revolutionary socialist. “The theory of alienation, as expressed in the writings of Karl Marx, refers to the separation of things that naturally belong together, or to put antagonism between things that are properly in harmony” (Boundless). This means anything that should normally be put together has been alienated in some way at the work place. Marx identifies four aspects of alienation highlighting the correlation between capitalist and the under valued worker. Who is very often ostracized from the labor they’ve produced. The first type of alienation is from the worker and the work he or she has produced. This means although a person may have put all their sweat equity in goods or laboring they have produced, they do not see any of the benefits outside of their pay wages. They work for the market, however they are not appreciated or respected for the work they have done. Many times the goods made by he or she is later sold at a much higher rate. These people start to feel alienated within a world they should feel apart of. The second type of alienation I understand to believe is alienation from other people. This type of alienation is monotonous and tedious behavior in a work place. For example working on an assembly line require little concentration because of the repetition requirements. These workers also provide services and goods, however they also are not recognized. This behavior can make one feel as though they are foreigners in there own world. The third type of alienation is from the species essence. This was the most challenging alienation for me to understand. What I understood this to mean was Marx felt as though people should have a sense of interconnection and satisfaction within their work related environments. By working harmoniously with co-workers as opposed to being alienated from other workers. The
Cited: Boundless. (2014, 11 14). Work and Alienation. Retrieved 05 20, 2015, from https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/economy-16/work-120/work-and-alienation-678-7760/?