The Theory of Alienation Proven Wrong : People are more Alienated in their Community.

1787 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Karl marx theory on society

There term alienation is a phenomenon when people feeling isolated. This could be due to the environment they live in or as a result of other factors. Most people believe that there is a tendency to become alienated when they live their communities but in most cases it is the other way around, people can still be alienated even more than an outsider in their own communities. According to Karl Marx’s Manuscripts of 1844, alienation is defined as:

the separation of things that naturally belong together, or to put antagonism between things that are properly in harmony. In the concept's most important use, it refers to the social alienation of people from aspects of their "human nature" (Gattungswesen, usually translated as 'species-essence' or 'species-being'). He believed that alienation is a systematic result of capitalism.

This definition of alienation is founded upon his observation of the labor process. Karl Marx believes workers are alienated in the labor process as they have no control over their lives and destinies by being deprived of control over their actions. Workers never become independent, because they are told what to do by their employer.

Alienation is broadly defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as :

The state of feeling estranged or separated from one’s milieu, work, products of work, or self. Despite its popularity in the analysis of contemporary life, the idea of alienation remains an ambiguous concept with elusive meanings, the following variants being most common: (1) powerlessness, the feeling that one’s destiny is not under one’s own control but is determined by external agents, fate, luck, or institutional arrangements, (2) meaninglessness, referring either to the lack of comprehensibility or consis...

... middle of paper ...

... State Assembly Scientific Staff ." (1973): ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 5 Apr. 2011.

• Klomegah, Roger Yao. "Social Factors Relating to Alienation Experienced by International Students in the United States." College Student Journal 40.2 (2006): 303-315. ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 6 Apr. 2011.

• "Marx's theory of alienation." Connexions online. Feb. 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. .

• Gardner, Richard A. "Parental Alienation Syndrome vs. Parental Alienation: Which Diagnosis Should Evaluators Use in Child-Custody Disputes?." American Journal of Family Therapy 30.2 (2002): 93-115. ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2011.

• “Alienation.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica online. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2011. Web. 22 April. 2011.

• "Amy Tan Biography." academy of achievement. Np, 17 June 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 11

Show More
Related

  • Marx Alienated Labor Analysis

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marx, discusses a certain concept of alienated labor as an unavoidable result of a capitalist system. The framework that he tries to draw in the book is that capitalist system should be blamed for class strafication and alienated labor in the society. In a capitalist society, people suffer from class conflict and property ownership of bourgeoisie. Bourgeoisie owns the big factories and businesses, so then, small manufacturers have to shut down and basically have to join the labors in the big businesses. Workers in the capitalist system are obligated to work for long hours under unhealthy conditions for really low salaries.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Isolation In Fahrenheit 451

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    Feeling alone or isolated is not only a common theme is all kinds of literature, but something that many people face in life. Alienation is the perception of estrangement or dissatisfaction with one’s life. This means you feel like you don’t fit or connect, whether it’s from society, family, or a physical object. These feelings can be due to a lack of deep connections, not believing the same ideals as your society, and many other things. In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, he discusses a man who goes against governmental rule and reads. EA Robinson portrays a man everyone inspires to be, but in the end he isn’t happy and kills himself. Lastly, WH Auden accounts of an “unknown citizen” who also has a picture perfect life, but in the end

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin

    1606 Words  | 4 Pages

    Almost everybody feels a sense of alienation or isolation at some point in their life. Maybe it was when you were a young kid at a playground in school, being left out of activities. Or maybe this feeling is being experienced by an adult who is having financial or social issues. Whatever the source is for these feelings, it is not a pleasant one, and one we tend to try and avoid as much as possible in life. In the two stories I’ll be discussing, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, there are two characters who experience feelings of alienation, isolation and oppression quite heavily.

    Read More

  • Alienation in All Quiet on the Western Front

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alienation in All Quiet on the Western Front According to the Webster's New World College Dictionary, alienation is 1. Separation, aversion, aberration.   2.   Estrangement or detachment.   3.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Isolation in Macbeth

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Isolation is a state of being separation between persons or group, or a feeling being alone. There are different factors that contribute to someone feeling alone and isolated. An example of this would be when celebrities go into deep depression because they feel isolated from the whole world. They have all the material things they could ever want, but the one thing they want the most, they do not have. , which is happiness, which comes from satisfaction within oneself and being satisfied with what one has done in one's life. Feeling isolated does not necessarily mean a person is bad. Evidence in Shakespeare play Macbeth , demonstrates this quite clearly that MacBeth's isolation comes from guilt , over-ambition and greed.

    Read More

  • Alienation In 'The Doll's House, And Sonnet, With Bird'

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever noticed those few people that are always by themselves or are alienated by others? Maybe it is because they may be poor, or how they dress, or where they are from. There are always those few people that are different, like in “The Doll’s house” how the Kelveys were alienated by their classmates due to what they wore and how they looked like. Being an outsider is universal because it happens in different places around the world. For instance, in “Sonnet, With Bird” the poem by Sherman Alexie, alienation happens all the way in England. Some might argue that it is not universal in the fact that everyone thinks differently or those who are alienated do not mind being alone and end up doing great things.

    Read More

  • Alienation And Discrimination: Of Mice And Men

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    Forced into isolationism, due to segregation, alienation becomes Crooks’ companion. On an attempt for his

    Read More

  • Capitalism And Alienation And The Exploitation Of Labor By Karl Marx

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    When you hear the name Karl Marx (1818-1883), it is tempting to wonder and question why you should be studying him, considering that he’s been dead for over a hundred years already. This German philosopher had become one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. Marx’s ideas all come together and holds that human societies develop through class struggles, a conflict between the ruling classes (known as the bourgeoisie) that dominates over the working class (known as the proletariat). He was well known for studying the disputes that occur between different classes in society, also refer to as the ‘conflict theory.’ Through his theories of alienation, Marx argued that capitalism promoted the idea of inequality, commodification, and the exploitation of labor. The purpose of this paper is to view Marx’s concept of capitalism and alienation along with how it affects the workers.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Brecht On Theatre

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    The alienation effect creates a temporary state and identity for the actor that allows him or her to explore social boundaries. By basically putting on a mask, the performer

    Read More

  • Comparing The Concepts of Anomie and Alienation

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    individuals, society, or work. Some sociologists believe that alienation is inevitably produced not by the individual but by the shallowness and the lack of individuality in modern society. The concept of alienation has been held to account for behaviour patterns. as diverse as motiveless violence and total immobility. Alienation is a state in which the creations of humanity appear to humans as alien objects.

    Read More

  • Rousseau's Theory Of Alienation

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marx’s theory of alienation describes the separation of things that naturally belong together. For Marx, alienation is experienced in four forms. These include alienation from ones self, alienation from the work process, alienation from the product and alienation from other people. Workers are alienated from themselves because they are forced to sell their labor for a wage. Workers are alienated from the process because they don’t own the means of production. Workers are alienated from the product because the product of labor belongs to the capitalists. Workers do not own what they produce. Workers are alienated from other people because in a capitalist economy workers see each other as competition for jobs. Thus for Marx, labor is simply a means to an end.

    Read More

  • Karl Marx - Capitalist Alienation

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    THE TERM "alienation" in normal usage refers to a feeling of separateness, of being alone and apart from others. For Marx, alienation was not a feeling or a mental condition, but an economic and social condition of class society--in particular, capitalist society.

    Read More

  • Wage-Labor and Capital by Karl Marx

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first type of alienation is from “product of labor”. This is where the worker is separated from their work. This is basically saying that the work that the worker is creating does not necessarily show their creativity. Marx wrote:

    Read More

  • Workplace Alienation

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nvironment. Ultimately, humans are creative, hardworking and productive beings. As we spend the majority of our day at work, we want it to be rewarding and fulfilling. In this theory of alienation, being a worker comes first and being a person comes second. Alienation makes people spend their lives working on things they hardly care about while they make money for someone else as they sacrifice their own interests and goals. Capitalism turns workers into machines and alienates them from their full potential. Workers are not content as they are unable to determine their own paths as they are at the mercy of their employers. Alienation produces boredom, stress, unhappiness, misery and low productivity.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: A Sense Of Isolation

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a child, have you ever felt a sense of isolation or alienation? At some point in our lives, we may feel as though we don't belong or that we are alone. There has been a time at one point or another where everyone has felt this way. This sense of isolation can lead to constant fear for one's own safety as well as feeling unwanted. As a child, I would soon know the feeling of alienation, and the potential danger that it would bring.

    Read More

More about The Theory of Alienation Proven Wrong : People are more Alienated in their Community.

Open Document