Marx Alienated Labor

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(Ibid). A third characteristic is the mutual relationship created between the producer and theconsumer, who both affirm each other through this activity (Ibid). Lastly, through theserelationships with other people, non- alienated labor would confirm human beings’ fundamental character as social beings (Ibid). As with alienated labor, non-alienated labor is thus a conceptwhich has interrelated features.To a large extent,
Marx’s notion of alienated labor rests on the assertion that labor itself is thedefining characteristic of human existence, as that which distinguishes us from animals. In asense, he seems to conceive labor as something which gives a person her identity, as somethingthrough which a person expresses herself. Therefore, given …show more content…

Thus, Freud would probably argue thatit is not labor but sexuality and its subconscious implications which define human beings.Therefore, taking this into consideration, labor may still be alienated under capitalism, but it isthen so in a weaker sense because it is not as fundamental to human nature as assumed by Marx.Furthermore, alienation may not be a feature which is exclusive to capitalism. There is a sense inwhich any type of work can lead to alienation even outside of a capitalist mode of production,given that Marx demands very high standards in terms of what he considers to be non-alienatedlabor. Thus, while I may be alienated from the fruits of my labor in a physical sense, capitalismcan allow me to relate to my product in other ways. If I have done a good job in providingsomeone with a commercial service, I may obtain positive recognition by others, and thereforeremain connected to the fruits of my labor in the intermediate sense. If the human character …show more content…

In the post-industrial capitalist economy, there are at least avenuesto pursue in order to express a one’s species being through labor. There are certain professionsthat are situated within capitalism which allow for this, even in the Marxian sense, as for example being a writer, an actress or an athlete. It is relatively easy to imagine that people would choosethese professions even in the absence of capitalist confines. While they are not the rule, they dorebut the notion that all labor under capitalism is necessarily alienated.
However, the biggest point of contention is Marx’s notion of a species
-being itself. To begin with,Marx is simply asserting that there is something fundamentally intrinsic to the human character.It could be argued that he is in fact inferring this fundamental assumption from the conclusion heseeks to assert, which is that workers in capitalism are alienated, and is doing so throughempirical observation. While it may or may not be true that humans are distinguished from other beings by the “working
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up of the objective world” (Ibid: 76), it is not necessarily clear

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