Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts (1932) - Marx

Question 1

What is alienation?

Answer 1

the estrangement or separation of the individual from aspects of humanity or their labour

Question 2

What causes alienation?

Answer 2

PRIVATE PROPERTY —> CAPITALISM –> DIVISION OF LABOUR –> EXPLOITATION —> ALIENATION

Question 3

What are the four types of alienation?

Answer 3

1. Alienation from the product
2. Alienation from production/labour
3. Alienation from species-being
4. Alienation from man

Question 4

What does alienation from the product mean?

Answer 4

The worker produces the product that does not belong to them, but belongs to the capitalists who purchased the proletariat’s wage-labour in exchange for exclusive ownership over the product

Question 5

What does alienation from production/labour mean?

Answer 5

• As labour becomes objectified, the worker does not have control over the means of production
• the means of production is controlled by capitalists; work is no longer voluntary
• the worker only controls non-productive activity (i.e. eating, pooping, sleeping) which makes them no different from an animal

Question 6

What does alienation from species-being mean?

Answer 6

species-being means man produces “universally”
* dehumanisation: the loss of self-identity and meaning towards work
* unlike animals who only produce what is necessary for our survival, we have our inherent human qualities and human essence that distinguish ourselves from them (i.e. consciousness, intellect, rational thinking emotions, creativity, agency and will to control things)
* however, the objectification of labour has prevented us from using these qualities

lost our ability to use our unique qualities and lost our human essence by being unable to participate in creative, meaningful work, hence cannot realise our full potential

Question 7

What does alienation from man mean?

Answer 7

• we are constantly in competition to outdo with one another, preventing us from forming meaningful relationships

Question 8

What is Marx’s view of human nature?

Answer 8

Marx described that being human includes being able to feel, to taste, to smell, and have moral senses, spiritual senses, ability to love etc. but unfortunately, we lose that because we have been socialised into the capitalist system

We are distinguished from animals by consciousness, religion and ability to produce means of subsistence

We are also creative, intellectual and able to form meaningful connections with others

Question 9

What does private property make us think?

Answer 9

We think we must possess something to experience and feel fulfilled, but we forget we can experience reality as it is with our senses

Question 10

How does Marx describe communal property?

Answer 10

Every thing around us is a product of someone’s sacrifice

Question 11

What does it mean to recognise the social?

Answer 11

To recognise the life-force (labour) that has been invested into our products
To let go of our crude, individualistic attitudes and see the SOCIAL, it is to HUMANISE the workers