Alienating and Exploiting Modern Society - Essay Example

? Sociology Theory Alienation is a situation when an individual detaches one’s self from the reality of human nature and while focusing on providing for one’s self. Exploitation is the using of something or someone in a cruel or unjust manner. The modern society is alienating and exploitative in the manner that; its people are no more concerned about human nature of helping others, but about providing for themselves. This essay strives to show the society’s alienation and exploitation ways. Alienation divides into three distinct clusters namely self-alienation, alienation from other people, and alienation from the world. Self-alienation is a situation where man wholly alienates himself from himself. At a similar time, he becomes alienated or estranged from his colleague man. Finally, he goes through alienation from his domain; the world which he lives. These three types of alienation—from self, from other individuals, and from the world—all interlink together. They are a presentation of three phases of a single process (Marx, Tucker, & Engels, 1978). Marx’s reason for revolutionary beliefs A revolution in the working class will help reduce and eliminate the alienation and exploitation problems through different ways. First, reason for alienation and exploitation is capitalism. In capitalism, the people hate their jobs and work. Alienation is a result of class society at large and mostly of capitalism, and a pervasive alienation society can be ended by organizing the economic system (Tucker, 2002). Alienation of works is the main source of alienation; the alienation of labor. The assumption is that people get the need to engage constantly in a free, creative job as a focal part of the human nature. This is specifically because capitalism methodically frustrates that need, making it an alienating scheme. A large number of people believe that alienation and exploitation of the people is an inevitable necessity, simply because work is fundamentally unpleasant. Marx tries to explain that work does not necessarily need to be frustrating and unpleasant, but meaningful, self-expressive and creative. He explains that if life were this at least most of the time if not all of the time, then, people live would be satisfying and fulfilling. The responses of Adam Smith and Alexis De Tocqueville In Adam Smith’s arguments, he kicks off with the individual; he defines the labor of a man as the basis of all other assets. From this point, it tracks that the nature of one’s labor, without damage to others, is a sacrosanct right, which the government needs to allow in all possible ways. Smith uses his theory in the economy to support his faith on how the restrictions on government actions generate the most general good for humanity (Marx, Tucker, & Engels, 1978). Smith ascertains three clusters of individuals who develop from capitalism: landlords, laborers, and capitalists. He states that each of these classes act out purely on self- interest, hence his reasoning why they might fail in ruling with the virtuous of humanity in mind. He concurs with Marx by stating that laborers and society have the same interest in mind (Tucker, 2002). In his theory, impartial of all are the landlords. Smith’s theory argues indirectly that the capitalist are the most suitable and capable of leadership. He stipulates that any law or regulation from this class needs to be listened to with immense precaution, but should never be adopted until a long and careful examination (Tucker, 2002). Smith pinpoints that because of the lack of class to head with humanity’s interest at bay and existence of a free market with selfishly motivated individual, the government needs to take over the tasks. These takes include management of justice and maintenance of given public works. Smith’s plan is to empower government contrary to Marx’s idea of working class revolution to curb society’s alienation and exploitation. Smith’s arguments state that the government’s responsibility is to protect the rich from the poor. He states that the cause of alienation and exploitation is the poor people’s need to possess, thus; they do so by invading the rich. The assumption is that the rich struggle to achieve their wealth unlike the poor people who plan to take advantage. Alexis De Tocqueville recognizes a fault in Smith’s system. First, laborers engage in labors more and more, and thus get focused on insignificant niceties for which is responsible. Contrary to that, the industrialists become more interested in the overall functioning of the factory. Thus, the two clusters get less acquainted creating difficulty between them. Marx tries to explain and show that it is under capitalism that work of most people lacks these given characteristics. He emphasizes and illuminates on how capitalism takes all the life content of workers. He elaborates how capitalism is a system of the economy accentuating the detachment of labor, separating production into a sequence of smaller and smaller, extra-dedicated tasks, each done by a dissimilar worker, with the purpose of increasing profitability. The result of this is individual laborers taken for a dominant function annexing them to it for life. This in turn, deprives them of good-rounded variations of powers and activities that they require to be human beings. A revolution of the working class will end alienation and exploitation because the revolution will lead to an end of capitalism. Capitalism brings alienation through its economic systems whereas a small minority control the way of production, and means in which most people can survive; through selling their own labor strength. For instance, a photographer who is on the streets, ignores helping an accident victims and decides to take snap shots of their grimed faces expressing pain, simply because of work. This man alienates from himself so much that he forgets helping other people, the accident victims; as he decides to take photos for his job. He involves in providing for himself to the point that he forgets about humanity and the human nature. He alienates from himself, the accident victims, and the world- call of lending a hand of help to the needy. Marx tries to show that under the current working-class, people work for someone else and probably something else. They tend to have lost the purpose of life and essence of leading a meaningful life. He argues that work and job have little or core worth for the worker, claiming that it is not the gratification of a need, but a sheer means to gratify needs separate to itself (Marx, Tucker, & Engels, 1978). Marx argues that through elimination of capitalism and a replacement with a society where workers democratically and collectively control production, work will transform into a rewarding activity with a lot of interests (Smith, 1924). By so doing, we will be ourselves more often while practicing one's individual talents and creativity, and help us contribute to the common good. It will make one's jobs become a prime in one's life want and not only a means of earning a life. In philosophical and economic manuscripts, Marx talks about numerous aspects of the alienation. He talks of the alienation of workers from the product they are producing and how the products produced belong to someone else, and the little characteristics of those products being of little concern to them. For the workers, getting paid is all that counts. There is alienation of workers from the products they produce; in that, they do not have control on the products they produce and those products do not express their projects and goals. Another reason by Marx is the compromising of the human capacity to engage in conscious, free, and creative work. Capitalism alienates people from their species being. People slowly desert the human nature in them- the qualities distancing us from other animals. The capitalism alienates one from this human sense reducing him to the level that of animals. Marx argues that it is the solicitation of rational and conscious opinions to creative activity that differentiates us from other creatures. Marx tells of the human ability in snapping out of an activity in order to be alive, assess it consciously, and modify it for the better. For an animal, life activity and itself tend to be the same, it cannot distinguish activity from itself. Contrary to other creatures, human being makes his life activity an objective of his consciousness and will. In contrast with capitalism, labor lacks the opportunity to practice this idiosyncratically human ability. Marx tells on how alienated labor separates one from his own body, from the natural nature existing outside, from his spiritual quintessence, and from his human survival. The final consequence of alienated labor is the separation, or alienation of workers fellow workers. He talks of how capitalism has made man forget about his human nature and equates it to that of an animal. It suggests how capitalism estranges man from his species being till he separates from his fellow man, and how they finally estrange from their manly essence is vividly elaborated by Marx (Smith, 1924). Marx believes strongly that alienation together with exploitation is not only a capitalism feature, but of all previous societies too, way before clustering emerged. He tells how external forces dominated human beings, and in summary; the past-clusters societies, and how the direct producers are in the control of a scrounging ruling class (Smith, 1924). Conclusion In summary, Marx feels like capitalism alienates people simple because of the great difference between actuality and probability today than in the earlier period. Capitalism continually continues to create technology and wealth that should allow us to live meaningful and fulfilled lives. It offers the society with a glimpse of one's supposed future, lives in reality and not in imagination, but at the same while denying most individuals that life. The answer is not to withdraw the past, which in all cases is impossible, but to recognize the potential that is currently available to society by its transformation. Reference Smith, A. P. (1924). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations: 1. London: Frowde. Marx, K., Tucker, R. C., & Engels, F. (1978). The Marx-Engels reader. New York: Norton. Tucker, R. (2002). Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Read More