As we were discussing Marx throughout the week, I found his idea of the alienation of labor to be very interesting. I would like to discuss its applications at the time, and the extent of their relevance in the contemporary world. However, I'm not sure that I have a complete grasp on the concept, so please feel free to correct any misconceptions that I express.
Marx says that there are four ways in which labor alienates a worker. First, he is alienated from nature: he puts effort into production of a good, but instead of being able to then enjoy the fruit of his labor and proudly claim it as his own, he must send it through the rest of the process of production and sale, where it will eventually end up in an unknown consumer's hands. Next, he is alienated from working itself, as the satisfaction that one is supposed to receive from exerting effort into production is lost due to the endless monotony of his job. He is also alienated from himself, and his species-being, in that he learns to think of himself as less than human while working, despite the fact that Marx sees labor of any sort as a fundamental aspect of human nature. Finally, he is alienated from his peers as a result of the competitive nature of the workforce.
These descriptions seem quite pertinent to the state of labor at the time of Marx's writing, and the fact that so many people worked in factories. However, I don't think this is quite as applicable today. Most people do not work in production, but instead at an office or in sales, marketing, etc. Thus, the concept of the (literal) objectification labor does not apply. I'm also disinclined to think that the workforce is as competitive, at least in the same manner: I can't imagine two potential professors duking it out and playing chicken with their salaries. Competition is certainly still present, but the means by which individuals compete tend to revolve more around their educational backgrounds. Unfortunately, I do think that Marx's other two points still stand. Most of the employed people that I know complain about their work over-frequently, and dread going in every day, even if the nature of their work is one that they used to enjoy.
While I think that Marx's theories on capitalism and its division of the classes is very interesting and remains relevant today, it seems to me that his idea on the alienation of labor is not wholly applicable in today's working society.
I agree with this, and I'd like to mention something that happened to me the other week that seems relevant.
ReplyDeleteMy roommate's father came in to Memphis and took us out to eat. Over dinner we had a conversation/friendly argument about whether work was supposed to be "fun" or not. Mr. Pease said that when schools encourage students to make work fun or find jobs that are enjoyable for them, they are doing the kids a disservice. He described his job (petroleum engineer) as fulfilling and worthwhile, but not "fun." I countered an argument influenced heavily by Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way," a book that preaches the connection between one's soul and occupation, an idea that is strikingly parallel with Marx's thought. I can't help but notice how capitalism has shaped Mr. Pease's opinion on work and fun, and I wish we had covered this before our discussion so I could have brought it up.
I think that the other two points can still be applicable today. Just because a person is not working to create a physical object does not mean that he can not be alienated from his work in the same way. For instance a salesperson at a department store is not creating anything but he is still alienated because he is selling an object he did not create for a company rather than for himself directly. He still feels the same disconnect between his labor and its outcome that a factory worker does. I also think that todays work force is still highly competitive. I think that there is competition in every field and therefore Marx's idea of people seeing others as competition still applies. It doesn't matter how they are competing; the nature of the competition still causes alienation among people.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. I believe that alienated labor is present in today's working society in low paying jobs that require little education such as restaurants and retail stores. A great example would be a telemarketer who workers in a cubicle. He doesn't enjoy being confined to that small space. He doesn't have to think because he reads a script when making his calls. And he doesn't get to enjoy the product of his labor. Alienated labor definitely still exists in some fields of work.
ReplyDeleteAlienation of labor is, in my opinion, a term used to describe the times in which this theory was created. This was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution when all of the horrors of industry were first being realized. Very few, if any, regulations had been instated. This was covered in history classes. The life of a factory worker during the beginning of the IR was absolutely horrible and all of the characteristics that Marx describes very well might have been true. However, I think that it is foolhardy to make predictions about something so infantile as a revolution that began only 200 years ago. Thinking macroscopically, this time period is extremely insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Society does not progress in leaps and bounds and Marx does not even think this will occur. True, he believes that a giant revolution will occur of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie, but he goes on to describe the long and arduous process leading to true communism. He is completely pragmatic about it.
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