Rousseau and Marx on Alienation

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the philosophies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx, particularly with respect to their concepts of alienation. It defines each man's conception of alienation and then discusses the respective political projects of each through the eyes of each man's conception of alienation. It discusses how their views affected the society around them.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Marx on Alienation
Rousseau on Alienation
Marx' Alienation Applied to Project
Rousseau's Alienation Applied to Project
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Both Rousseau and Marx developed independent theories of alienation that were compounded into political thought that shaped history and allowed each to be active participants in political and social change. Each had a vision of the alienation of the individual by various means of either force (Marx) or choice (Rousseau) that demonstratively affected the manner in which political and social thought emerged in their various circles. Marx, at the heart of the socialist revolution became a leading figure in Russian Reform, while Rousseau's political ideologies helped grease the wheels of the French revolution, and later reform in Poland. In brief, Marx believed that the individual was alienated as product of being separated from the means of production, by the force of control of the owner. While Rousseau believed that alienation was a choice made by those who chose to live in and build a society based on his form of social contract theory. (Smith, 2006, p. 270)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Drucker, P. F. (1993, Spring). The Rise of the Knowledge Society. The Wilson Quarterly, 17, 52.
• O'Hagan, T. (1999). Rousseau. London: Routledge.
• Oldenquist, A. & Rosner, M. (Eds.). (1991). Alienation, Community, and Work. New York: Greenwood Press.
• Ollman, B. (1971). Alienation: Marx''s Conception of Man in Capitalist Society. Cambridge, England: University Press.
• Smith, M. (2006). Denaturalizing Ecological Politics: Alienation from Rousseau to the Frankfurt School and Beyond. The Canadian Geographer, 50(2), 270.

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