Karl Marx and the Human Essence

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the species being is basically the human essence and how to be a species being is to be truly human. In particular, it examines how Marx uses the idea of species-being to make a connection to the alienation of labor and how it is then a stepping stone to his thoughts on capitalism and an eventual communist revolution.

From the Paper:

"Marx wrote that man exists as two different beings. On the one hand, man exists as a selfish being who cares only of himself and his own needs. On the other hand, man exists as a member of society and freely helps other members of society. (Marx 53) "He has a life both in the political community, where he is valued as a communal being, and in civil society, where he is active as a private individual, treats others as a means, [and] degrades himself to a means." (Marx 53) It is as this "communal being" that man is truly human. Although others in society are essentially objectified to achieve a means to an end, the species-being does not value his own needs over others. In the sixth thesis on Feuerbach Marx wrote, "The human essence is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality it is the ensemble of the social relations." (Marx 172)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Marx, Karl. Karl Marx: Selected Writings. Trans. David McLellan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

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