Marx's "Manuscripts" and "Capital"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how in Marx's "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844," one of his earlier and more philosophical works, he introduces the concept of alienation, the process by which the laborer becomes estranged from his work, his people, and himself. It also looks at how later, in "Capital", a more materially and empirically based text, Marx describes the process by which the capitalist slowly exploits and destroys the laborer and how he makes no mention of alienation, instead offering straight-forward economic facts about the capitalist system and its effect on the laborer. Through an examination of the two texts, the paper explains that the ideas explored in "Capital" coincide perfectly with those of "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844" and that Marx's description of the plight of the laborer in "Capital" is the material expression of his earlier, more philosophical concept of alienation.

From the Paper:

"In "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844," Marx posits that inherent within the capitalist system is the estrangement of laborers from their work. For the more they produce, the less material substance is available for their consumption (71). Marx does not explain why this is the case, but presents it as an economic given on which he bases much of his argument. He claims that "with the increasing value of the world of things proceeds in direct proportion the devaluation of the world of men" (71). One is not yet certain why this is true economically, but the statement rings true intuitively (philosophically), for one would guess that a society that is overly concerned with material goods cares less for individual well-being. From these facts proceeds the concept of alienation, in which laborers are estranged from their object of labor. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Marx, Karl. Capital, pp. 294-438, in A Marx-Engels Reader, Robert C. Tucker ed. W. W. Norton & Company: New York, 1978
• Marx, Karl. "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844," pp 66-125, in A Marx-Engels Reader, Robert C. Tucker ed. W. W. Norton & Company: New York, 1978

More papers on Marx's "Manuscripts" and "Capital":

• Analytical Essay # 119954 : "Karl Marx and the Alienation of the Worker"
• Argumentative Essay # 47624 : "Weber and Marx on Labor"
• Essay # 17229 : " Karl Marx's Political Economy"

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