Marx and Alienation

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes the crucial aspects of Karl Marx's description of alienation within his social theory. It looks at how, by analyzing the differing aspects of human nature, Marx defines the separation of "natural" things from each other or that develop an antagonism toward one anther in social harmony. It shows how this provides evidence that Marx's theory of alienation is still valid, which in turn provides evidence for the commonly used materialist definitions of "human nature" within modern society.

From the Paper:

"The social and economic perspectives of alienation to be effective within society directly relates to how class division forces the proletariat to become mere commodities. Marx had defined in his "Theses on Feuerbach" that the bourgeois seek to create a religious or mythic definition of human nature, but this form of alienation must translate into productivity and labor. Through the use of capital, the separation of the working classes within that of the bourgeois is part of the materialization of the abstraction of human nature. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Karl, Marx. "The Communist Manifesto." 2006. Australian National University. 18 November, 2006. <http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html>
• ---."The German Ideology." 2006. Marxists.org. 18 November, 2006. <http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/index.htm>
• ---."Theses on Feuerbach." 2006. Marx2mao.com. 18 November, 2006. <http://www.marx2mao.com/M&E/TF45.html>

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