Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts (1932) - Marx

Question 1

What is alienation?

Answer 1

Estrangement of the individual from aspects of humanity or their labour

Question 2

What causes alienation?

Answer 2

PRIVATE PROPERTY —> CAPITALISM –> DIVISION OF LABOUR –> EXPLOITATION —> ALIENATION

Question 3

What are the four types of alienation?

Answer 3

1. Alienation from the product
2. Alienation from production/labour
3. Alienation from species-being
4. Alienation from man

Question 4

What does alienation from the product mean?

Answer 4

Worker produces product that does not belong to them, belongs to capitalists. Man objectifies his labour.

Workers lose ownership of what they produce, as it becomes external. Instead of being a source of fulfillment, product embodies worker’s loss of self. As worker produces more, product gains power over the worker, diminishing their value.

Question 5

What does alienation from production mean?

Answer 5

• As labour becomes objectified, worker does not have control over means of production
• means of production controlled by capitalists, work is no longer voluntary
• worker only controls non-productive activity (i.e. eating, pooping, sleeping) which makes them no diff from an animal
• labour no longer an act of self-expression, becoming a means to survival

Question 6

What does alienation from species-being mean?

Answer 6

• dehumanisation: loss of self-identity & meaning towards work
• unlike animals who only produce what is necessary for our survival, we have our inherent human qualities that distinguish ourselves from them (i.e. consciousness, intellect, rational thinking, emotions, creativity, agency)
• however, objectification of labour has prevented us from using these qualities
• lost ability to use unique qualities & lost human essence by being unable to participate in conscious creation, meaningful work, hence cannot realise our full potential

Question 7

What does alienation from man mean?

Answer 7

we are constantly in competition to outdo with one another, preventing us from forming meaningful relationships

Question 8

What is Marx’s view of human nature?

Answer 8

being human includes being able to feel, taste, smell, & have moral & spiritual senses, ability to love etc. but unfortunately, we lose that because we have been socialised into capitalist system

We are distinguished from animals by consciousness, religion and ability to produce means of subsistence

We are also creative, intellectual and able to form meaningful connections with others

Question 9

What does marx say about private property?

Answer 9

• Private property is both cause & result of alienated labor.
• Alienated labor produces private property as an external force that sustains inequality & exploitation.
• Wages are a direct result of alienated labor, reinforcing the system of private property.
• Abolishing private property essential to ending alienation & achieving human emancipation (of workers).

Question 10

Explain marx’s criticisms of crude communism

Answer 10

1. Universalization of workers condition for all→ workers still trapped in same system
2. Universal prostitution of women → if we get rid of bourgeoisie marriage; true communism would not lead to communal ownership of people (particularly women)
3. “Envy is just greed in another way” → if we continually try to get property of someone else, it is still capitalism

Question 11

Explain marx’s criticisms of political communism

Answer 11

1. understands return of man to himself
2. Still hasnt understood necessity of overcoming private property
3. concept but not essence
   **according to marx: if you can’t create freely without being surveilled, that is not communism
4. moves toward the dissolution of the state but retains elements of private property.

Question 12

Explain Fully realized Communism

Answer 12

• Fully realized communism abolishes private property and alienation.
• It restores humans to their essence as creative and social beings.
• Labor becomes an act of self-expression, and production serves the collective good.
• Communism reconciles humanity with nature, freedom with necessity, and individuality with community.
• It represents a new form of existence, where individuals contribute to society voluntarily and experience fulfillment.

Question 13

What does Marx mean by “The worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces”?

Answer 13

Highlights how under capitalism, the worker’s labor enriches others while impoverishing them materially and spiritually.

Question 14

What does marx mean by “The abolition of private property is therefore the complete emancipation of all human senses and qualities.”

Answer 14

Argues that ending private property will restore human freedom and creativity

Question 15

What does marx mean by “The return of man to himself as a social being, i.e., a human being, complete and free.”

Answer 15

Describes communism as the realization of human freedom and self-expression in a truly communal society.

Question 16

What does Marx mean by “emancipating the senses”?

Answer 16

• Emancipating the senses transforms our perception from a crude eye (focused on ownership) to a human eye (focused on shared experiences).
• Emancipate spiritual & moral senses, not bound to traditional ideas of how the world should be organized but bound to our connection & responsibilities to the world.
• It allows us to experience and share things because we all contribute to their creation, rather than feeling ownership is required to enjoy them.

Question 17

Is communism a goal?

Answer 17

No, it is not a goal but how our world should be (eventually)

“Communism is the necessary form and dynamic principle of the immediate future but not as such the goal of human development - the form of human society”