As a business major and someone who is interested in economics, I am no stranger to Karl Marx. I have studied him from both an economical perspective and from a historical one (looking at the communist revolutions that have occurred in the world and whether or not they have fit into his doctrine. Most have not.) However, I have never really had the opportunity to look at Marx from a philosophical standpoint. All I can say is I never thought that I would agree so much with a commie.
For an economist, Marx is very interested in aliens, no not the aliens that Tom Cruise goes head to head with. Marx believes that capitalism alienates workers from themselves, making us aliens in our own homes. Why is this the case? No matter whether you love your job or not, if you are living within a capitalist system your work is damaging because it is imposed on you. We are slaves to money. Our work is a commodity. Because of this we do not become our "true self" till we get of work. Only then do we loosen up. We have fun. We do what we want to do.This is called the TGIF effect (obviously not a term Marx used). The irony is that due to our unwilling expenditure of our energy a work, when of the clock the proletariat (or working class) only functions on an animalistic level. We eat, sleep, watch Netflix and chill (and yes I do mean have sex) all basic functions of life. We become aliens to ourselves in our homes. This happens to me all the time. I always talk about how I would love to spend more time reading, playing or writing music or working out, but I often end up doing few if any of these things because at the end of the day I have given all of my energy to things I am coerced to do. According to Marx, if we allow people to do what they want to do and what they are best at doing we will have a better society. I can at least say that it would defiantly be a more interesting society.
In his book "Marx - A Brief Insight", Peter Singer says "On the level of thought rather than practical politics, Marx's contribution is equally evident. Can anyone now think about society without reference to Marx's insights into the links between economic and intellectual life? Marx's ideas brought about modern sociology, transformed the study of history, and profoundly affected philosophy, literature, and the arts. In this sense of the term - admittedly a very loose sense - we are all Marxists now."
ReplyDeleteI agree with this quote. The more I read about Marx's ideas, the more I realize how deeply ingrained many of them are in the public consciousness. The "Thank God it's Friday" idea is only one of them - another example is how people keep saying "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer," without recognizing that as a Marxist statement. This is one reason I believe most people would actually agree with Marx on many things if they actually read his works, instead of listening to propaganda about communism being a ruthless and terrible doctrine.
I agree with what Sam is addressing in his post. The thing I've learned most in my business classes is "down with communism", but most of Marx's ideas make sense. This concept of being alienated in the work. It makes sense. Especially if your not being paid enough to support yourself. Being a worker is ailenating. I'm glad Sam decided to address this, because I think it has the most real world impact on us.
ReplyDeleteSam,
ReplyDeleteI found your post very cohesive, and I think you summarized the idea of how we are alienated from ourselves in a very clear manner. I am obviously not a business major, but I had heard of Marx in a historical sense, and was aware of the idea of the bourgeoisie/proletariat due to a discussion of class systems in my cultural anthropology course. I agree that hearing about communism from a philosophical standpoint is very different. Whether you agree with communism or not, I think everyone can agree that as our system stands now it does promote this "TGIF" effect. I too have experienced this pretty much exactly as you described it. When Dr. Johnson explained this in class there was a realization like "yep, that's exactly what happens when I get home" and once I understood the logic behind it, it made complete sense.
I thought your description was very interesting especially since you are a business major. Marx describes the destructive effects of capitalism as we revert to our animalistic urges. What was more mind blowing was the fact that we only feel “human” when we are doing these basic activities, only working for survival. When discussed by Marx, this division that has taken over our concept of “normal” is illogical, and then we realize this is the world we live in. Socialism has always been in the background of progress, so perhaps Marx’s prediction revolution of the workers will occur. But for now, we are stuck with a society of contradictions.
ReplyDeleteI thought your description was very interesting especially since you are a business major. Marx describes the destructive effects of capitalism as we revert to our animalistic urges. What was more mind blowing was the fact that we only feel “human” when we are doing these basic activities, only working for survival. When discussed by Marx, this division that has taken over our concept of “normal” is illogical, and then we realize this is the world we live in. Socialism has always been in the background of progress, so perhaps Marx’s prediction revolution of the workers will occur. But for now, we are stuck with a society of contradictions.
ReplyDeleteI thought your description was very interesting especially since you are a business major. Marx describes the destructive effects of capitalism as we revert to our animalistic urges. What was more mind blowing was the fact that we only feel “human” when we are doing these basic activities, only working for survival. When discussed by Marx, this division that has taken over our concept of “normal” is illogical, and then we realize this is the world we live in. Socialism has always been in the background of progress, so perhaps Marx’s prediction revolution of the workers will occur. But for now, we are stuck with a society of contradictions.
ReplyDeleteSam,
ReplyDeleteYou summarize pretty much exactly what I've been thinking during class this past week. I have never really studied Marx up until we started going over him in class and I have to say I was very surprised. When I hear the word "Communism" the word "bad" comes to mind, even though I never really learned exactly what it is. I definitely agree with you in the fact that looking at Marx from a philosophical perspective makes me agree with a lot he has to say.
I think just like Marx. Your post pretty much says that we are aliens in our own home. It is true. I used to work last summer, and when I was working the only thing in my head was: "I want to get out of here, so I can do whatever I want." I wanted to go home, read a book, watch movies, navigate the web, etc. because at my job I felt like I was being controlled; being controlled by money because that was my purpose, MONEY.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I like the references to scientific fiction, and it is funny that you are a business major and are surprised you can agree and relate so much to Marx. I felt the same exact way when I was sitting through the lectures in class. Work is a major issue because the point about being most miserable when working keeps running through my mind. His point is quite easy to identify with!
ReplyDeleteThe problem, though, lies within trying to prove these kinds of ideas to everyone without scaring them off! The way society is run right now, it almost feels impossible to be able to prove that enjoying work is something that should be a strictly humane sensation.
Sam,
ReplyDeleteYou did an awesome job of putting into words exactly what most of us in class have been mulling over all week. Unlike you, I never had the opportunity or desire to study much about Marx until now. I guess I thought immediately that his name is to be associated with the horrible definition of Communism that most people, in our nation especially relate to. I agree that Marx from a philosophical stand point is a much easier pill to swallow.