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Alienation Machine: Gattungswesen, By Karl Marx

581 Words3 Pages

In a capitalist society, one must accept that alienation is inevitable. At least, this is the viewpoint that Karl Marx holds. Indeed, no one in the system escapes alienation, from the lowest worker to the highest CEO. And yet, the average person is raised to bow down to this, convinced that subservience is the key to being a good person. According to Marx, only communism, born out of new forms of technology, can end this vicious cycle. Although alienation affects everyone in capitalism, it doubtlessly affects the working class the most. Lacking control of their product, the worker only produces for the benefit of the capitalist. Thus, all of their intellectual and physical effort is for naught, as the worker never experiences the satisfaction of owning the method of their creation, which the capitalist dictates. This product is grotesque to the worker, an abomination formed only for the consumer. However, in order to survive, the worker must earn wages off of this abomination in order to purchase abominations that other workers create, private property that the capitalist circulates through society. Our place in this machine is what alienates us from our Gattungswesen, our species-being. …show more content…

Unlike an animal, where their survival and action towards that end defines them, humans are conscious of their own actions. Consequently, man owns his own life like an object. Through their work and impact on the world beyond mere survival, man finds purpose, and this is what makes us a species-being. Unfortunately, capitalism strips us of our distinction as species-beings, it forces us to fight for our survival like a beast. Truly, because a human must pay taxes and must purchase the products of capitalists, they become a gear in the machine. Instead of the person defining their job, their job defines them. So, capitalism alienates man from being a

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