ipl-logo

Slavery And Alienation

1789 Words8 Pages

In his life narrative, Frederick Douglass describes the economic system of slavery as needing the alienation of black Americans from their own identity to continue to function, where the slaves can see their oppression but cannot reject the one thing that they know. Karl Marx in Wage Labor and Capital explains the capitalist system as requiring the alienation of the working class from themselves, others and their work to keep the system going, so that the working class remains oblivious to the system they provide for. Despite their different views on whether their respective economic systems can be perceived, Douglass in his life narrative and Marx in his essay Wage Labor and Capital similarly view their economic systems as unsustainable because …show more content…

Douglass writes about how the alienation of slaves from their individual identity allowed for appeasement tactics to prevent rebellion. He explained that the “holidays” that were given to slaves were “among the most effective means in the hands of the slaveholder in keeping down the spirit of insurrection” (Douglass 65). These celebrations allowed the slaves to experience basic freedom from the “benevolence” of their master, when this was another selfish method used by the master to control the slaves. Because the slaves were alienated from their individual identities, slavery was all they knew, and these celebrations were a way to create gratitude for the master for only giving them a periodic taste of basic human rights, which would satiate the slaves until the next time. Marx saw a similar use of appeasement in his economic system, where the rich capitalists conceded the bare minimum to maintain control of the working class. In his capitalist system “the worker receives means of subsistence in exchange for [their] labor power,” which serves no purpose but “immediate consumption,” whereas the capitalist receives “a greater value” than they had previously (Marx 209). The worker, despite creating additional earnings for the capitalist, only receives their “means of sustenance,” or their bare minimum for survival. Because the worker has been alienated from their work and the system however, they normalize this exchange, and are content with receiving a mere fraction of what they produce, unaware of their exploitation. Alienation provides the framework for both Douglass’ and Marx’s economic systems to function, as it allows the ruling class to establish a norm of

Show More
Related
1009 Words | 5 Pages

Through the years of 1750 to 1901, the journey of thousands of humans sailed out overseas. With many decisions, they all experienced something different, from those who were forced to leave, had to leave or chose to leave. The voyage of slaves, convicts and free settlers differed immensely, yet, they still had slight similarities. Kidnapped and forced into slavery, that was the early stages of becoming a slave. They were forced on to the ships then chained and bounded to each other as they sat, tightly packed inside and buckets used as toilets were shared among the slaves.

Read More
854 Words | 4 Pages

The idiosyncratic style Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass depicts the discriminatory actions of postcolonial slave owners in the southern United States, which reflects their greed for unpaid labor on their plantations. He employs the metaphor of the book that their masters prohibited them from owning by law throughout the memoir to demonstrate the avarice that drives white slave owners to turn a darker-skinned, intelligent being into a machine for personal benefit for centuries after the colonization of America. Also, the irony further displays the power of greed by expressing the slaveholder’s uncivilized method of forcing another human out of civilization. Furthermore, his use of a paradox of the use of pure religious beliefs to justify a slaveholder’s inhumane treatment reveals their rapacious actions that contradict the teachings of the church.

Read More
817 Words | 4 Pages

Frederick Douglass was a man of immense courage, whose clear-cut auto biography convinced white Americans of the horrors of slavery, and gave them the ambition to abolish it. Slavery in the states had become a necessary evil to the whites, in which free labor meant growth and development of their home. Frederick Douglass’ expressions of his abhorrence for slavery are apparent in his detailed descriptions of the cruel treatment of masters to all slaves, and their forced illiteracy. The various acts of punishment towards slaves was a common gesture to all with the intentions of teaching the blacks their place in a white man’s world, and Douglass experienced this both by first and second hand experience.

Read More
1021 Words | 5 Pages

Frederick Douglass is an ex-slave and an abolitionist. He wrote a narrative on himself on how slavery was like during his time. This is intent to be an autobiography. It is about how and when Douglass was in the slave life, he used to be born a slave to the time of his break out to gain the right and the only place is the North or Britain. But it's additionally a piece with a robust political message.

Read More
1112 Words | 5 Pages

In the book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the author gives accounts of his life as a slave in the 19th century. The narrative also highlights the abolitionist movement in the US, giving details about slavery. It has important information regarding the wishes of the slaves to be set free. Issues such as slavery, economic and political alignments took center-stage in the US in the nineteenth century and the early 20th century. According to Douglass (2014), the slaves were exposed to vices such as inequality and favoritism in behaviors based on originality, economic and social status.

Read More
835 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout American History, slavery has always posed as a problem in the United States from 1776 to 1852. Slavery grew dramatically when the country acquired new territory as a result of foreign wars, like the Mexican War. Even though there are many reasons why there was a growing opposition to slavery in the United States from 1776 to 1852, the growing opposition of slavery was caused by the country gaining new land as a result of wars and events like the Compromise of 1850 and the Second- Great Awakening which led to the development of new books and newspaper articles. The Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Land Ordinance of 1787 set forth how the government of the United States would measure, divide, and distribute the land it had

Read More
1297 Words | 6 Pages

Fermelita Borre AB1213 Rochelle Igot Philosophical Research Paper What is Alienation? In this paper, we will evaluate alienation and its premises as presented in “Estranged Labor” by Karl Marx. Although the entirety of the arguments he presented in his manuscript were substantial, there was a flaw in one of the arguments he presented in the types of of alienation, the estrangement of the worker from the activity of production.

Read More
200 Words | 1 Pages

Marx, equally, believes that the outcome of industrial capitalism is alienation of the proletariat, the working class, from their society.

Read More
390 Words | 2 Pages

In the beginning of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution caused a massive economic spike from small-scale production to large factories and mass production. Capitalism became the prevalent mode of the economy, which put all means of production in the hands of the bourgeoisie, or the upper class. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels argue that capitalism centralizes all the wealth and power in the bourgeoisie, despite the proletariat, or the working class, being the overwhelming majority of the population. The manufacturers would exploit the common proletariat and force them to would work in abysmal conditions and receive low wages, furthering the working class poverty. “The Communist Manifesto” predicts that as a result of the mistreatment

Read More
814 Words | 4 Pages

The main concept of alienated labor was developed by Karl Marx in his early work Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts from 1844 - First Manuscript [Estranged Labor]. As defined, the concept of alienation is profoundly embedded in religions and social and political theories, the possibility that some time in the past individuals feeling like foreigners in the world, however, sooner or later this distance would be overcome and humankind would again harmony with itself and Nature (Encyclopedia of Marxism). Formed from Private Property, the political economy that is Capitalism divided society into two classes¬ - Property owners and Property-Less workers. By exploitation and estrangement, these classes become further designated as masters

Read More
1102 Words | 5 Pages

Because Marx believes the worker would “put his [or her] life into the [alien] object” (William, 132) he/she is producing, they are ultimately alienated, unconnected to

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

Marx and Engels look at capitalism with seriously negative opinions. They regard the system as extremely unsuitable, and are deeply concerned with getting rid of it. In a capitalist society, capitalists own and control the main resources of production - machinery, factories, mines, capital, etc. The modern working classes, or proletariats, own only their labor. Proletariats work for the capitalists, who own the product that was produced and then sell it for a profit.

Read More
846 Words | 4 Pages

Capitalism is understood to be the “economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.” In modern society, capitalism has become the dominant economic system and has become so integrated that it has resulted in a change in the relationships individuals have with other members of society and the materials within society. As a society, we have become alienated from other members of society and the materials that have become necessary to regulate ourselves within it, often materials that we ourselves, play a role in producing. Capitalism has resulted in a re-organization of societies, a more specialized and highly segmented division of labour one which maintains the status quo in society by alienating the individual. Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim theorize on how power is embodied within society and how it affects the individuals of society.

Read More
1269 Words | 6 Pages

Writings of Karl Marx had formed the theoretical basis for communism and the continual debate against capitalism. Marx understood capitalism to be a system in which the means of production are privately owned and profit is generated by the sale of the proletariat’s labour. He considered it to be an unfair exploitation of hard work with alienated social interactions and purpose. I agree with Marx that capitalism is indeed unfair and alienating, because it concentrates wealth within a small group of people by exploiting the surplus value of workers’ labour, and creates an alienated workforce. Hence, this essay will first discuss the relevance of Marx’s perception of capitalism as an alienating and unfair system for the contemporary world, before examining the potential of governments to influence the extent of alienation and unfairness that occurs.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

The second, is alienation from the product. In Marxist time and in today’s modern world we are involved in an abundance of mass production. In a capitalist system, people are placed in a position where they are responsible in making a minor part of the goods. The goods of work belong to the capitalist and is sold for their profit, whereas the workers gain nothing. Therefore, Marx concluded that the greater effort the workers put into their job, the lesser they benefit.

Read More

More about Slavery And Alienation

Related Topics

Open Document