A reason that the issue of the alienation of labor is so significant is because of the centrality and focus it commands in society. Marx writes “For on this premise it is clear that the more the worker spends himself, the more powerful the alien objective world becomes which he creates over-against himself, the poorer he himself-his inner world-becomes, the less belongs to him as his own”. Marx wrote that “the more a worker” does this he is alienated, and in current society a worker works toward their own alienation the majority of their day, of their week, and of their life. When the core activity of humanity holds the greatest focus of society and that activity is corrupted, and so poisons its propagators while simultaneously creating even more dependence on itself, the life of the worker becomes a miserable prison.
In order to understand the alienation of labor, and how it operates in society, it is necessary to examine the processes of labor, which can in a certain context become a step in the alienation of itself. Marx writes “The worker puts his life into the object; but now his life no longer belongs to him but to the object.” In this passage Marx expresses an interesting view of the human component of labor as a transfer of creativity that detracts from the worker who bequeaths it. This view may be more peculiar than merely that of an opportunity cost, but even as an opportunity cost it is still detracts from the worker.
The understanding that labor involves the transfer of something from the worker to the object of labor which the worker then no longer possesses, deepens the gravity of the situation when that object is alienated from the worker because the worker is less than before, and that part of the worker which they invests in the object of their labor is now alienating them; part of their own being becomes alien to themselves. This situation is pernicious in any degree, but is all the more damaging since the current culture endorses and forces as much of this kind of labor as one can stand. Marx writes “Hence, the greater this activity, the greater is the worker’s lack of objects. Whatever the product of this labour is, he is not. Therefore, the greater this product, the less is he himself.” According to Marx’s logic, since the current society is labor oriented-alienating labor- the workers of today are less the considerable amount that they work.
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Paul, I really like how you summarized all of this into the problem of a worker giving up a 'piece of themselves,' it truly does, as you say, deepen the gravity of the situation. But I wonder would it make the situation any better if the worker was paid equal to the actual work he did [that is to mean the cost of exactly what the worker produces]? I think your argument speaks for even more pay for the worker, as compensation for the piece of themselves that they put into their product. I don't know, just a thought but I think this speaks to me as an argument more for the recognition of effort within the payment of workers as well as the reducing the alienation of their labor.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul, it is very helpful to have this type of synopsis of any philosophical stance, especially such a difficult one to grasp as the alienation of labor. You also adequately grasp a very important point: that the problem really is that since free and spontaneous creation is a definitively human action, when that labor is forced for the sake of someone else, part of the laborers humanity is ultimately lost.
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