Our discussion of the alienation of labor was the most taxing for me last class. The idea that in a capitalist society (read: all labor in the one we belong to) all products are pieces of the maker's life that have become more valuable and therefore alien to that maker is difficult for me to digest. Our discussion of artists, in particular, made me jump to that warned-against self-examination: I am certain that there are things I've created that are not alien to me, but significantly entwined with my concepts and inclinations.
Now, I have to admit that I make a lot of crap. In terms of products - things that can be sold - what I have to show for myself is mostly intellectual. But my education, a thing I've invested much time and money in, serves as a nice example of what Marx was pointing out. I've chosen to invest those valuable things to produce something more valuable: my skills. The classes I take, the school I attend, the extracurriculars I participate in will all be traded in for the ability to support myself post-graduation. And according to Marx, all I'm trading this alienated labor in for is the chance to do more in a different environment.
At first, the comparison of intellectual and physical work seems a stretch, especially since Marx says one of the negative things about the process of production is that mental capabilities are neglected. In fact, it seems the educational system works to circumvent this neglect, capitalizing on the personal strengths of students through majors and specializations. I want to argue, though, that working through college certainly produces the effects of alienated labor. Analytical and creative work become tasks that require intensive labor, and the product of that labor is subject to the value judgment of another. The labor done is in some sense not free, dictated by professors and curriculum generators (or however that works). You begin to feel most human when you're eating, drinking, sleeping - the things that give you breaks from the work you're doing in school. Other students become competition for jobs, internships, scholarships, leadership positions. The full process of alienation is there.
Sure, there's at the center the spirit of "free, conscious, creative activity." I'm an English major who writes short stories because I feel fulfilled when doing just that. But I plan to turn that investment into a return when I teach others to do it in the future. In essence, I'm gaining a degree, however founded in a sincere wish to learn, to increase the value of my products in the future.
It does bring up the biggest question I've had with Marx, though, and that's to what extent the process of alienation is overwhelming. Do side effects of fulfillment negate that alienation? How much free conscious creativity must be attributed to what I'm doing before the alienation is subverted?
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I can identify with what you're saying about "free, conscious, activity" being at the center of your education. Additionally, I also find myself only wanting to actually do something when it is not assigned. Of course, I see assigned creative work as helping me work out skills that only aid and influence this drive to make things outside of class.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is because I do not know any other way of living, but it seems to me that the kind of alienation you are describing causes me to want to rebel against it. If I begin to feel alienated by a particular activity, I redirect my creative energy towards something else. Try and do something new, you know. But then again, I think we are talking about a very specific kind of alienated labor here that still allows for an immense amount of freedom.
This is a really interesting way of looking at things. I never thought before how the educational process can produce such feelings of alienation but now that you mention it, it makes complete sense. Just because the end product isn't physical does not make it any less valuable necessarily. It is also interesting to think about things that we might do thinking that they qualify as "free, conscious, activity" yet at some point we will still go ahead and use them for some sort of gain. I think it really all depends on how one looks at things. One could feel constantly alienated by all the activity or one could choose to ignore the concept completely and just keep doing what they are doing. Interesting.
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