Karl Marx's Theory of Alienation in Capitalism

Karl Marx's Theory of Alienation

Karl Marx's thesis on the alienation of humanity within capitalist society describes a condition he sought to expose and overcome. Alienation, in this context, signifies estrangement, humiliation, and even reification (the process of turning a person into a thing). From the perspective of historical materialism, work and production are fundamentally the primary sources of human self-realization and development. However, capitalism alienates the worker, thereby corrupting their activity, humiliating them, and reducing them to an object, a mere commodity. Through the worker's labor, the value of goods increases, creating an added value to the commodified object. Interestingly, alienation also impacts the capitalist, who is subject to the laws of supply and demand, forced to compete, and driven to exploit.

As early as 1844, Marx critically analyzed the concept of "alienated labor" in his Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, stating: "The worker becomes poorer the more wealth he produces... he becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities he creates." Work in capitalist society, rather than elevating the employee, becomes completely alienating and humiliating. For this reason, Marx identified economic alienation as the primary form. The worker invests their life and energy into their labor, which increases its value. This added value, which enriches the initial capital, is what Marx termed "surplus value." This increase in the value of labor goes directly into the hands of the capitalist. Consequently, the more the worker is impoverished, the richer the capitalist becomes, thereby generating greater inequality.

Forms of Alienation Beyond Economics

Furthermore, economic alienation is reinforced and strengthened through other forms of alienation, which Marx categorized as superstructural:

• Legal and Political Alienation: The legal and political systems are structured to favor the ruling classes against the working class.
• Moral Alienation: This justifies bourgeois values such as respect for private property and the defense of an "honest man," even when these principles are used to exploit the worker.
• Religious Alienation: This prescribes resignation and charity to the employee, promising that the more suffering endured in this life, the greater the enjoyment in eternal life. Marx famously described religion as an "opium of the people," acting as a narcotic that prevents workers from becoming aware of injustice and fighting for their rights. For Marx, religion is not an inherent part of human essence but is closely related to the superstructural organization of society, serving to maintain social injustice in the name of salvation in the afterlife. It represents an inherently distorted way of life.