The Separation of Classes in Society: Karl Marx

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The separation of classes in society is a struggle from the past, present, and furthermore the future. Disputes over the inequality of the classes in capitalism have been occurring over many centuries, and an adequate solution to solve the issue of separation of class has not been achieved. However, Karl Marx, the “most profound and acute critic of capitalism” (Wolff 126), not only thought of a possible solution, but also dug down to the root of the problem. According to Marx, alienation is undoubtedly at the core of this issue. It is an important factor in considering the inequity of classes in society. Alienation is a “condition in which people are dominated by forces of their own creation which confront them as alien powers; the essence of being human is detached from actual human existence” (Wolff 28). In order to solve the overpowering issue of class domination in society, examination of alienation and the underlying cause of it is essential.

Capitalist societies have multiple breaks in the system, and alienation of the worker is perhaps one of the main issues in capitalism. Consequently, when a worker labors and toils over producing goods, he or she produces more wealth, and in effect the poorer he or she evidently becomes. In contrast to the decreasing value in the worker, his or her production or company increases in fortune and control. As the worker produces more commodities for society, he or she becomes an even cheaper commodity with a decreased value. Marx argues that humans are being devaluated in the world as commodities and the things of the world escalate in value. The workers are themselves being produced as a commodity to producing the goods, which alienates the worker from the object. When a worker is aliena...

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... a proletariat supposed to speak up against this infraction in their well-being to the human race? To share their beliefs against the proletariat would result in job loss, dehumanizing them even more. This issue of alienation will only draw to a culmination when the proletariats unite in their suffering and revolt against the injustice that continues to strike and strip them of their identity. If this gap between the proletariats and the bourgeoisie continues to develop, the proletariat will continue to be alienated from human life. Alienation not only alienates the workers from the work, but alienates them from the one thing they have in common with all other humans in existence: human life.

Works Cited

Marx, Karl. Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844. Print.

Wolff, Jonathan. Why read Marx today?. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.

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