The Internal Logic of Marx’s Theory of Alienated Labor: A Textual Study Based on the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

Shuting  Ren

doi:10.54691/zthxmw46

Authors

Shuting Ren

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54691/zthxmw46

Keywords:

Alienated labor; alienation; private property.

Abstract

In his Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, Marx creatively proposed the theory of alienated labor. Proceeding from economic facts, he reduced the content of this theory to four determinations, namely: the alienation of the worker from the product of his labor; the alienation of the worker from the act of labor itself; the alienation of man from his own species-essence; and the alienation of man from man. Each determination possesses its own independent essential meaning, yet they are also internally interrelated. Starting from the text of the Manuscripts, clarifying the internal logic of Marx’s thought on alienated labor helps us to deeply analyze the theoretical structure of the theory, reveal various phenomena of alienation in capitalist society, and criticize capitalist private property.

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References

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