Alienation
Wed, Mar 06
Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) is most famous for his sweeping account of history and labor--and for his systematic cultural critique of capitalism. But underlying these theories is a theory of human nature and human flourishing, one that we can look to for clues about our own search for meaning and purpose in our work. Today we'll examine Marx's theory of alienation and see how it compares to some of the conditions we've been thinking about in this class--like burnout, meaninglessness, and bullshit jobs.
Goals - by the end of today's class, you will:
- Understand Marx's notion of "alienation," what it is, the theory of human nature and flourishing it draws upon, and the conditions under which workers characteristically experience it;
- Compare alienation to conditions like burnout, meaninglessness, bullshit and shit jobs, and ask how alienation shows up (or doesn't) in our own historical and cultural context; and
- Brainstorm ways we can avoid alienation in our own work, and think about whether there are ways we (our culture, or employers) can intentionally create workplaces that address the root causes of alienated labor.
Read This:
(Access readings on Perusall)
Primary Reading: Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (excerpts).
Secondary Reading: Dorothy Day, "What Catholics Don't Understand About Communism"
Do This:
After completing the readings for today, consider the following questions (which we will talk about in class):
- How does "alienation" compare with "burnout"? What cultural, historical, or social differences between Marx's time period (writing during the industrial revolution) and our own might help explain the differences (and similarities) between these concepts?
- In the interview with Kathi Weeks, we find a theoretical approach to work and labor that explicitly aims to account for various power dynamics and social, economic, and gender differences in peoples' experience of their work. How does this approach illuminate some of the issues we've been considering in this class? What new issues or problems does this perspective bring to the table?