Karl Marx’s Philosophy: Alienation, Materialism, and Historical Materialism
Karl Marx’s Philosophy
Alignment
For Hegel, the infinite spirit in nature is alienated and becomes more than itself in self-consciousness. Marx argues that this leads to a loss of the reality of the world and a return to primitive abstraction. He believes that the radical alienation of humanity must be eliminated.
The Manuscripts
These writings focus on the alienation of the worker in capitalist society. Man at work should be fulfilled as a human being, but the opposite is true in wage labor: alienation occurs. The product of his work becomes the capital of others and appears to the worker as an independent power that dominates him. The more the worker produces, the less he owns. His own activity (work) alienates the worker from himself. Nature appears as something alien to the worker, the property of another. Unlike animals, man is able to work not only for himself but also for others, for the benefit of the human species. However, alienated labor severs all ties with nature and humanity. Marx concludes that private property is the consequence of alienated labor. He believes that only communism, the abolition of private property, can eliminate alienation and humanize man.
Marx’s Materialism
Marx’s materialism is not the claim that everything is matter. It is a controversial and practical philosophy that opposes Hegel’s idealism and classical materialism.
Contra Hegel’s Idealism
Marx asserts the priority of being over thought. Which comes first, spirit or nature? This is not to deny one term in favor of the other, but to prioritize one over the other. The priority of thought over being is idealism; the priority of being over thought is materialism. The relationship between being and thinking is this: being is the subject and thinking is the predicate. Thinking comes from being and not vice versa.
Against Classical Materialism
Marx directs these accusations against classical materialism: 1) It is an abstract and mechanistic materialism that reduces reality to mechanical laws. 2) It lacks a dialectical and historical perspective. But more importantly, he objects to Feuerbach’s materialism, which sees reality as an object of contemplation. If thinking is reduced to being and ideas are merely reflections of reality, then man becomes passive and contemplative.
Marx’s materialism affirms the independence of external nature from the mind but argues that it is not possible to separate nature from man. The concept of praxis allows Marx to overcome the opposition between idealism and (classical) materialism.
Man
Marx accuses political economy of knowing the worker only as a working animal and considering labor as a mere thing. Labor becomes a commodity. For Hegel, man equals self-consciousness. For Marx, there is no human essence; man makes himself. Man is active and practical, and work is his core activity. Work places man in relation to nature and to other men. Nature appears as the inorganic body of man, and work relates man to others. The human essence is the set of social relations. The supreme value of man demands the defense of freedom and the condemnation of slavery and alienation.
Historical Materialism
Historical materialism involves the denial of the autonomy of ideas with respect to the conditions of human existence and emphasizes the dialectical and historical character of the material base. The economic structure is the real basis of society. This structure is constituted by the relations of production and the forces of production. Forces of production include the means of labor and production. The economic structure determines the superstructure, which consists of the ideological forms and values of society. Conflict arises through the normal development of the productive forces.
In conclusion: History is driven not by the cunning of reason but by the development of the forces of production, by human labor. The goal towards which history is directed is the disappearance of classes and the establishment of communism.
Capitalist Exploitation
Men produce objects that they need to work, so the objects are used by them; they have a use value. But when they are exchanged, they acquire an exchange value; the objects become commodities. Industrial society has done away with the artisan, who can no longer sell his products but must sell his labor, his labor power. The man who works for wages receives a strict exchange value; he produces goods for the owner of capitalist production. The worker is not paid for all his hours of work, only a part. The object produced is not sold at its production cost (materials, labor) but for much more, generating a profit that the capitalist derives from the labor of others. The workforce becomes a special commodity, depositing in the hands of the capitalist an abusive profit that increases capital. The mechanization process encourages production and increases the number of workers, but labor will become cheaper according to supply and demand.
Ideology and Class Consciousness
Ideology refers to a deformed form of consciousness associated with the superstructure. It hides the truth and impedes the rational direction of action; it blocks it. Ideology has its origins in the division of labor, but that division is linked to the private ownership of the means of production, which is the basis of class society. The prevailing ideology is that of the dominant class.
Political Ideology: Citizens are considered free and equal, but popular sovereignty, freedom, and equality are formal; they do not reach the real man. The state is the arbiter of disputes between citizens.
Religious Ideology: It creates imaginary products of men, projecting above the clouds their subordination to nature. It is an expression of the resignation of the exploited, the misery of the people.
Class Consciousness: The exploited class becomes aware of its situation and develops a new ideology (communist). Revolutionary consciousness is the result of a process of training and enlightenment.