Marxist and Psychological Views of Humanity
Marxist Perspective
Humans:
Marxism posits a monistic position, conceiving of human beings as belonging to the material world. As natural beings, humans are defined by their needs: food, shelter, and clothing.
However, humans differ from other species because they can produce what they need to survive. This is achieved through the transformation of natural processes. Humans are able to produce their own means of subsistence through work.
This perspective considers how humans transform nature. Depending on how humans relate to the means of production, they relate to each other in a particular way, think in a certain way, and organize their lives in society as a reflection of that relationship.
Human Sociality:
According to Marx, throughout history, humans have lived in societies divided into two antagonistic and opposing classes, in continual struggle with each other.
The reason for this division and class struggle lies in the dual relationship humans have maintained throughout history with the means of production: a few were the owners of the means, and others, the majority, have worked at their service.
The oppressed class has been dominated by an ideology, or set of ideas, invented by the owners of the means of production to conceal their interests. The upper classes have always been legitimized by cultural and ideological apparatuses (law, philosophy, religion, science, etc.). They have maintained the oppression and exploitation of the lower classes, keeping them in ignorance and poverty.
Human Freedom:
There is no individual freedom without collective freedom; freedom must exist for everyone.
The core argument is that all human beings are free to the extent that everyone can meet their basic needs.
True freedom will emerge when human beings collectively dominate the means of production and produce goods that adequately meet the needs of all.
Psychological Conception
Humans
For Freud, the human psyche consists of three levels or structures:
- The Id: Impulses and desires.
- The Ego: Satisfies primary needs such as hunger, sleep, thirst, and sex (within social settings).
- The Superego: Moral consciousness, social rules; what is acceptable in one’s society.
The “It” or Id represents the primary impulses of human nature, uncontrolled by consciousness. Among the strongest of these drives are the sexual and self-preservation drives (Eros), and the aggressive or destructive drives (Thanatos).
The “Super-I” or Superego is the set of rules, prohibitions, and moral constraints that a human being acquires from birth. This is what is known as the person’s moral conscience.
The “Self” or Ego plays a regulatory role, attempting to reconcile the drives of the “Id,” dominated by the pleasure principle, with the demands of the “Superego,” dominated by moral duty. It seeks to satisfy the urges and impulses of the “Id” in a way that does not cause conflicts with the individual’s beliefs.
For Freud, the human being is not primarily a rational being, but rather a creature of impulses and desires, both in its structure and its development.
The Meaning of Human Freedom
For Freud, humans are psychologically determined, being directed by unconscious drives, and their character also possesses the same condition as the “Superego.” Their actions reflect an unconscious motivation, leaving little room for freedom. The human being is practically a Freudian automaton, serving instinctual drives that are more or less dormant.