Marx’s Theory of Alienation and Value
Alienation in Marxist Thought
Marx adopted the concept of alienation from Hegel, but with significant differences. While Hegel saw alienation as a process of the *Idea* becoming *Nature*, Marx grounded alienation in the material conditions of human existence. For Marx, alienation refers to the exploitation of one human being by another. It signifies the loss of autonomy and freedom experienced by one social class due to the exploitation by another, primarily stemming from the private ownership of the means of production. Alienation occurs when individuals are separated from themselves, their labor, or something that inherently belongs to them. Marx identifies five types of alienation:
- Religious Alienation: Religion, according to Marx, is a human construct that offers solace from worldly suffering. It diminishes the impetus for revolutionary change by legitimizing oppression. Marx held an atheistic view, denying the existence of God or a transcendent dimension.
- Philosophical Alienation: Philosophers, in their attempt to influence reality solely through thought, are rendered ineffective.
- Political Alienation: The state, rather than serving the needs of the entire society, represents the interests of the dominant class. Individuals are thus politically alienated within this class-based state.
- Social Alienation: Even without direct political structures, individuals are divided into antagonistic classes, preventing social reconciliation.
- Economic Alienation: This is the fundamental form of alienation. It arises when individuals are deprived of the full value of their labor. The capitalist pays the worker less than the value the worker creates, leading to several forms of separation:
- Separation of the worker from the product of their labor.
- Separation of the worker from the act of production itself.
- Separation of the worker from nature.
- Separation of the worker from their own essence and from other human beings.
The Concept of Value in Marx’s Economics
Value is determined by the amount of socially necessary labor time required to produce a commodity. Every commodity possesses a dual value:
- Use Value: The use value of a commodity depends on its qualities and its capacity to satisfy human needs. It is defined by the inherent properties of the object and its ability to fulfill specific, qualitative, and concrete requirements.
- Exchange Value: Exchange value is relative and variable, fluctuating according to market conditions, location, and time. It reflects the capacity of an object to be exchanged for other objects with different uses. Exchange value is determined by factors external to the object itself. It represents the value of a commodity in relation to others, based on the amount of socially necessary labor required for their production. Calculating this value requires considering the average labor time within a society at a given stage of development.