Karl Marx laid a great importance on the problem of alienation of man in a capitalist society. There was a specific historical and theoretical background of this problem. If considered from the historical view point the pivot of this problem was the Industrial Revolution and the alienation of man as a result of exploitation of capitalism. Due to the industrial revolution a great development was visible in the field of science and technology. Likewise as a result of this revolution an unexpected and golden opportunity to avail more profit came to the industrialists. It resulted in the alienation of man form the creative process of lab our because the lab our power being capital based the process of lab our became alienated from creation.
This alienation from the process of lab our gave birth to a parted perception of life in the post Industrial revolution in Europe. As a protest to this the intellectuals of the contemporary Europe raised a movement in the cultural world. It was known as the romantic movement in the history of thought. The main aim of the romantic movement was to overcome the alienation of men and to reestablish the integrity and totality in human mind. The romantic movement was divided into two flows – the Pessimistic Romanticism introduce Russian and the Revolutionary Romanticism introduce by P.B. Shelley and G.G. Byron. The second flow was the opposite to the first one. These pessimistic romantics wanted to eradicate alienation not by changing the reality but by everything into the dim dream–world of fantacy. So this romanticism was in one sense anti – capitalism, anti – industrial –b revolutionary and anti – modernism.This romanticism was full of intense emotion, agony and over whelmed with suffering of the humanity. This romanticism was imaginative and devoid of reality. The modern civilization was neglected in this literary work. The self-destruction of wearther, the hero of “The sufferings of young wearther “ by Goethe is the best manifestation of this idea. The nature and fulfillment in their poems. That is why whellerlin writes:
“ I understand the silence of the ether ;
The word of man I could never comprehend.“
The Revolutionary Romanticism is the reverse of the pessimistic Romanticism. The central idea of this romanticism was to revolt against the alienation. The significance of this romanticism was that man can have the taste of freedom not by avoiding the problem of alienation but by tearing the ties of it. The spokes men of this romanticism tried to establish revolutionary humanism in its full form of integration by destroying the alienation in reality through their revolutionary literary creation. So their thought gayed at the future—the craving to regain the lost post was almost absent in their literary works. Shelley’s “Prometheus Unbound” (1820), Byron’s “Prometheus” (1816), “Mantred” (1817) and “Ninth symphony of Bethophen are the idols of the Revolutionary Romanticism. Intense emotion and ecstasy were present in this romanticism. Furthermore there was a dup confidence about the creativity of man. So the future which the revolutionary romantics dreamed of guided by deep humanism, was full of revolutionary ecstary and repugnant to in human and anti-creative life perception of capitalism breeded by industrial revolution. So,Byron proclaimed with bold confidence against supernaturalism through Manfred’s speeches:
“The Mind –the spirit – the Promethean spark
The lightning of my being”
In spite of differences between the two flows of the romantic movement there were some similarities. First, both the flows laid a great importance on the development of the individual by transforming the parted individualism. Secondly, both the flows protested against alienation. One of the objectives of Marx in discussing alienation was to enquire the , cause of alienation in capitalist society. So, young Marx’s ideology of deep humanism was influenced by the ideas of the evolutionary romantics. Secondly, Marx’s attitude to overcome alienation was to result against alienation and to destroy alienation created by the very socio—economic situation.
The contemporary philosophical ideas of Europe also influenced Marx’s concept of alienation. Hegelian philosophy, Though idealistic, also influenced his ideas of alienation. According to Hegelian philosophy spirit creates self alienation. In the same way the spirit creates its new existence by overcoming self-alienation. Through this process of continuous movement sprit finds its own existence. Secondly, the deep confidence which was hidden in the character of spirit it overcome alienation in Hegelian idealistic philosophy was very significant to Marx. The Hegelian philosophy not only did analyse . He question of alienation but it tried to eradicate it also to Marx this side of Hegelian philosophy was very important. First materialist critic of Hegelian philosophy was Ludwig. Feuerbach His anthropological humanism also influenced Marx’s theory of alienation. The main philosophical problem raised by Marx was basically Feuerbachean the two aspects of Feuerbachean ideas were noteworthy in connection with the discussion of alienation. First, the pivot of his philosophy is individual which is a biological being, not an abstract spirit. According to his philosophy the perception of God is the expression of pessimism created by alienation. It was he who proclaimed with deep confidence that God does not create individual but the ideas of alienation in individual gives birth to the concept of God. Secondly, Feuerbach created alienation by means of uniting the individual and the environment.
In the earliest stage of his works Marx considered alienation from religious viewpoint. At the second stage the problem of alienation was discussed from the ideological and philosophical outlook. At the third stage to Marx the concept of alienation is nothing but a political idea. At the forth stage Marx found that the main cause of alienation is economic.
- Religious Alienation : In the theu Europe the concept of alienation was based on religion, religious customs and deep faith in God. The idea of God means to surrender to the environment created by alienation being failed to overcome it.
- Philosophical and Idiological alienation: Various ideological and philosophical ideas which are adverse to life create religious alienation. Marx laid importance on materialist philosophy and ideology become only the materialist philosophy and explain and change the realization created by alienation which idealistic philosophy cannot.
- Political alienation: The idealistic philosophy which is the expression of alienation produces ported, separated and anti—life political entity of the individual. Marx showed that the alienation of individual in capitalist society lies in the dialectical characters of the capitalist society. First, as a citizen of the state the individual is controlled and guided by the state machinery.
Secondly, the individual as a member of the state cannot enjoy liberty ignoring the state machinery and the firm administrative system made by capitalism. This means that the social being of the individual is opposite to his political entity. So, he is alienation.
Marx gave two reasons for the political alienation of the individual. First, the individuals is entirely helpless against the political and administrative system exercised by the state machinery because man cannot disobey the rules and regulation of the state. Secondly, the Division of labour brought forth the ownership of private property. Thirdly, due to the economic inequality in the society rooted deeply. Those who are originally engaged in the productive system are the working people. The labour and the process of the working class are guided by the administers of the productive system. This results in inequality. Consequently, there occurs an alienation between the laborer and the product and labour process.
Marx pointed out two causes of economic alienation of the proletariat in capitalist society. First, the labour in the capitalist exploiting system serves the interest neither of the society nor of the working class. Its serves only the interest of the capitalist. As a result of this alienation of the proletariat occurs. Secondly as the capitalist are the owners of the labour of the working class there entire’s obligated to the capitalist in the process of labour .
According to Marx, with the development of science and contradiction with the nature, someday man will be able to utilize the nature for his own purpose by eradicating the alienation of labour. As a result, firstly, the situation which created the alienation with come to an end. Secondly, the eradication of the alienation of labour will as certain the development of production. It is the pre-condition of the eradication of the private ownership. Thirdly, through the progress of process of production the individual will be avail to develop fully of his creative labour. In “Paris Manuscript” Marx analyzed four forms of economic alienation of the proletariat in a capitalist society. First, the alienation between the individual and the process of labour . Secondly the alienation between individual and the product . Thirdly, the alienation among man. Fourthly, the alienation between the individual and the species being.
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