Human, all too human
In Marx’s thoughts about emancipation, he revealed that the ultimate truth of human nature was in man realizing himself as a “species-being”. What does this say about Marx’s beliefs about human nature in general? In the “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844”, Marx extrapolated on what he thought human nature was, as well as discussed some impediments to the realization of true human nature. In these manuscripts, Marx begins his critique of capitalism, blaming it for vast flaws in the realization of human nature. He described how, on multiple levels, capitalist practices had distanced man from his nature. All these findings were based on evidence stemming from political economy, but specifically the institution of labor. Marx even appropriately titled his segment about the distancing of man from his nature due to that institution, “Estranged Labor”.
In order to understand Marx’s explanations about human nature based on labor, one must first look at his premise. Marx basis all his claims about human nature from the fact that man is a “species-being”; but what does this mean? For Marx, it chiefly means that human nature is not static, but a changing entity. Human nature is affected by the general trends adopted by the whole (or majority) of the species. This is extremely important, because it is with this assertion that Marx is able to blame capitalism and espouse the claim that changes must be made. It is not human nature which is flawed, but the adopted capitalist processes. If this were not true, there would be no hope for change. This is the most important claim about human nature that Marx makes, and from it follows another important point. If human nature is affected and changed by the trends of humanity, then it naturally follows that human nature is not developed personally, but rather by series of social interactions. Human nature and species being could probably be best defined as the sum of the social relationships of man. With those two points given, Marx’s analysis can be interpreted.
The focal point of Marx’s analysis of human nature was labor. This is a sensible starting point for two reasons. First, to Marx, labor is a very basic function of all species, especially man. Man is, however, a special case, because man is free in his labor. He has the ability to go above and beyond creating for his own direct necessity, or even that of his immediate family. Man goes beyond creating for necessity at all. With this ability, man can create a world of objects that mirror his nature. For Marx, labor goes beyond being just a basic function, he classifies it more as the core element of human nature. Secondly, labor is the perfect part of human existence for Marx to base his arguments about human nature around. Many of the problems Marx saw with alienation were perfectly exemplified in the new systems of labor that had arisen under capitalism. It was due to these blatant examples that Marx would conclude that it was capitalism itself that was causing the alienation of man from is nature.
What were these examples? In these manuscripts, Marx uses one overarching example to prove his point. He compares the “propertyless worker” with the “capitalist (propertied) owner”. In this comparison, one sees the differences immediately. Here is a worker, for whom labor is a means of generating subsistence, and also a non-worker, who profits from the labor of the worker. What implications does this relationship have for human nature? It has one implication, and that is the alienation of man. This alienation comes in several forms, however. According to
Marx, human labor comes from a drive to create for oneself. However, in the capitalist model, the worker does not labor for himself, he creates something for the property owner. Because of this, the worker is alienated from the very object he creates, because he is violating his nature by not creating it for himself. Next, the worker is also alienated from the very act of creating through labor. Thanks to the establishment of wage labor, the worker is not choosing to labor, but he must do it in order to survive in capitalist society. By not choosing to labor, and also because he is laboring for someone else, the worker is estranged from the task of labor, which separates him further from his human nature. The final way in which labor alienates man from his nature is by disrupting his interpersonal relationships. Due to the other alienating factors of labor, the worker cannot help but resent the capitalist property owner, who has put him in the situation that alienates him from himself. However, this resentment even further alienates man from his nature as a species-being. Marx has clearly shown that many aspects of capitalist society negatively affect man’s relation to human nature.
Under the capitalist system, man is being further alienated from himself. This “estranged labor” has undermined two extremely important aspects of man’s species-being. It has corrupted labor itself, the core element of humanity, according to Marx. Also, in corrupting labor, it has damaged man’s interpersonal relationships, further harming man’s identity as a species-being. Not only has the capitalist system scarred each individual’s understanding of his own nature, it has also wreaked havoc on man’s identity as a collective. With these criticisms, Marx concludes that capitalism is destructive to man’s relationship to his own identity. It is to be understood that human nature must change its course, or become further entrenched in capitalism, and thus further alienated from itself.
In order to understand Marx’s explanations about human nature based on labor, one must first look at his premise. Marx basis all his claims about human nature from the fact that man is a “species-being”; but what does this mean? For Marx, it chiefly means that human nature is not static, but a changing entity. Human nature is affected by the general trends adopted by the whole (or majority) of the species. This is extremely important, because it is with this assertion that Marx is able to blame capitalism and espouse the claim that changes must be made. It is not human nature which is flawed, but the adopted capitalist processes. If this were not true, there would be no hope for change. This is the most important claim about human nature that Marx makes, and from it follows another important point. If human nature is affected and changed by the trends of humanity, then it naturally follows that human nature is not developed personally, but rather by series of social interactions. Human nature and species being could probably be best defined as the sum of the social relationships of man. With those two points given, Marx’s analysis can be interpreted.
The focal point of Marx’s analysis of human nature was labor. This is a sensible starting point for two reasons. First, to Marx, labor is a very basic function of all species, especially man. Man is, however, a special case, because man is free in his labor. He has the ability to go above and beyond creating for his own direct necessity, or even that of his immediate family. Man goes beyond creating for necessity at all. With this ability, man can create a world of objects that mirror his nature. For Marx, labor goes beyond being just a basic function, he classifies it more as the core element of human nature. Secondly, labor is the perfect part of human existence for Marx to base his arguments about human nature around. Many of the problems Marx saw with alienation were perfectly exemplified in the new systems of labor that had arisen under capitalism. It was due to these blatant examples that Marx would conclude that it was capitalism itself that was causing the alienation of man from is nature.
What were these examples? In these manuscripts, Marx uses one overarching example to prove his point. He compares the “propertyless worker” with the “capitalist (propertied) owner”. In this comparison, one sees the differences immediately. Here is a worker, for whom labor is a means of generating subsistence, and also a non-worker, who profits from the labor of the worker. What implications does this relationship have for human nature? It has one implication, and that is the alienation of man. This alienation comes in several forms, however. According to
Marx, human labor comes from a drive to create for oneself. However, in the capitalist model, the worker does not labor for himself, he creates something for the property owner. Because of this, the worker is alienated from the very object he creates, because he is violating his nature by not creating it for himself. Next, the worker is also alienated from the very act of creating through labor. Thanks to the establishment of wage labor, the worker is not choosing to labor, but he must do it in order to survive in capitalist society. By not choosing to labor, and also because he is laboring for someone else, the worker is estranged from the task of labor, which separates him further from his human nature. The final way in which labor alienates man from his nature is by disrupting his interpersonal relationships. Due to the other alienating factors of labor, the worker cannot help but resent the capitalist property owner, who has put him in the situation that alienates him from himself. However, this resentment even further alienates man from his nature as a species-being. Marx has clearly shown that many aspects of capitalist society negatively affect man’s relation to human nature.
Under the capitalist system, man is being further alienated from himself. This “estranged labor” has undermined two extremely important aspects of man’s species-being. It has corrupted labor itself, the core element of humanity, according to Marx. Also, in corrupting labor, it has damaged man’s interpersonal relationships, further harming man’s identity as a species-being. Not only has the capitalist system scarred each individual’s understanding of his own nature, it has also wreaked havoc on man’s identity as a collective. With these criticisms, Marx concludes that capitalism is destructive to man’s relationship to his own identity. It is to be understood that human nature must change its course, or become further entrenched in capitalism, and thus further alienated from itself.