In this article, it talks about Karl Marx, alienation, and social change. The class theory is “the history of all existing societies is the history of class struggles.” According to Marx’s view, ever since human society emerged from its primitive and relatively undifferentiated state. It has remained fundamentally divided between classes who clash in the pursuit of their class interest. Under capitalism, there is an antagonistic division between the buyers and sellers of labor power. Between the exploited and the exploited, rather than a functional collaboration between them. Marx’s analysis centers on how relationships between men are shaped by their position in regard to the forces of production. The history of mankind has a double aspect It was the history of constant control of man over nature. And at the same time, it was the history of the increasing alienation of man. Marx, then, goes onto talk about how he believes that if you suffer from alienation, some of the symptoms are: when you realize the pursuits of your peers are useless, searching for an undefined dream or goal, loss of closeness between friend, and many other symptoms. Economic alienation, under capitalism, means that man in alienated in daily activities. There are four aspects to economic alienation; man is alienated from the objects of labor, the process of production, himself, herself, and their fellow human beings. Both workers and capitalist’s losses control over their own existence in a system subject to the economic law over which they had no control. The worker is then reduced to process. Work then becomes a forced activity. Which is not a creative or satisfying one. I think this was a good lesson in learning about Marx and his theory and analysis with alienation and the social change between us, humans. Schmidt789
I like what is said about economic alienation in this video and in the comment as well. My personal opinion on the matter, which is somewhat similar to what is previously stated, is that the society we live in sort of trains us to alienate each other in a way. As much as we all want to live in a judgement free world and love one another it is not like that. Because of things being this way, we often judge people by what we have or what we have accomplished in life, rather than who we are as a person.White789
I’m not sure if I would agree that people are trained by society to alienate each other. (Or maybe it does in certain places to certain extent and I either wasn’t there or just didn’t see it.) Either way, I agree with you on the point that people judge others on their accomplishments or possessions rather than the content of their character. Also, I agree that so many people with certain beliefs completely alienate, bully, persecute, and even attack people who disagree with their own beliefs! Personally, I would say this is easily most prevalent in political parties in our country today, but there are also many others that would absolutely bully people who disagree with them like spiritual beliefs, fans of baseballs teams, basketball teams, hockey, football, and just about every other sport out there, NASCAR... the list goes on and on.
I’m not sure if I would agree that people are trained by society to alienate each other. (Or maybe it does in certain places to certain extent and I either wasn’t there or just didn’t see it.) Either way, I agree with you on the point that people judge others on their accomplishments or possessions rather than the content of their character. Also, I agree that so many people with certain beliefs completely alienate, bully, persecute, and even attack people who disagree with their own beliefs! Personally, I would say this is easily most prevalent in political parties in our country today, but there are also many others that would absolutely bully people who disagree with them like spiritual beliefs, fans of baseballs teams, basketball teams, hockey, football, and just about every other sport out there, NASCAR... the list goes on and on. Thanos789
Karl Marx is a physiology and the founder of social-conflict paradigms theory. So, for what I understand so far that social-conflict means the conflict between two main classes of the society over the scare resources or power. The two main classes are bourgeoisie (owner) and proletariat (worker). Bourgeoisie is the one who own the company or business that don’t need to sell their labor while the proletariat is the one who have to work for living and make profits. But the profits are not divide equality, most of the profit will go to the pocket of bourgeoisie. For example, capitalism has capitalist and worker, feudalism has lord and peasant, slavery has slave owner and slave. Marx views this is a social problem and these classes prohibited man from achieving their freedom of self-determination.
While long ago in history, people are naturally free. People can change the environment around us to exist while other animals are tried to adjust themselves for adaption to their around environment to be survive. This is human unique characteristic and make us separated from the animals. People can change the environment so they can create the world as well! But when human increasing their control over nature, they are also increasing the alienation. (They are two aspects of history viewed by Marx). Alienation people felt powerless, isolated. They viewed the world are meaningless and the society are far beyond their reach and it controls them. This view remained me of the book name “Of Mice and Men”, the author shows clearly the hopelessness of the society in that time where men have to work for living from place to place and emphasized the loneliness of the worker. The alienation isolated people and separated them with the environment they had create.
And Marx also said that if people realize this social-conflict, there will be a revolution. And the revolution did happen! The new form of economic system had created, socialism where the proletariat holds the power instead of the bourgeoisie and the profits are divided equality without the control of owner class. There is the social democracy at Sweden or the Marxism-Leninism at Soviet Union. But there are still a far distance to reach the 100% socialism. In the end, Social-conflict just one of the many ways that we used to look at our society. Zero789
You did a great job explaining all of this. I believe that there will always be alienation of workers if we have a capitalist society. I agree that socialism is here as well, but to me I still believe that the CEOs of large companies have power over me and I still have to work extremely hard to provide for my family and don't feel that I will ever reach the level that they are. I feel like unless I change my values and treat people as they aren't as worthy as I am, I will continue to be the worker. --MommaJ789
You gave a very excellent explanation about Karl Marx and his role in identifying that social-conflict existed between the two main classes of society. He identified a problem. He was showed compassion toward members of society who he felt were being alienated, because of this is sought out to make a change. He envisioned a system of production that would benefit all members of societies social needs. I feel in 2017 class conflict still exist. Some businesses are looking for profits by any means necessary and do not care nor do they think about the well beings of their employees by downsizing, layoffs, replacing people with computers, etc. I watched the movie “Going Style” over the weekend and that movie is a perfect example of class conflict. Granny789
Karl Marx's beliefs point towards more hatred of capitalism. He is saying that people will create social change to suit their environment. Even saying that people will alienate each other, by taking their rights through labor. With the upper class going as far as to use their influence to reduce labor through the use of machinery. People are always changing due to the flaws of capitalism; people being mistreated through the distribution of money, resources, or anything that can be monopolized, including land. People feel alienated when large social changes, like the mechanization of factories, lead to the subsequent firing of those who served roles now filled by machines. The image of a worker struggling against a machine is a good visual representation of what is talked about in the video. The video explained many things Karl Marx said about social change, chief among them being the signs of alienation. The end of the video even provides some books for reading into the subject further. Though sometimes getting other people's perspectives and opinions can be more valuable than reading a few biased books that can often mislead or be misinterpreted, assuming this is a topic that you can get anyone to even talk about. The concept of the division of classes is not an easy topic to talk about. How easy it is for a company to control the wealth of its employees is fairly daunting, however the treatment of employment benefits and salary as a competition between companies over employees is likely a preventative for such penny-pocketing attitudes towards employment. Demand for employees is largely the bane of under-handed employer practices, however this concept mostly applies to skilled workers. The distinctive separation between employers and employees has long been a conflict. It has been proven time and time again that people will find ways to define themselves as separate from others. If one believes themselves superior to another, then they often feel entitled to what may not be theirs, including labor. When employers are in service to employees, as much as employees are in service to employers, then the distinction between the two blurs; they start becoming simply jobs with different roles. However, it is very clear that incentives are needed for society to function, so being able to progress in position is a given. However, this naturally comes with a sense of greater importance, which often leads to a sense of superiority. You can guess where this leads. The problem of social alienation in the workforce is not one that has any perfect solution if you ask me, but there are many per-case solutions that don't involve dangerous blanket-policy attitudes. The whole concept of capitalism is allowing for an economy that flexes to specific needs and situations, unfortunately this means there will be many periods of turbulence. The beliefs of Karl Marx were formed in that turbulence.
I've briefly studied Marx in a psych class and a humanities class but never really agreed to what he had to say until I read the textbook and watched this video. I absolutely agree with you that he has a hatred for capitalism, and I ventured to guess it was because of his extremely rough upbringing. And you're also correct when we start talking about class division it can get touchy real quick. But I think that when the conversation starts is when we can make a change. Unfortunately, unless we completely change the way our society and government is ran, we won't ever see this type of division go away. I loved your explanation of the employee vs employer relationship as well, it really helped me understand that concept. pmed789
Karl Marx is one of the three founders of sociology. He helped develop the macro-level social conflict approach theory, which shows how inequality creates conflict and causes change. Marx believed that the system of economic production involved both technology and social relationships and ever part of society operates to support the economic system. During the Industrial Revolution, Marx used the participant observation research method, by spending a majority of his adult life in London. He was amazed with the size and productive power of the factories being built in Britain. Britain, as well as other industrial nations, were producing more goods than ever, getting raw materials from all over the world and selling finished products at high rates. He was bothered by the fact that the riches produced by new technology only was rewarded to a few people. Only a handful enjoyed the luxurious and privileged life while majority of the people lived in slums and labored long hours for wages. He saw this as contradiction “in a country so rich, how could so many people be poor?” This idea prompts his thinking of social conflict, the struggle between segments of society over valued resources. The most important type of social conflict, he believed, is class conflict.
Marx believed that during the nineteenth century two classes developed in Europe. The capitalist, people who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits. He felt that capitalism turned most of the population into industrial workers, who he called proletarians, people who sell their labor for wages. Class conflict was created between capitalist and workers. The capitalist wanted extraordinary profits so they kept wages low, but the workers (proletarians) wanted higher wages. Marx believed that this conflict would end only if capitalism ended.
He insisted that a capitalist society produces alienation, the feeling of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness. Capitalism alienates workers in four ways. It alienates them from the act of working, from the products of work, from other workers, and from human potential. Capitalist viewed workers as nothing but a source of labor to obtain a huge profit for themselves. Feeling dehumanized by their jobs, these workers felt unsatisfied and felt unable to improve their situation. As people developed technology to gain control and power over the world, the capitalist economy gains more control over people. Marx argued that to come from under capitalism a new society needs to be created. Industrial workers would overcome alienation by uniting into a true social class, be aware of the cause of their problem, and be ready to change society. Creating a socialist society would bring class conflict to an end. Granny789
Thank for the information about Industrial Revolution! I also believed that Marx formed his view from this period. In Industrial Revolution, new technology emerged which starts the series of established company and factory so led to the booming of city like Chicago, New York. More factory means more labor are need. People started to immigrant from rural area to city. The large concentrate of people in the city help the sociologists saw through the pattern of society and recognized the problems that was going on in society. Like what you said, Marx saw the inequality between the owner and worker and conflicts between these two social classes. Marx believed this conflict can be solve if there is no more capitalism. But I don’t think so. It hard or impossible to remove the social classes if there still have present of power. In fact, the countries with capitalism are develop more and stronger than those without it like U.S vs. China. Zero789
It’s pretty evident that Karl Marx does not have a love for a society based on Capitalism. I think he personally has a vendetta against it due to his very poor upbringing and he based a good amount of his theories on this hatred. While I do agree and disagree with what he has to say, I’ll stick to what is presented in this video. He starts off by saying that there is a constant class conflict between the buyers and sellers of labor powers, between the exploiters and the exploited rather than a functional collaboration between them. I would agree that back in the time that Marx was basing his opinion on, this was absolutely true. I think that still today this still happens but to a lesser degree. He’s basically saying that their is constant struggle between the “Have’s” and the “Have not’s” in society. When worded like that, I would tend to agree that this still happens. I found it pretty fascinating how he compared a worker to just a cog in a giant machine, that becomes an enforced activity, not a creative or satisfying thing. “It’s a means to an end.” Back then I would agree but today we are not FORCED to work at a job like this. We are very fortunate to be able to pursue our passions. We could even go out and become what Marx so hated, and start our own business. I feel that sometimes people choose not to do this due to complacency in a particular situation or a feeling of general apathy towards life. Sure there are some situations where one could not better themselves, but those types of situations usually don’t last forever. It would seem that Marx has a vision of a Utopian society where there is no currency and everyone works to help others, not to advance their status or move up in the social classes. pmed789
I really liked what the whole point of this video was about. It discussed what alienation is and about the social change that has progressed over the years. No matter how much we all want to live in a world where nobody gets judged or bullied for tht matter, we still do that. No matter where we go, it still happens. We all look down upon each other and it’s like we can’t ever end this cycle. Even if it’s something that is as little as a different culture eating something different than what you eat, we would originally look at them and say how weird it is. This is the world that we are living in. Schmidt789.
As society grows more struggle follows,we lose more and more of our self worth Marx believed unless you were a capitalist. In so many ways we are alienated without even realizing it because capitalism robs people of their lives. Alienation is a individual that is isolated from society work and sense of self. There are four different kinds of alienation from product, from ones self, from another, and from one self. Alienation from the product is when your only a small part to put something together. For example, A bread factory you might only put in the flour and machines do the rest. You do not get to label that bread as your own nor do you get to profit (except a paycheck) from it. This happens in corporations. Sadly there are less and less ma and pa shops and more corporations this day in age. Alienation from one own labor were you can't put your own touch of things to call it yours you are simply working to benefit the corporation. Alienation from another is a non ending battle. Capitalist want to see you strive to be your best even if that means putting a co-worker behind. They make you compete like a game. When your prize could be a raise which will help your family. Alienation from one self is when you can't be yourself. You are simply working for a paycheck instead of enjoyment. This is life, but not everyone can change it. An example, Holly hates her job, but she must keep it because she's a single mom and has bills. To the capitalist they don't care if shes unhappy to them she is another number. Its sad to think this is how society is, but it wont change, it is the circle of life. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer until their is only rich and poor, no more middle class -Gander 789
This video talks about Karl Marx’s take on social change and alienation. Marx talks about how the history of man has two aspects which are; man over nature, and the alienation of man. Marx hates capitalism, he says that it divides class and alienates people. When people are alienated they feel distant from society and see no meaning to it. The division of labor is what divides class according to Marx. Marx claimed that “Work defines us as human beings.. Labor is man's essence.” meaning that labor is the most important thing that man can do. Since labor is man's essence, we are seen as subjects, creating our own world. And while we do that, we form our cultures and lives in the process. Marx saw the world split into two separate classes, the capitalists and the laborers. The working class was seen as the ideal class because everyone can be self sufficient, along with changing society for the better. Marx wanted to unite the working class to basically take out the capitalists. However this did some what work, many would argue that it was not for the better. A capitalist society can have many benefits. The division of classes can also be a good thing, it provides competition and room for people to grow, rather than being stuck working labor for the rest of their lives. Navajo789
The narrator says that when people are alienated, they feel powerless and that they look at social institutions as beyond their control and consider them oppressive. I disagree with that statement somewhat because there are many people who alienate themselves on purpose, and they do so because that is the way they prefer their lives to be. They do not want to be a part of whatever group, workplace, community (or whatever) they were in, so they just prefer to not be a part of that particular system any longer. Granted, some find other systems to join and be a participating party in, but others choose alienation after one bad situation, and other people have several bad situations, and choose alienation after that. The point on this statement is that I disagree with an absolute statement that every single person on Earth feels powerless if they are alienated from any group. The narrator also says in the video that Marx believed that the capacity for labor is one of the most distinctive human characteristics and that all other species are objects in the world. He says that people alone are subjects because they consciously act on and create the world, thus shaping their lives, cultures, and themselves in the process. While I don’t know for certain exactly what he means by “distinctive”, I must disagree with this statement because it seems as though Marx is implying that all human beings are outstanding creatures above all other species, and all other species of living things are worthless and have no impact on the world. But if no other living thing on Earth exists, humans die, plain and simple. No vegetation and no meat. It is simply several billion people living on a planet with dirt and water. To elaborate on the capacity for labor, I think about penguins and all the work they go through in their lifetime. They might not contribute to our society or the world as a whole, but neither do most human beings.
And off topic here, am I the only one who thinks that this dude is extremely hard to listen to???
I totally agree with you on the hard to listen to part, it was very difficult for me to pay attention and actually retain the information he was saying. It’s interesting to hear your view on what he said about distinctive. I never really thought about his statement meaning something like that. It is also interesting how you brought up penguins because they do have to go through a lot of work. I agree with you on the part about alienation though. I do not think every single person that has alienated themselves from a group feel powerless or look at things way beyond their control. EPIC789
I do see how some people may alienate themselves on purpose, I feel as if that does not discredit the big picture in which humanity as a whole has suffered for hundreds of years. We are alienated from ourselves, not others. I think alienating yourself from society is actually a bit more freeing than acting under social norms. We are robbed from anything that differentiates us. The distinction between us and animals essentially means that humans are the only species that create the world around us. All other animals live to adapt, we live to create. I think your point about all other living things being just as important is really good. The symbiotic relationship between mankind and the rest of the world around us is not to be ignored. I believe a connection back to this way of life could free us from enslavement.
In the video, it talked about Karl Marx and his beliefs on alienation and social change. Karl Marx is one of the founding people of sociology. Karl Marx class theory is “The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles. “Marx believes that since society emerged it has always been fundamentals divided, In regard to alienation Marx believed the history of mankind has a double aspect. Marx said when people felt like they were being alienated people felt powerless and isolated, they also looked at society as something that is something way beyond their reach, and having a feeling that everyone is always doing better than you are doing at your job. In the video, it also talked about social change. He believes that the development of productive forces was the root of social change. He believed that when men are transforming nature they are transforming themselves. Marx also believed that working is the most important thing a man can do. He also talked about how employers and employees have always had problems. When the employers sell a product that the employee makes the employer is the one that always gets the most money even though the employee was the one who actually made the product. EPIC789
Karl Marx was an early influencer of the sociology field. Marx studied the social conflict between capitalists and proletarians. Capitalists were people who owned and operated factories and other businesses in pursuit of profit, or the bosses. Proletarians were the people who sold their labor for wages, so they were the workers or laborers. The social conflict between them was the struggle over valued resources. What bothered Marx was that all the profit from these new ways of business was falling into only select hands. Only the select people could enjoy luxuries and privileges of the rich. The rest were living in not so desirable conditions. They lived in the slums due to working long hours for extremely low wages. Marx thought that the only way to end social conflict was to end capitalism. Marx talked about how capitalism fosters alienation. Alienation is when a person experiences a sense of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness. Marx described alienation in four ways. First, he said that alienation from the act of working, meaning that their job is repetitive and routine, similar to how machines do many of these jobs in factories now. The second was alienation from the products of work, meaning the products belong to the capitalists and the harder the workers work, the more they lose to the capitalist who sell it for profit. Third is alienation from other workers, because in a capitalist society they want you to work harder and faster the competition of doing the most work the fastest set the workers further apart. The last way was alienation from human potential meaning that the workplace was dull and dehumanizing. Alienation make one feel as though life is meaningless, they are isolated and have no control over things as they happen. Marx wanted to reinvent society. He named this system socialism, a system of production that would provide the social needs of all people. He believed that this would bring the end to class conflict.-MommaJ789
Carl Marx was able to start looking at social inequalities among those working extremely hard as employees and the inequiality of the employers. This injustice was something that lead Karl Marx to star looking at things from a sociological perspective. Socialism was being created in a sense that was taking advantage of those that where working in an assembly line and not getting paid enough for their repetitive tasks. Koi789
What I got from this video is that according to Karl Marx the inequality between the employer and the employee wasn't a fair way to do business that can benefit both parts. According to Marx this was an antagonistic division between economical classes and interests. They employee was being exploited and taken advantage of them since the distributions of wealth. Work became more like a way survival and is becoming more needed burden to survive than an actual enjoyable task. All people in the world are subjects of the world and they constantly shaping their mind and themselves during this process economically developing under capitalism and said that is being alienated in their daily activities and the very work they faction as living. Men are alienated from the subjects of labor and their process of production for themselves and their fellow humans beings. Leaving them alien in the very environment that they had created. In other words inequality was overtaken by those who were wealthy and therefore powerful providing more and more resources to the rich and not allowing those alienated workers progress for themselves. Koi789
This video on Karl Marx covered his views on alienation and social change. Going in depth about the workforce and it’s social processes. For marx, he see’s religion, the state, and the economy all ruled by a capitalist are marked by a condition of alienation. This is glaringly obvious to me, man has been stripped of free will. Powerless under a capitalist reign. Marx sees labor as man’s essence. It is was separates us from all animals. Our capacity to work is something special. We are constantly creating the world around us, instead of letting nature create us. I believe Marx saw labor differently than humanity sees it now. Because of alienation, our sense of self freedom has been stripped from us. Through class separation, and the war between the exploiters and the exploited. Man is now defined by his hierarchy in labor. This used to not be the case, when work was an expression of one's self. This is ironic, considering it leaves most humans alienated in the environment in which they created. Marx believes capitalist society are dehumanizing because the social relations of production prohibity men from self determination. He also believes that technologies should be used to free men from the cog in which they have became in the social work realm. It is interesting to hear this from a man who was around during the 1800’s. Although I feel like he is completely right, and it is more obvious than ever now. If we let automation take control, we would be able to free ourselves from the slavery we have grown in to. This would take away the division of labor and allow humans to express themselves. With capitalism, there truly is no free will. Man has been robbed of archaic human processes.
In this article, it talks about Karl Marx, alienation, and social change. The class theory is “the history of all existing societies is the history of class struggles.” According to Marx’s view, ever since human society emerged from its primitive and relatively undifferentiated state. It has remained fundamentally divided between classes who clash in the pursuit of their class interest. Under capitalism, there is an antagonistic division between the buyers and sellers of labor power. Between the exploited and the exploited, rather than a functional collaboration between them. Marx’s analysis centers on how relationships between men are shaped by their position in regard to the forces of production. The history of mankind has a double aspect It was the history of constant control of man over nature. And at the same time, it was the history of the increasing alienation of man. Marx, then, goes onto talk about how he believes that if you suffer from alienation, some of the symptoms are: when you realize the pursuits of your peers are useless, searching for an undefined dream or goal, loss of closeness between friend, and many other symptoms. Economic alienation, under capitalism, means that man in alienated in daily activities. There are four aspects to economic alienation; man is alienated from the objects of labor, the process of production, himself, herself, and their fellow human beings. Both workers and capitalist’s losses control over their own existence in a system subject to the economic law over which they had no control. The worker is then reduced to process. Work then becomes a forced activity. Which is not a creative or satisfying one. I think this was a good lesson in learning about Marx and his theory and analysis with alienation and the social change between us, humans. Schmidt789
ReplyDeleteI like what is said about economic alienation in this video and in the comment as well. My personal opinion on the matter, which is somewhat similar to what is previously stated, is that the society we live in sort of trains us to alienate each other in a way. As much as we all want to live in a judgement free world and love one another it is not like that. Because of things being this way, we often judge people by what we have or what we have accomplished in life, rather than who we are as a person.White789
DeleteI’m not sure if I would agree that people are trained by society to alienate each other. (Or maybe it does in certain places to certain extent and I either wasn’t there or just didn’t see it.) Either way, I agree with you on the point that people judge others on their accomplishments or possessions rather than the content of their character. Also, I agree that so many people with certain beliefs completely alienate, bully, persecute, and even attack people who disagree with their own beliefs! Personally, I would say this is easily most prevalent in political parties in our country today, but there are also many others that would absolutely bully people who disagree with them like spiritual beliefs, fans of baseballs teams, basketball teams, hockey, football, and just about every other sport out there, NASCAR... the list goes on and on.
DeleteI’m not sure if I would agree that people are trained by society to alienate each other. (Or maybe it does in certain places to certain extent and I either wasn’t there or just didn’t see it.) Either way, I agree with you on the point that people judge others on their accomplishments or possessions rather than the content of their character. Also, I agree that so many people with certain beliefs completely alienate, bully, persecute, and even attack people who disagree with their own beliefs! Personally, I would say this is easily most prevalent in political parties in our country today, but there are also many others that would absolutely bully people who disagree with them like spiritual beliefs, fans of baseballs teams, basketball teams, hockey, football, and just about every other sport out there, NASCAR... the list goes on and on. Thanos789
DeleteKarl Marx is a physiology and the founder of social-conflict paradigms theory. So, for what I understand so far that social-conflict means the conflict between two main classes of the society over the scare resources or power. The two main classes are bourgeoisie (owner) and proletariat (worker). Bourgeoisie is the one who own the company or business that don’t need to sell their labor while the proletariat is the one who have to work for living and make profits. But the profits are not divide equality, most of the profit will go to the pocket of bourgeoisie. For example, capitalism has capitalist and worker, feudalism has lord and peasant, slavery has slave owner and slave. Marx views this is a social problem and these classes prohibited man from achieving their freedom of self-determination.
ReplyDeleteWhile long ago in history, people are naturally free. People can change the environment around us to exist while other animals are tried to adjust themselves for adaption to their around environment to be survive. This is human unique characteristic and make us separated from the animals. People can change the environment so they can create the world as well! But when human increasing their control over nature, they are also increasing the alienation. (They are two aspects of history viewed by Marx). Alienation people felt powerless, isolated. They viewed the world are meaningless and the society are far beyond their reach and it controls them. This view remained me of the book name “Of Mice and Men”, the author shows clearly the hopelessness of the society in that time where men have to work for living from place to place and emphasized the loneliness of the worker. The alienation isolated people and separated them with the environment they had create.
And Marx also said that if people realize this social-conflict, there will be a revolution. And the revolution did happen! The new form of economic system had created, socialism where the proletariat holds the power instead of the bourgeoisie and the profits are divided equality without the control of owner class. There is the social democracy at Sweden or the Marxism-Leninism at Soviet Union. But there are still a far distance to reach the 100% socialism. In the end, Social-conflict just one of the many ways that we used to look at our society.
Zero789
You did a great job explaining all of this. I believe that there will always be alienation of workers if we have a capitalist society. I agree that socialism is here as well, but to me I still believe that the CEOs of large companies have power over me and I still have to work extremely hard to provide for my family and don't feel that I will ever reach the level that they are. I feel like unless I change my values and treat people as they aren't as worthy as I am, I will continue to be the worker. --MommaJ789
DeleteYou gave a very excellent explanation about Karl Marx and his role in identifying that social-conflict existed between the two main classes of society. He identified a problem. He was showed compassion toward members of society who he felt were being alienated, because of this is sought out to make a change. He envisioned a system of production that would benefit all members of societies social needs.
DeleteI feel in 2017 class conflict still exist. Some businesses are looking for profits by any means necessary and do not care nor do they think about the well beings of their employees by downsizing, layoffs, replacing people with computers, etc. I watched the movie “Going Style” over the weekend and that movie is a perfect example of class conflict.
Granny789
Karl Marx's beliefs point towards more hatred of capitalism. He is saying that people will create social change to suit their environment. Even saying that people will alienate each other, by taking their rights through labor. With the upper class going as far as to use their influence to reduce labor through the use of machinery. People are always changing due to the flaws of capitalism; people being mistreated through the distribution of money, resources, or anything that can be monopolized, including land. People feel alienated when large social changes, like the mechanization of factories, lead to the subsequent firing of those who served roles now filled by machines. The image of a worker struggling against a machine is a good visual representation of what is talked about in the video. The video explained many things Karl Marx said about social change, chief among them being the signs of alienation. The end of the video even provides some books for reading into the subject further. Though sometimes getting other people's perspectives and opinions can be more valuable than reading a few biased books that can often mislead or be misinterpreted, assuming this is a topic that you can get anyone to even talk about. The concept of the division of classes is not an easy topic to talk about. How easy it is for a company to control the wealth of its employees is fairly daunting, however the treatment of employment benefits and salary as a competition between companies over employees is likely a preventative for such penny-pocketing attitudes towards employment. Demand for employees is largely the bane of under-handed employer practices, however this concept mostly applies to skilled workers. The distinctive separation between employers and employees has long been a conflict. It has been proven time and time again that people will find ways to define themselves as separate from others. If one believes themselves superior to another, then they often feel entitled to what may not be theirs, including labor. When employers are in service to employees, as much as employees are in service to employers, then the distinction between the two blurs; they start becoming simply jobs with different roles. However, it is very clear that incentives are needed for society to function, so being able to progress in position is a given. However, this naturally comes with a sense of greater importance, which often leads to a sense of superiority. You can guess where this leads. The problem of social alienation in the workforce is not one that has any perfect solution if you ask me, but there are many per-case solutions that don't involve dangerous blanket-policy attitudes. The whole concept of capitalism is allowing for an economy that flexes to specific needs and situations, unfortunately this means there will be many periods of turbulence. The beliefs of Karl Marx were formed in that turbulence.
ReplyDelete-gamer789
-SoarSore789
I've briefly studied Marx in a psych class and a humanities class but never really agreed to what he had to say until I read the textbook and watched this video. I absolutely agree with you that he has a hatred for capitalism, and I ventured to guess it was because of his extremely rough upbringing. And you're also correct when we start talking about class division it can get touchy real quick. But I think that when the conversation starts is when we can make a change. Unfortunately, unless we completely change the way our society and government is ran, we won't ever see this type of division go away. I loved your explanation of the employee vs employer relationship as well, it really helped me understand that concept. pmed789
DeleteKarl Marx is one of the three founders of sociology. He helped develop the macro-level social conflict approach theory, which shows how inequality creates conflict and causes change. Marx believed that the system of economic production involved both technology and social relationships and ever part of society operates to support the economic system. During the Industrial Revolution, Marx used the participant observation research method, by spending a majority of his adult life in London. He was amazed with the size and productive power of the factories being built in Britain. Britain, as well as other industrial nations, were producing more goods than ever, getting raw materials from all over the world and selling finished products at high rates. He was bothered by the fact that the riches produced by new technology only was rewarded to a few people. Only a handful enjoyed the luxurious and privileged life while majority of the people lived in slums and labored long hours for wages. He saw this as contradiction “in a country so rich, how could so many people be poor?” This idea prompts his thinking of social conflict, the struggle between segments of society over valued resources. The most important type of social conflict, he believed, is class conflict.
ReplyDeleteMarx believed that during the nineteenth century two classes developed in Europe. The capitalist, people who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits. He felt that capitalism turned most of the population into industrial workers, who he called proletarians, people who sell their labor for wages. Class conflict was created between capitalist and workers. The capitalist wanted extraordinary profits so they kept wages low, but the workers (proletarians) wanted higher wages. Marx believed that this conflict would end only if capitalism ended.
He insisted that a capitalist society produces alienation, the feeling of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness. Capitalism alienates workers in four ways. It alienates them from the act of working, from the products of work, from other workers, and from human potential. Capitalist viewed workers as nothing but a source of labor to obtain a huge profit for themselves. Feeling dehumanized by their jobs, these workers felt unsatisfied and felt unable to improve their situation. As people developed technology to gain control and power over the world, the capitalist economy gains more control over people. Marx argued that to come from under capitalism a new society needs to be created. Industrial workers would overcome alienation by uniting into a true social class, be aware of the cause of their problem, and be ready to change society. Creating a socialist society would bring class conflict to an end.
Granny789
Thank for the information about Industrial Revolution! I also believed that Marx formed his view from this period. In Industrial Revolution, new technology emerged which starts the series of established company and factory so led to the booming of city like Chicago, New York. More factory means more labor are need. People started to immigrant from rural area to city. The large concentrate of people in the city help the sociologists saw through the pattern of society and recognized the problems that was going on in society. Like what you said, Marx saw the inequality between the owner and worker and conflicts between these two social classes. Marx believed this conflict can be solve if there is no more capitalism. But I don’t think so. It hard or impossible to remove the social classes if there still have present of power. In fact, the countries with capitalism are develop more and stronger than those without it like U.S vs. China.
DeleteZero789
It’s pretty evident that Karl Marx does not have a love for a society based on Capitalism. I think he personally has a vendetta against it due to his very poor upbringing and he based a good amount of his theories on this hatred. While I do agree and disagree with what he has to say, I’ll stick to what is presented in this video. He starts off by saying that there is a constant class conflict between the buyers and sellers of labor powers, between the exploiters and the exploited rather than a functional collaboration between them. I would agree that back in the time that Marx was basing his opinion on, this was absolutely true. I think that still today this still happens but to a lesser degree. He’s basically saying that their is constant struggle between the “Have’s” and the “Have not’s” in society. When worded like that, I would tend to agree that this still happens. I found it pretty fascinating how he compared a worker to just a cog in a giant machine, that becomes an enforced activity, not a creative or satisfying thing. “It’s a means to an end.” Back then I would agree but today we are not FORCED to work at a job like this. We are very fortunate to be able to pursue our passions. We could even go out and become what Marx so hated, and start our own business. I feel that sometimes people choose not to do this due to complacency in a particular situation or a feeling of general apathy towards life. Sure there are some situations where one could not better themselves, but those types of situations usually don’t last forever. It would seem that Marx has a vision of a Utopian society where there is no currency and everyone works to help others, not to advance their status or move up in the social classes. pmed789
ReplyDeleteI really liked what the whole point of this video was about. It discussed what alienation is and about the social change that has progressed over the years. No matter how much we all want to live in a world where nobody gets judged or bullied for tht matter, we still do that. No matter where we go, it still happens. We all look down upon each other and it’s like we can’t ever end this cycle. Even if it’s something that is as little as a different culture eating something different than what you eat, we would originally look at them and say how weird it is. This is the world that we are living in. Schmidt789.
DeleteAs society grows more struggle follows,we lose more and more of our self worth Marx believed unless you were a capitalist. In so many ways we are alienated without even realizing it because capitalism robs people of their lives. Alienation is a individual that is isolated from society work and sense of self. There are four different kinds of alienation from product, from ones self, from another, and from one self. Alienation from the product is when your only a small part to put something together. For example, A bread factory you might only put in the flour and machines do the rest. You do not get to label that bread as your own nor do you get to profit (except a paycheck) from it. This happens in corporations. Sadly there are less and less ma and pa shops and more corporations this day in age. Alienation from one own labor were you can't put your own touch of things to call it yours you are simply working to benefit the corporation. Alienation from another is a non ending battle. Capitalist want to see you strive to be your best even if that means putting a co-worker behind. They make you compete like a game. When your prize could be a raise which will help your family. Alienation from one self is when you can't be yourself. You are simply working for a paycheck instead of enjoyment. This is life, but not everyone can change it. An example, Holly hates her job, but she must keep it because she's a single mom and has bills. To the capitalist they don't care if shes unhappy to them she is another number. Its sad to think this is how society is, but it wont change, it is the circle of life. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer until their is only rich and poor, no more middle class -Gander 789
ReplyDeleteThis video talks about Karl Marx’s take on social change and alienation. Marx talks about how the history of man has two aspects which are; man over nature, and the alienation of man. Marx hates capitalism, he says that it divides class and alienates people. When people are alienated they feel distant from society and see no meaning to it. The division of labor is what divides class according to Marx. Marx claimed that “Work defines us as human beings.. Labor is man's essence.” meaning that labor is the most important thing that man can do. Since labor is man's essence, we are seen as subjects, creating our own world. And while we do that, we form our cultures and lives in the process. Marx saw the world split into two separate classes, the capitalists and the laborers. The working class was seen as the ideal class because everyone can be self sufficient, along with changing society for the better. Marx wanted to unite the working class to basically take out the capitalists. However this did some what work, many would argue that it was not for the better. A capitalist society can have many benefits. The division of classes can also be a good thing, it provides competition and room for people to grow, rather than being stuck working labor for the rest of their lives. Navajo789
ReplyDeleteThe narrator says that when people are alienated, they feel powerless and that they look at social institutions as beyond their control and consider them oppressive. I disagree with that statement somewhat because there are many people who alienate themselves on purpose, and they do so because that is the way they prefer their lives to be. They do not want to be a part of whatever group, workplace, community (or whatever) they were in, so they just prefer to not be a part of that particular system any longer. Granted, some find other systems to join and be a participating party in, but others choose alienation after one bad situation, and other people have several bad situations, and choose alienation after that. The point on this statement is that I disagree with an absolute statement that every single person on Earth feels powerless if they are alienated from any group.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator also says in the video that Marx believed that the capacity for labor is one of the most distinctive human characteristics and that all other species are objects in the world. He says that people alone are subjects because they consciously act on and create the world, thus shaping their lives, cultures, and themselves in the process. While I don’t know for certain exactly what he means by “distinctive”, I must disagree with this statement because it seems as though Marx is implying that all human beings are outstanding creatures above all other species, and all other species of living things are worthless and have no impact on the world. But if no other living thing on Earth exists, humans die, plain and simple. No vegetation and no meat. It is simply several billion people living on a planet with dirt and water. To elaborate on the capacity for labor, I think about penguins and all the work they go through in their lifetime. They might not contribute to our society or the world as a whole, but neither do most human beings.
And off topic here, am I the only one who thinks that this dude is extremely hard to listen to???
Thanos789
I totally agree with you on the hard to listen to part, it was very difficult for me to pay attention and actually retain the information he was saying. It’s interesting to hear your view on what he said about distinctive. I never really thought about his statement meaning something like that. It is also interesting how you brought up penguins because they do have to go through a lot of work. I agree with you on the part about alienation though. I do not think every single person that has alienated themselves from a group feel powerless or look at things way beyond their control. EPIC789
DeleteI do see how some people may alienate themselves on purpose, I feel as if that does not discredit the big picture in which humanity as a whole has suffered for hundreds of years. We are alienated from ourselves, not others. I think alienating yourself from society is actually a bit more freeing than acting under social norms. We are robbed from anything that differentiates us. The distinction between us and animals essentially means that humans are the only species that create the world around us. All other animals live to adapt, we live to create. I think your point about all other living things being just as important is really good. The symbiotic relationship between mankind and the rest of the world around us is not to be ignored. I believe a connection back to this way of life could free us from enslavement.
DeleteQuinkThick789
In the video, it talked about Karl Marx and his beliefs on alienation and social change. Karl Marx is one of the founding people of sociology. Karl Marx class theory is “The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles. “Marx believes that since society emerged it has always been fundamentals divided, In regard to alienation Marx believed the history of mankind has a double aspect. Marx said when people felt like they were being alienated people felt powerless and isolated, they also looked at society as something that is something way beyond their reach, and having a feeling that everyone is always doing better than you are doing at your job. In the video, it also talked about social change. He believes that the development of productive forces was the root of social change. He believed that when men are transforming nature they are transforming themselves. Marx also believed that working is the most important thing a man can do. He also talked about how employers and employees have always had problems. When the employers sell a product that the employee makes the employer is the one that always gets the most money even though the employee was the one who actually made the product. EPIC789
ReplyDeleteKarl Marx was an early influencer of the sociology field. Marx studied the social conflict between capitalists and proletarians. Capitalists were people who owned and operated factories and other businesses in pursuit of profit, or the bosses. Proletarians were the people who sold their labor for wages, so they were the workers or laborers. The social conflict between them was the struggle over valued resources. What bothered Marx was that all the profit from these new ways of business was falling into only select hands. Only the select people could enjoy luxuries and privileges of the rich. The rest were living in not so desirable conditions. They lived in the slums due to working long hours for extremely low wages. Marx thought that the only way to end social conflict was to end capitalism.
ReplyDeleteMarx talked about how capitalism fosters alienation. Alienation is when a person experiences a sense of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness. Marx described alienation in four ways. First, he said that alienation from the act of working, meaning that their job is repetitive and routine, similar to how machines do many of these jobs in factories now. The second was alienation from the products of work, meaning the products belong to the capitalists and the harder the workers work, the more they lose to the capitalist who sell it for profit. Third is alienation from other workers, because in a capitalist society they want you to work harder and faster the competition of doing the most work the fastest set the workers further apart. The last way was alienation from human potential meaning that the workplace was dull and dehumanizing.
Alienation make one feel as though life is meaningless, they are isolated and have no control over things as they happen. Marx wanted to reinvent society. He named this system socialism, a system of production that would provide the social needs of all people. He believed that this would bring the end to class conflict.-MommaJ789
Carl Marx was able to start looking at social inequalities among those working extremely hard as employees and the inequiality of the employers. This injustice was something that lead Karl Marx to star looking at things from a sociological perspective. Socialism was being created in a sense that was taking advantage of those that where working in an assembly line and not getting paid enough for their repetitive tasks. Koi789
DeleteWhat I got from this video is that according to Karl Marx the inequality between the employer and the employee wasn't a fair way to do business that can benefit both parts. According to Marx this was an antagonistic division between economical classes and interests. They employee was being exploited and taken advantage of them since the distributions of wealth. Work became more like a way survival and is becoming more needed burden to survive than an actual enjoyable task. All people in the world are subjects of the world and they constantly shaping their mind and themselves during this process economically developing under capitalism and said that is being alienated in their daily activities and the very work they faction as living. Men are alienated from the subjects of labor and their process of production for themselves and their fellow humans beings. Leaving them alien in the very environment that they had created. In other words inequality was overtaken by those who were wealthy and therefore powerful providing more and more resources to the rich and not allowing those alienated workers progress for themselves. Koi789
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis video on Karl Marx covered his views on alienation and social change. Going in depth about the workforce and it’s social processes. For marx, he see’s religion, the state, and the economy all ruled by a capitalist are marked by a condition of alienation. This is glaringly obvious to me, man has been stripped of free will. Powerless under a capitalist reign. Marx sees labor as man’s essence. It is was separates us from all animals. Our capacity to work is something special. We are constantly creating the world around us, instead of letting nature create us. I believe Marx saw labor differently than humanity sees it now. Because of alienation, our sense of self freedom has been stripped from us. Through class separation, and the war between the exploiters and the exploited. Man is now defined by his hierarchy in labor. This used to not be the case, when work was an expression of one's self. This is ironic, considering it leaves most humans alienated in the environment in which they created. Marx believes capitalist society are dehumanizing because the social relations of production prohibity men from self determination. He also believes that technologies should be used to free men from the cog in which they have became in the social work realm. It is interesting to hear this from a man who was around during the 1800’s. Although I feel like he is completely right, and it is more obvious than ever now. If we let automation take control, we would be able to free ourselves from the slavery we have grown in to. This would take away the division of labor and allow humans to express themselves. With capitalism, there truly is no free will. Man has been robbed of archaic human processes.
ReplyDeleteQuinkThick789