Marx’s Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts (1844) argues generally that capitalism and the division of labor has resulted in man’s alienation from his work and thereby, himself. Man is a being whose identity is based on his interaction with the world and his fight against nature for survival, trivializing this struggle by reducing it to a system of labor for money diminishes this identity. In light of his earlier discussion regarding capitalism and competition as a drive towards the formation of monopolies and a proletariat-bourgeoisie dichotomy, he concludes that capitalism directly contributes to man’s loss of self-identification.
It is not difficult to see the diminishment of individuality wrought by the division of labor in society. Whereas in the past, a community needed to band together to scrape by and provide for the needs of its members, modern labor has become so diffuse that a single product is often made of components from more places than an average individual could visit in their lifetime. This is true. Man no longer identifies with the means of his survival. Rather, man’s perceived value is determined by his ability to contribute.
Furthermore, the division of labor muddles the once direct correlation between exerted labor and material benefit to one’s own. It is not hard to find examples of people who work little and make more money and have more resources than a hundred individuals who work twice as hard. It is the dichotomy between the haves and the have-nots. The upper works little and reaps the benefits of the labor of the workers. There is clearly a reason why parents strive to send their children to college, even at great expense. Escaping the monotony of unskilled work is one of the chief purposes of flexible social mobility in a society. To be able to “work less” (used in quotes because Marx does not well define what “work” is to mean) and accrue greater social status is both a benefit of the division of labor, and a curse. It is frustrating to slave at work all day and make less money than a CEO whose personal work load seems less strenuous and whose contributions are less concrete. However, just because unfairness exists does not therefore mean that the system of capitalism itself is inherently unfair and furthermore that the division of labor is at fault for this disconnect between man and nature.
Marx does acknowledge that the division of labor has in fact lead to certain societal benefits. However, these benefits, in his assessment, are grossly outweighed by the costs. Perhaps in a time when industrial society was a new phenomenon and the old social order had been upset, it was unclear that, while some few at the top might benefit greatly in the short term, the long-term benefits of capitalism, competition, and the division of labor would eventually come to all.
Again, Marx is not wrong. This benefit does come at great cost. Man’s individuality seems a relic of a distant past in today’s commercialized, consumerist society. Almost nothing is original. Clothing, music, movies, even one’s most eclectic interior decorating is still inevitably beholden to corporate big names. Look in anyone’s refrigerator and you’ll find a bevy of familiar branded beverages, processed and pre-packaged foods, and meats that bear no resemblance to their source. Individuality has been an undeniable casualty of the division of labor. Nevertheless, it is hard to argue that the alternative is superior. Life expectancy when man was one with nature (i.e., his labor directly equated to his survival) was not half of what it is today. There are currently more people alive today than have cumulatively died throughout all human history- largely due to the benefits of modern medicine. Even as depression and anxiety are at all-time highs, it is still a favorable alternative to likely death by disease before age 50.
It is possible to remedy man’s disassociation with nature without relinquishing the undeniable benefits of capitalism and the division of labor. While it will always be inevitable that labor as such will be disconnected from actual survival, it is not an inevitable conclusion that disintegrated identity must follow. Man’s value to society is certainly tied to his ability to contribute given the current system of affairs. However, this is merely a tie and not the sole factor. Marx misses entirely the social qualities of man. While clearly extolling humanity as interdependent on one another, he fails to recognize that value as perceived by the individual is not directly tied to money.
It is not difficult to find “poor” individuals who are perfectly content with their lives just as it is not difficult to find “rich” people who are entirely discontent with their lives. Suicide is a disease of the aristocracy. Studies have shown that, once a person’s basic needs are met, increased access to resources has little effect on happiness. Given the break-neck pace at which humans have been innovating, it is likely not far in the future when all basic (and even advanced) needs will be accessible to all members of society. Food is in abundance already. Education is highly accessible and provided free of charge in many countries. Access to healthcare is fledgling but is already unparalleled in human history. This has all been done through free-market, capitalistic principles rather than the destruction thereof.
Returning to a time before the division of labor, redistributing resources, or benevolent state control of industry will not produce the intended results. In nearly all of the places where these practices have been imposed, human suffering has been maximized, not diminished. Certainly, the capitalistic system leaves a lot of people in the dust. It is a machine and its cogs and gears are worn out and replaced as it plows forward towards a better future. Despite the cruelty of capitalism, its benefits for even the lowliest individual are hard to overlook. Solving man’s identity crisis is nothing more than another problem requiring innovation.
📝 Read this story later in Journal.
🗞 Wake up every Sunday morning to the week’s most noteworthy Tech stories, opinions, and news waiting in your inbox: Get the noteworthy newsletter >
