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Essay / Karl Marx's Alienation Essay - 1539
To give a basic understanding, Marx theorizes that “the entire character of a species – its species character – is contained in the character of its vital activity; and free and conscious activity is the specific character of man” (76). All animals have a specific character, but humans have a considerably more complex one. The sensitivity of human beings makes their species-essence have more complex needs, such as targeted production activity. However, by “tearing away from man the object of his production, alienated labor therefore tears away from him his specific life, his true specific objectivity” (76). Capitalism objectifies the life of the human species, transforming what was once natural into work. Production in capitalist society moves the goal of the human species away from its original form. Consequently, man's consciousness “is thus transformed by estrangement in such a way that the life of the species becomes a means for him” (77). Capitalist society inverts the relationship between the life of species and its existence. Instead of living for the meaningful production of objects and ideas, a worker must produce objects in order to sustain his life and existence. The specific life of workers is completely corrupted and becomes a driving force of capitalist production instead of giving the individual the vitality necessary to accomplish a more meaningful mission.