Marxism & Alienation in the 21st Century
Why Marxism is Still Relevant — You Can’t Deny It
Karl Marx argued some time ago that the Industrialized Age brought with it an alienation from our true nature, as the notorious political philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau thought before him.
But some may think that this is an outdated principle. Sure, they shrug, back when workers did not have labor unions and actual living wages, Marx may have been correct … but now?! Surely the middle class has no right to be alienated from whatever it is we call our “true nature” — because life is just so good.
We have smartphones, books, good coffee shops around every corner, and Netflix … so how are people alienated?
Well, they are! And they have good reason to be!
I don’t want to get into an exhaustive explanation for why alienation is a valid concern — that is for another place. And I am pretty sure that most of you would agree with me, the world is necessary an alienating place; we exchange wages for things we don’t really need like fancy watches, better phones, and clothing.
There is a reinforcing mechanism that tells us that the bigger our house is, the happier we are. But researchers are increasingly showing that this is a false reward mechanism. Indeed, our cultural…
