Economic, political, and social theories in the middle to late nineteenth century were put forward in the Communist Manifesto and also Das Kapital by Karl Marx in conjunction with Frederick Engels. Both Marx and Engels were German exiles living in Great Britain and aiming to promote communism.
Karl Marxwas prompted to form his theory of alienation by his examination of the economic, social, and political developments brought about by the industrial revolution especially in Great Britain. Marx contended that the new industrial processes alienated the bulk of the masses from the owners of the emerging captialist system.
Machinery, Factories, And The Theory Of Alienation
Machineryand factories that resulted from the growth and the subsequent expansion of the industrial revolution allowed the capitalist classes to reduce the wages paid to industrial workers, and make them endure terrible working conditions. The alienation felt by the workers would leave either to ineffective trade union movements, or deepen class struggles resulting in the victory of the Proletariat.
Alienation as a theory was arguably an accurate evaluation of the impact of low wages, long working hours and very poor working conditions had upon the proletarian industrial workers of the most advanced capitalist economies. It was the alienation that the proletarian workers felt, which would bring about the inevitable collapse of the capitalist system and its replacement by the communist system.
How Communists Used The Theory Of Alienation To Condemn Capitalism
Communistseverywhere regarded Karl Marx and his theory of alienation was a useful propaganda tool, even if it failed to explain why the capitalist system did not disappear, and the inevitable global triumph of communism never happened at all.
Capitalism and liberal democracy are apparently an irresistible combination in the contemporary world yet social conflicts still persist. It could be argued that Karl Marx and his theory of alienation could be applied to modern society to explain economic, social, and political divisions.
Alienation as a economic, political, and social theory is still relevant for achieving an understanding of modern society as it is adaptable enough to allow for an analysis of modern capitalism as it had a scope to understand evolved forms of capitalism.
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