Development of the Concept and Theory of Alienation in Marx's Writings March 1843 to August 1844

279 Pages·2007·1.46 MB·English

Development of the Concept and Theory of
Alienation in Marx's Writings
March 1843 to August 1844

Nasir Khan
Dedicated to
Professor Guttorm Flöistad
in friendship and admiration of his humanism
CONTENTS
CONTENTS.........................................................................................................................i
A PREFACE......................................................................................................................iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..............................................................................................vii
INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................xi
CHAPTER 1.......................................................................................................................1
THE THEORY OF ALIENATION....................................................................................1
1.1. An historical overview of the concept.....................................................................3
1.2. Definitions and Distinctions: Alienation, Entfremdung and Entäusserung...........13
CHAPTER 2.....................................................................................................................18
RELIGIOUS ALIENATION: FEUERBACH AND MARX............................................18
2.1. The concept of alienation in the Young Hegelian movement................................18
2.2. Feuerbach's impact on the Young Hegelian movement.........................................22
2.3. Religious anthropology..........................................................................................24
2.4. Feuerbach's conception of the human essence.......................................................30
2.4.1. Man as a communal being..............................................................................35
2.5. Human activity and alienation...............................................................................36
2.6. Marx's Feuerbachian metaphysics..........................................................................38
2.7. Divergent views of Marx and Feuerbach..............................................................42
CHAPTER 3.....................................................................................................................49
POLITICAL ALIENATION: HEGEL AND MARX.......................................................49
3.1. The early writings of Marx and the problem of alienation....................................49
Part l HEGEL.........................................................................................................52
3.2. The state and civil society in the Philosophy of Right...........................................52
3.2.1. Ethical life (Sittlichkeit)..................................................................................54
3.2.2. The State.........................................................................................................58
3.2.3. The state as an organic whole.........................................................................63
3.2.4. Civil society (bürgerliche Gesellschaft)..........................................................67
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3.2.5. The universal class..........................................................................................74
3.2.6. The duality of man..........................................................................................77
Part 2 MARX.........................................................................................................80
3.3. The premises of political alienation in the Critique...............................................80
3.4. The state and alienation.........................................................................................85
3.4.1. Bureaucracy as the theological spirit of the state............................................89
3.4.2. Democracy versus monarchy.........................................................................92
3.4.3. Individual's alienation.....................................................................................97
3.4.4. Political disalienation through 'true democracy'...........................................100
3.5. Political emancipation and the question of alienation.........................................107
3.6. Money, the alienated essence of man's life..........................................................114
CHAPTER 4...................................................................................................................119
SACRED AND NON-SACRED FORMS OF ALIENATION.......................................119
4.1. Religion as an extreme form of alienation...........................................................120
4.2. The emergence of the proletariat and human emancipation................................127
4.3. The proletariat as the universal class...................................................................133
CHAPTER 5...................................................................................................................140
ECONOMIC ALIENATION..........................................................................................140
5.1. Introduction: Marx's encounter with political economy......................................140
5.2. The concept of human nature in the EPM............................................................145
5.2.1. Man as a natural being..................................................................................149
5.2.2. Man as a species being......................................................................................155
5.3. The theory of political economy and alienation...................................................166
5.4. Private property and the alienated labour............................................................171
5.5. The alienation of labour.......................................................................................175
5.5.1. Man's relation to the product of his labour...................................................176
5.5.2. Man's relation to his productive activity.......................................................180
5.5.3. Man's alienation from his species................................................................183
5 5.4. Man's relation to fellow men.........................................................................185
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5.5.5. Alienation under capitalism..........................................................................187
5.6. Division of labour and alienation........................................................................190
5.7. Money as man's alienated self and political economy.........................................196
CHAPTER 6...................................................................................................................201
THE SUPERSESSION OF ALIENATION....................................................................201
6.1. The Aufhebung of private property......................................................................201
6.2. Communism: the negation of the negation..........................................................207
6.3. The three forms of communism...........................................................................211
6.4. The total man.......................................................................................................218
CHAPTER 7...................................................................................................................223
THE CRITIQUE OF HEGELIAN CONCEPT OF ALIENATION................................223
7.1. The influence of the Phenomenology on the EPM..............................................223
7.2. The critique of Hegel's conception of alienation.................................................225
7.3. The supersession of alienation in the PG.............................................................233
CHAPTER 8...................................................................................................................240
CONCLUDING REMARKS..........................................................................................240
BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................249

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A PREFACE

The writings of Marx occupy a paramount position within the history of ideas, not only because
of their momentous impact upon the historical process, but also owing to their intrinsic value and
truth.
Marx's activity as a scientific and philosophical writer persisted during four decades -
from the youthful, first attempts to come to grips with social and political reality to the gigantic
enterprise of his maturity; from his partly unpublished writings to found a new doctrine of
History to the masterly exposition of the capitalist mode of production and the concomitant
critique of prevailing political economy. In the course of this time span, Marx, like most thinkers,
changed in many ways, and this fact raises the question of continuity. To what extent is the work
of Marx a unified whole? To what extent does it fall apart into several different, even mutually
exclusive, doctrines? These are not merely the questions of concern to the historian and the
biographer; they direct our attention to our understanding of essential features of our society,
such as, for instance, the proper relationship between politics and technics, or between individual
personality and sociality.
Nasir Khan has devoted himself to the study of some of Marx's early writings, with
special reference to his treatment of man's alienation. The notion of alienation came into the
foreground after the publication in the 'thirties of the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts,
where it plays a decisive rôle. Since then, Marx's use of the alienation concept has been a
permanent topic of investigation and discussion, bearing on the sense of Marx's humanist stance,
and its relation to a positivist conception of science.
Nasir Khan's monograph is another contribution to this field of research. His study is not
intended as an introduction to the problematic, but rather addresses the advanced reader, who has
already acquired a basic knowledge of Marx and Engels' 'materialist conception of history' in
general, their main works, the history of Marxist thought and practice, and the concept of
alienation as an aspect of human subjugation and suffering.
The author deals with this subject matter in a thoroughly scholarly manner. His work is
based upon a close scrutiny of the original texts, and displays an impressive command of the
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enormous literature commenting on what Marx wrote. He himself purports, not to revolutionise
the current interpretations, but to restate them a little more clearly than the preceding authors, by
utilising what they have said in their texts. In this way, the present work makes a specialised
contribution within the world-wide research activity.
The field of inquiry is strictly limited, concentrating on what Marx wrote on alienation
within an interval of 17-18 months, between March 1843 and August 1844. This narrow scope
permits a very detailed account, following the sinuosities of Marx's itinerary as he strives for
clarity, passing from the critique of politics to that of private property, and arriving at an
understanding of alienated human existence, founded upon a conception of what a truly rich
human existence would be. To participate in the discussion about whether the notion of
alienation is essential merely in Marx's early writings is not the main purpose of Nasir Khan. He
does however make his standpoint clear, stating, and in my opinion rightly, that the concept and
doctrine of alienation are fundamental to Marx's thought from the beginning to the end.
The 'death' of Marxism has been proclaimed over and over again, and today, in the wake
of the rapid political changes in Eastern Europe, this proclamation is perhaps made more
triumphantly than ever before. But it is clear that the perishing of these regimes cannot disprove
the truth of Marx's doctrines. For one thing, the strong revival and renewal of the Marxist
movement in the 'sixties and 'seventies took place rather in spite of, and not because of, the
achievements of these regimes. Hence, their dismantling changes little or nothing on the
scientific level, even if it may serve as a pretext for those who for other reasons want to break
with Marxist thought. Moreover, the economic and social conditions in Western Europe
nowadays do not at all warrant any en bloc rejection of Marxian conceptions. Governmental
policies based upon 'the general theory of employment' no longer ensure approximately full
employment, with the consequence that new social strata resembling Marx's 'reserve army' of
wage labourers have appeared. The 'welfare state', the declared function of which is to guarantee
certain basic rights and thus to make the class struggle less urgent, shows alarming signs of
weakness. All experts agree that socio-economic inequality has increased and that class cleavages
have become sharpened contrary to the optimistic perspectives on our future some decades ago.
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Yet, the validity of Marxian conceptions does not, to my mind, ultimately depend upon
such events and trends, Rather, the basic conceptions of Marxian thought, such as that of human
alienation, should be understood as an internal critique of the basic Liberal notions of the
Individual, the Market, and the State. These notions are constitutive of a social order, the
hypocrisy and insufficiency of which are uncovered by Marxist thought. This Liberal order and
its capitalist mode of production are still expanding throughout the world. For this reason, the
Marxian critique is still 'alive' and indispensable for the understanding of the human world, and
this holds both for the critique of political economy and the critique of human alienation, the
theme of the present study.

Oslo, June 1991 Dag Österberg
Professor of Sociology
University of Oslo
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is an abridged edition of my doctor philosophiae thesis that I had submitted to the
University of Oslo in March 1991. A successful disputas (a public examination for a doctoral
degree in Norway) was held in May 1992. In view of the helpful criticism of my learned
opponents Professor Sven-Eric Liedman (Sweden) and Dr Knut Vennesland (Norway) on this
occasion, I have made some corrections and alterations in the text. I am particularly thankful to
Professor Sven-Eric Liedman, a leading authority on Marx and Marxism, for his written
comments on the thesis which I have used with great benefit while revising the book for the
present edition. I thank the Solum Publishers for their enthusiastic co-operation to publish it. I
also thank the Research Council of Norway for a grant in connection with its publication.
Whatever its merits or drawbacks, this study is, first and foremost, my personal tribute to
the Norwegian philosopher Professor Guttorm Flöistad of the University of Oslo. Without his
humane attitude and friendly support I could not have either undertaken or completed it. It was
by sheer chance that I came in contact with him in a teachers' seminar in the autumn of 1984,
where he spoke on the theme of communication between Christians and socialists. I found him a
skilful and an articulate communicator of his philosophical views. His over-all world-view was
principally broad and non-sectarian in the political and social context. My acquaintance with him
started from that time. And our friendship since then has become deeper. When I apprised him of
my intention to do doctoral research, he encouraged me to do so. I did encounter initially some
obstructions from the academic and administrative bureaucrats. But they were only doing their
job. However, through the good offices of the influential professor, these difficulties were
overcome and I was able to pursue the research work independently. My debt of gratefulness to
him for all the help and inspiration is enormous. As a token of friendship and affection, I am
delighted to dedicate this book to him.
I have been singularly lucky to have had the benefit of the advice and suggestions of the
distinguished Norwegian sociologist and philosopher Professor Dag Österberg over a number of
years. Most of his major works are in Norwegian, except his Metasociology: An Inquiry into the
Origins and Validity of Social Thought (1988) which is in English. His writings are a model of
lucid and profound philosophical discourse. It is a great privilege to know him who is, in my
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view, one of the most original and perceptive thinkers in Europe at this time. With his firm grasp
of Marxist theory, his resolute help has been inestimable in my work. He was deeply involved in
his own research activities for various projects. Yet, despite his own pressing engagements, he
graciously and unobligingly read and commented on this thesis, and also wrote the Preface for it.
I highly appreciate the contribution of Professor Dag Österberg, and express my deep gratitude to
him for his comradely guidance, support and encouragement. It also needs to be said that amidst
the bourgeois clatter of academic juggernauts, the academic Left is duly proud to have this
ascetic intellectual in its ranks.
Beside these two academics, I am also thankful to many other writers, both past and
present, whom I have come to know only through their books and articles. Their names comprise
the Bibliography of this study. I acknowledge my thanks to the staff of the University Library,
Oslo, and Arbeiderbevegelsens Arkiv og Bibliotek, Oslo, for supplying me with the necessary
literature I needed.
I financed my part-time research work by working part-time at Nordstrand School over
the last few years. Rector Kjell Dalan and the Inspector of Education Petter Nakken had
contributed a great deal in creating a stable and secure social milieu in the school for all, free
from ethnic, religious and political pressures. Being a mother-language teacher for immigrant
pupils, I found it a pleasant experience to work in very congenial surroundings created by the
school administration and the staff. Rector Dalan who has retired now has been a remarkably
cultivated person I ever came across in Europe. I have often marvelled at his intellectual
curiosity, erudition and open-mindedness. I thank him and Petter Nakken for their genuine
concern for the general welfare of all.
I also thank many of my colleagues and friends especially, Inggjerd Löken, Tora Mæhle,
Liv Sparre, Knut Sparre, Leif Mæhle, Liv Kvistad and Terje Sveen for their friendship and
cordiality over very many years.
Wenche Karin Nesse, the Counsellor to the Institute of History of Ideas, deserves my
special thanks. Whenever I had an occasion to visit the Institute, she always welcomed me with a
cheerful smile. Among my near ones, my son Kabir Khan (b. 1971) has also been positively
interested in my work. He also taught me how to use a personal computer for word processing.
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