Braverman presents an argument against what he regards as the degradation of work and the de-skilling of the labour force which is a result of the inhuman aspects of capitalism (Kanungo, 1982). The three terms, alienation, bureaucracy and de-skilling shall be explained, and the degree to which these conceptions are still applicable in modern day work organisations and industries. In the theory of alienation, Marx shows the damaging impacts of capitalist production on the workers(Ollman, 1976) by distinguishing four forms of alienation. Firstly, he argues that workers do not control the process of their work because they do not own the means of production that is necessary to manufacture a product. The worker has no role in deciding what to do or how to do it.
Durkheim sees anomie as responsible for the world’s disorder of economics- the lack of morality and regulation resulted in overpowering the weak; thus, he feels that only norms can prevent the abuse of power and calls for regulation and equal opportunity from birth- the greater the equal opportunity the less need for restraint. Marx looked at how capitalism separated humanity by making work a simple means of individual existence. In addition he describes society in terms of class and economic conflicts. Marx saw proletariat or people of a working class as being underneath the bourgeoisie or the capitalist of a modern society. Marx looked at how alienation of production of commodities by workers also leads to alienation of social life.
It wasn’t until shortly after his death that Karl Marx’s ideology began to significantly influence socialist movements. Although relatively unknown during his lifetime he has become one of the fundamental economic and sociological figures of the modern era. Many of his theories and insights into the way society functions are still relevant in the expanding capitalist society that exists today. Marx was very critical of capitalism and the division in society between the bourgeoisie and proletariat classes, attempting to highlight the injustice and exploitation of the working class by the wealthy upper and middle class. Marx predicted that capitalism within a socioeconomic system would inevitably create internal tensions between social classes leading to its demise and replacement by a new system, communism.
However, in a capitalistic society, man is forced to sell his labor to those who own the means of production. Therefore during the hours of work the laborer is not spending his time doing something enjoyable and freely chosen; he is doing something which is forced upon him by external forces. This causes an externalization of the worker from his actions because he does not freely give anything of himself to his labor, not his physical energy nor his imagination. In fact, while the worker is laboring, his actions belong entirely to another causing complete alienation from his actions. This alienation changes the balance of power between work and worker because the more time the worker spends working, the more he
As a result, they have no option to not work as they have a poor status in society and work under capitalism is poorly paid, alienating, unsatisfying and something workers have no control of. These two systems are the systems that Marx disagrees with and wanted to change as it is creating conflict between the two classes. He wanted the proletariat to recognise this exploitation and demand higher wages, better working conditions and for the whole capitalism to stop. Furthermore, the Marxist, Louis Althusser has a theory of the role of education as being an important ISA. The ideological state apparatus, which is one of the two elements, that Althusser believes in maintains the rule of the bourgeois by controlling people’s idea, values and beliefs.
Legislators attacked union organizers; people who held the idea that working class existed, conflicts with the capitalists, and believed that the working class should challenge the power of capitalists. The attacks began due to increase in living standards; the working class was able to buy homes, cars, and make more money. Upward mobility seemed natural in this time period since the working class earned more and had similar living standards to the middle class and capitalist. Unions had different perspectives on “class talk”. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) did not have interest in working class and focused on the prosperity of the members.
Marx first mentions alienation in the following statement, “The less you are, the more you have; the less you express your own life, the greater is your alienated life the greater is the store of you estranged being" (mcLellan, 2000) Here I think the most important part is the word "express", because in terms of life each person wishes to express themselves to their maximum limit. I think that no one wants to have a "store" of isolated being, because it would mean that one is holding something back. A man's life-activity is his work. In a capitalist society, the worker is alienated from his labour - 'he plays no part in deciding what to do or how to do it. The division of labour ensures that each worker only does one job, and the labour market decides which job any particular worker will do.
In capitalist societies, workers are employed to produce goods which are sold by their employers at a profit. Only a bit of the profit ends up in the workers wage, most of its kept by the employer. Marx said that if workers were allowed to notice the unfairness of this, they’d revolt. So, to avoid revolution the capitalist system shapes the superstructure to make sure that the workers accept their lot in life. Institutions like the family, education and religion lead individuals into accepting the inequalities or capitalism.
According to Marx, this economic system which he termed capitalism created an exploitative relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, since the proletariat had little or no control over the distribution of profits and the labour which they provided (Giddens 2001:12). For Marx, capitalism is not only seen to be an unjust and oppressive system of economic production, but also one that exploits, one that limits man from his full capability, separates man from the products of his labour, and
It focuses on class conflict. A key founder of conflict theory was Karl Marx. He believed that there is/or was a bitter conflict between the bourgeoisie (those who own the capital) and the proletariat (the workers who toil for low pay). He believed this conflict could only end when the proletariat repelled aging the bourgeoisie. Functionalist division of labor Education provides society with a ‘division of labor’ this means schools help identify who will be the bin man and who will