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How many people agree with the above but "disagree" with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_alienation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theo

How many people agree with the above but "disagree" with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_alienation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_alienation Lololol Edit: I'm already down one - for people that don't read wikipedia here are the 4 dimensions of alienation of a worker as listed in the wiki: 1. From a worker's product 2. From a worker's productive activity 3. From a worker's Gattungswesen (species-being) 4. From other workers Edit2: People [in America] will moan about their jobs, their bosses, their dwindling purchasing power, their loss of autonomy, etc etc etc but then come back as champions of capital. You see it all the time - "my job sucks but entrepreneurialism is what makes America great!!!!!!!". I've never seen a more rake->face take than this (and on such an enormous scale). It's absurd. It's delusional.

Thorrez 10mo ago
I don't specifically disagree with Marx's theory of alienation. However I disagree with communism. I think communism makes the problem worse, not better.
- Herring 10mo ago
  Marx died in 1883. Things have moved on a little since then. Some parts of the economy are great under state control: monetary policy, military, infrastructure, healthcare, education, safety nets, etc. Some parts prefer a mix of public and private investment: utilities, rail, airports, R&D. Others work best with very little direct state control (other than regulations): most retail, consumer goods, IT, etc.
marcosdumay 10mo ago
The bad idea from Marx that lead him astray into pseudo-science territory wasn't worker alienation. It was the labor theory of value (and the other stuff he created to make it looks like it works). Worker alienation is perfectly visible on the real world. I don't think anybody disagrees it's common. But software development is different. There has been many decades where software developers suffered very little alienation. It only changed with the universal adoption of "corporate agile".
- almostgotcaught 10mo ago
  > But software development is different. There has been many decades where software developers suffered very little alienation. It only changed with the universal adoption of "corporate agile" Lol are you really gonna go with "I'm a software developer, fuck all the restaurant workers, teachers, plumbers, janitors!" This is why Marx's ideas failed in the West - toxic individualism - and flourished in the East.
  - taeric 10mo ago
    Flourished, you say?
    - bpt3 10mo ago
      Great retort, I actually laughed out loud. I don't know how delusional you have to be to look at the conditions behind the Iron Curtain, where nations had to build walls to keep their citizens from leaving and a meaningful number of people were willing to risk death to get out, and say they were flourishing, but I'm glad I don't have what it takes to get there.
      - almostgotcaught 10mo ago
        > where nations had to build walls Name the Eastern nations plural that built these walls please. As far as I am aware, the G in GDPR stands for Germany, a country/nation/state which is (and always has been) firmly Western. People on here have such an infantile recollection of actual history. Anyway, leaving aside debates of where the prime meridian of West vs East falls, it should've been manifestly obvious that in 2025 I was talking about China... Edit: DPRK counts I guess although I'm not sure how many people would call what they have over there "communism": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Juche_Idea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Juche_Idea
        bpt3 10mo ago
        You mentioned one, which is North Korea, and I'm sure you're going to concoct some story to deflect the fact that China only began moving towards any semblance of prosperity after ditching Mao's fundamentally flawed economic policies, so have at it.
potato3732842 10mo ago
Identifying the bad stuff is not hard. Marx is far from unique in being able to do that. I find his class framing and assessment of the roles the various classes do in the status quo to be particularly good even if it ought to be deeply unflattering to the HN tax brackets. Advising on where to go from there in an actionable way that produces good results is the hard part. Marx didn't do it. Those attempting implementation of his ideas have an exceptional record and not in a good way. And worse still, some of the worst aspects of those movements are the ones that stuck around to be peddled again and again under different brands.
- venturecruelty 10mo ago
  I mean, there's a really simple solution between "Ayn Rand cinematic universe" and "abolishing private property" that gets you downvoted to oblivion: suggest forming a union. No communism required, just workers with bargaining power, like in other developed nations (Germany has very strong unions. Coincidentally, they also have a high quality of life and infrastructure that works). Instead, you get a bunch of people making six figures who sit around either whining or hand-wringing about losing their jobs, while continuing to support the economic system that is abusing them. After a certain point, you just have to throw your hands up and hope that people someday realize the power they have.
LudwigNagasena 10mo ago
There is no reason to buy into the whole Marxist framework just because you share one single sentiment that various thinkers had before and after him.
- almostgotcaught 10mo ago
  > one single sentiment Lol alienation of labor is not a single "sentiment" - it's a core principle. So like it or not you share a core principle with Marx.
  - LudwigNagasena 10mo ago
    The sentiment is shared with Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Wilhelm von Ketteler, Louis Blanc and probably lots of other less known people. Marx's theory of alienation is far more developed and nuanced than the generic cog-in-the-machine critique that is explored by many other people of various political inclination, not only Marx.
    - almostgotcaught 10mo ago
      > sentiment ... > theory these two words aren't interchangeable > Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Wilhelm von Ketteler, Louis Blanc ... > generic cog-in-the-machine critique that is explored by many other people literally only one of the names you mentioned were writing post industrial revolution - the rest had literally no notion of "cog in the machine" you're trying so hard to disprove basically an established fact: Marx's critique of exploitation of labor post industrial revolution is certainly original and significant in his own work and those that followed.
      - LudwigNagasena 10mo ago
        > these two words aren't interchangeable Exactly. That's why you can't jump from "people don't feel like they own their labor" and "people bemoan their boss" to Marx's theory of alienation. > literally only one of the names you mentioned were writing post industrial revolution - the rest had literally no notion of "cog in the machine" But the very framing that this is an ill that is unique to industrial society is Marxist. Slavery, corveé labor, taxes, poor laborers, marginalisation existed for thousands years in one form or another. > you're trying so hard to disprove basically an established fact: Marx's critique of exploitation of labor post industrial revolution is certainly original and significant in his own work and those that followed. I don't dispute that Marx's critique of exploitation of labor post industrial revolution is original or significant. I dispute your claim that people who share similar sentiment have to agree with Marx's theory of alienation.

Thorrez 10mo ago

I don't specifically disagree with Marx's theory of alienation. However I disagree with communism. I think communism makes the problem worse, not better.

Herring 10mo ago
Marx died in 1883. Things have moved on a little since then. Some parts of the economy are great under state control: monetary policy, military, infrastructure, healthcare, education, safety nets, etc. Some parts prefer a mix of public and private investment: utilities, rail, airports, R&D. Others work best with very little direct state control (other than regulations): most retail, consumer goods, IT, etc.

marcosdumay 10mo ago

The bad idea from Marx that lead him astray into pseudo-science territory wasn't worker alienation. It was the labor theory of value (and the other stuff he created to make it looks like it works). Worker alienation is perfectly visible on the real world. I don't think anybody disagrees it's common. But software development is different. There has been many decades where software developers suffered very little alienation. It only changed with the universal adoption of "corporate agile".

almostgotcaught 10mo ago
> But software development is different. There has been many decades where software developers suffered very little alienation. It only changed with the universal adoption of "corporate agile" Lol are you really gonna go with "I'm a software developer, fuck all the restaurant workers, teachers, plumbers, janitors!" This is why Marx's ideas failed in the West - toxic individualism - and flourished in the East.
- taeric 10mo ago
  Flourished, you say?
  - bpt3 10mo ago
    Great retort, I actually laughed out loud. I don't know how delusional you have to be to look at the conditions behind the Iron Curtain, where nations had to build walls to keep their citizens from leaving and a meaningful number of people were willing to risk death to get out, and say they were flourishing, but I'm glad I don't have what it takes to get there.
    - almostgotcaught 10mo ago
      > where nations had to build walls Name the Eastern nations plural that built these walls please. As far as I am aware, the G in GDPR stands for Germany, a country/nation/state which is (and always has been) firmly Western. People on here have such an infantile recollection of actual history. Anyway, leaving aside debates of where the prime meridian of West vs East falls, it should've been manifestly obvious that in 2025 I was talking about China... Edit: DPRK counts I guess although I'm not sure how many people would call what they have over there "communism": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Juche_Idea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Juche_Idea
      - bpt3 10mo ago
        You mentioned one, which is North Korea, and I'm sure you're going to concoct some story to deflect the fact that China only began moving towards any semblance of prosperity after ditching Mao's fundamentally flawed economic policies, so have at it.

potato3732842 10mo ago

Identifying the bad stuff is not hard. Marx is far from unique in being able to do that. I find his class framing and assessment of the roles the various classes do in the status quo to be particularly good even if it ought to be deeply unflattering to the HN tax brackets. Advising on where to go from there in an actionable way that produces good results is the hard part. Marx didn't do it. Those attempting implementation of his ideas have an exceptional record and not in a good way. And worse still, some of the worst aspects of those movements are the ones that stuck around to be peddled again and again under different brands.

venturecruelty 10mo ago
I mean, there's a really simple solution between "Ayn Rand cinematic universe" and "abolishing private property" that gets you downvoted to oblivion: suggest forming a union. No communism required, just workers with bargaining power, like in other developed nations (Germany has very strong unions. Coincidentally, they also have a high quality of life and infrastructure that works). Instead, you get a bunch of people making six figures who sit around either whining or hand-wringing about losing their jobs, while continuing to support the economic system that is abusing them. After a certain point, you just have to throw your hands up and hope that people someday realize the power they have.

LudwigNagasena 10mo ago

There is no reason to buy into the whole Marxist framework just because you share one single sentiment that various thinkers had before and after him.

almostgotcaught 10mo ago
> one single sentiment Lol alienation of labor is not a single "sentiment" - it's a core principle. So like it or not you share a core principle with Marx.
- LudwigNagasena 10mo ago
  The sentiment is shared with Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Wilhelm von Ketteler, Louis Blanc and probably lots of other less known people. Marx's theory of alienation is far more developed and nuanced than the generic cog-in-the-machine critique that is explored by many other people of various political inclination, not only Marx.
  - almostgotcaught 10mo ago
    > sentiment ... > theory these two words aren't interchangeable > Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Wilhelm von Ketteler, Louis Blanc ... > generic cog-in-the-machine critique that is explored by many other people literally only one of the names you mentioned were writing post industrial revolution - the rest had literally no notion of "cog in the machine" you're trying so hard to disprove basically an established fact: Marx's critique of exploitation of labor post industrial revolution is certainly original and significant in his own work and those that followed.
    - LudwigNagasena 10mo ago
      > these two words aren't interchangeable Exactly. That's why you can't jump from "people don't feel like they own their labor" and "people bemoan their boss" to Marx's theory of alienation. > literally only one of the names you mentioned were writing post industrial revolution - the rest had literally no notion of "cog in the machine" But the very framing that this is an ill that is unique to industrial society is Marxist. Slavery, corveé labor, taxes, poor laborers, marginalisation existed for thousands years in one form or another. > you're trying so hard to disprove basically an established fact: Marx's critique of exploitation of labor post industrial revolution is certainly original and significant in his own work and those that followed. I don't dispute that Marx's critique of exploitation of labor post industrial revolution is original or significant. I dispute your claim that people who share similar sentiment have to agree with Marx's theory of alienation.