In the passage, Marx talks about the alienation of the worker, created through capitalism. In this case, alienation occurs when something that was initially familiar becomes disconnected or foreign. The essence of human beings is their species-being and this is familiar. However, when human beings cannot act in accordance with their species-being, they are alienated from their nature. Working in a capitalist society inhibits human beings from realizing their species-being making. This makes work alienating. Work is a foreign aspect since human beings have to be educated to become engineers and doctors and they end up leaving their homes to go to school and work.
The worker is isolated and he is a subject. He separated from the world, men and the process of production. Marx highlight that nature and the external world are imperative for the production process. Nature and the external world mean everything that surrounds the worker including other people. The worker cannot create anything or be productive when he is separate from other human beings. In capitalist societies, workers have to contest for jobs and other opportunities. The competition reduces the workers' wages and boosts amenity among them. Only the capitalists benefit. This damages the workers’ income and alienates them from one another. Human beings are social and free beings and they can only transform themselves and the work only when they cooperate. Hence, they have to work together and see each other as allies to boost production. They cannot create anything without nature.
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Based on the passage, the worker is a servant of his object since he receives work and a ‘means of subsistence.’ Through receiving work, he exists as a worker and the means of subsistence enables him to exist as a physical subject. The worker ends up being a servant.
In the passage, Marx describes how the capitalist economy works. Capitalists own the companies that employ workers and even though they are the producers, the workers do not decide the commodities that should be produced. They ‘receive work’ from the capitalists. The workers cannot decide how the products are made and their working conditions. This makes work dangerous, tedious and repetitive. They end up in servitude since the workers are not free to decide the working conditions. The worker exists as a ‘physical subject’ since he is the only one doing. He is given a ‘means of subsistence’ so he can show up to work and provide for himself.
Through his labor, the worker 'appropriates’ the external world's sensuous nature and he takes way his ‘means of life’. In this case, the worker no longer sees the external sensuous world as an object for his labor, but it becomes a ‘means of life’ for his labor. Also the world is no longer the worker’s means of life but a source of his physical needs. In this case, the worker sees the world as an investment for his labor. Capitalists have to sell the commodities and services so they can pay the workers and make profits. Hence the worker depends on the sensuous world for their means of life. The workers are also consumers since they buy the products from the capitalists. The worker depends on the world's sensuous nature for his monetary needs but not for emotional and any other support. He only needs the world for his physical subsistence since it has lost meaning to him. In the world, everyone is in competition, to grab the next job, and to get the largest market share. The world does not care anymore about the poor and those who are suffering since it is a capitalist world. The products are no longer produced to cater for the human needs but to enrich the capitalists.
Marx posits that labor cannot survive without nature. Nature nourishes labor through raw materials. Also, nature provides the worker with the means for physical subsistence. In the passage, ‘means of life’ means a source of livelihood. In this excerpt, nature describes the natural part of the earth including trees, minerals, rivers, and the soil. Both labor and the worker depend on nature. For the worker to produce the products they need resources such as water, soils, and minerals. On the other hand, to physically survive, human beings need oxygen, water, and food which are sourced from nature. Capitalists still alienate the worker form nature since they purchase huge chunks of land, the come up with rules and regulations pertaining usage of water and water bodies and they damage the environment as they mine raw materials. The worker ends up purchasing food, paying for water and some end up homeless as they are displaced by the mining operations. Moreover, the companies contaminate the air and water bodies making it unsafe for the worker. Labor thrives and the capitalists benefit since they make more money while the worker’s physical subsistence deprives.
The worker’s productivity is objectified. The ‘estrangement’ means that the worker ends up being separated from the production. The worker and the production process end up being strangers. The production process is new to the worker since it is not part of his nature. He has to learn in school or from someone through apprenticeship. Also, the worker denies himself happiness and in some cases feels miserable while working. The worker only feels good while away from work. During work, he has to put up another face. When he is not working he is at home while work drifts him away from home. In some scenarios, the worker is forced to work. He needs to work to satisfy his needs and take up some tedious jobs to earn a means of life. When he does not meet a target he is punished. Labor is alienated from the worker since human beings cannot voluntarily work unless the work satisfies some of their needs. Also, when forced to work, human beings avoid labor when the pressure is removed. The estrangement of work is also evident since the worker toils for someone else. The worker’s labor is not his own, it is just a means to satisfy his needs.
People may find fulfillment in meaningful work and jobs that they love. However, in the capitalist society, most workers are exhausted and are not satisfied with their jobs. They work because they need to pay the bills and provide for their families. They have to sacrifice a lot and in some cases for poor pay. The passage explains why most people do not enjoy their jobs. The work alienates them from their families, and from things that they love doing. Workers are forced to adopt a certain way of life which alienates them from their being. Work also objectifies human beings, treating them as subjects. In this light, human beings work in forced labor where they are beaten and dehumanized when they do not work or not meet the targets. Capitalists value work more than they value human beings. To the capitalists, the worker is an object that they exploit to make money. The worker is paid for their services and they are not paid much. They are only paid enough to provide for their needs while the capitalists pocket the huge profits. The worker ends up being a slave since they have to work to get money for food.
