RE: On Marx's Estranged Labor

Regarding this post.

"When work is seen as a means to an end, the workers labor will seize to be Marx’s “forced” labor but instead be voluntary labor, as the worker imagines his labor helping fulfill his vision of a better life. Thus, a society that encourages mobility is a society that liberates the worker from the pains of estrangement and alienation."

Interestingly, this topic was also addressed in my class, but in a seemingly contradictory way. Perhaps the problems lies in the phrase "means to an end." When brought up, it instantly reminded me of last semester and Immanuel Kant (though this was not particularly helpful), and in turn the paragraphs we wrote about his categorical imperative. The more I thought about the paragraph the more I was reminded of the complexities that arise when considering a situation, and hence, I arrived at the following conclusion: Treating work as a means to an end might free the worker from alienation; however, it is quite dependent on what end a worker can see.

Attitude is everything. In class, the following question was proposed: When was the last time you did anything without caring what anyone thought?

The class thought long an hard, but personally, I felt confused. What does it mean to "not care"? Does asking for people's approval count? I considered high school, specifically the past year or so in which work seemed to exponentially speed up. As assignments flew by and I completed each one with less thought and/or personal attachment, did I feel more alienated? What was my end? To some (though hopefully not too many) the answer might be simple: college. But what about beyond that?

After considering the matter over the past day, I have decided that there are ends and then there are Ends, meaning the things that really count. College is a end, uncapitalized, while Happiness (for me and most people I'd imagine), is a big End. We work, go through school, complete homework as means most of the time. High School has been, at least some of the time, a means. College too will be a means to an extent, but when thinking about this greater End which is still fairly vague in my mind, I feel less alienated by my work.

While I have responded to the pertinent post in a most indirect manner, I would like to address one more quote. "Thus, a society that encourages mobility is a society that liberates the worker from the pains of estrangement and alienation." This is something I agree with (and what I have spent this post trying to personalize and legitimize). In my case I would phrase it like this: A society that fosters limitless possibility is a society which frees a person from alienation.

With the tools of imagination and a fair bit of optimism (depending on circumstance), we have the power to free ourselves.