Discussion Question

nstruction: Also, for full credit, you must engage with at least one other discussion post in a substantial manner. Since you must engage substantially with another post while also writing your own thoughtful post, you may not want to wait until the last minute to work on this assignment

My friend’s comment:
In Fromm, Chapter 5 Karl Marx speaks of alienation which comes hand to hand with socialism vs. capitalism. Marx believes that alienation comes from not fully understanding the world. The idea of self was removed from the idea of the “alien world” (Pg. 37). He saw religion as a creation of man. This idea of creation brings worth to self-realization and alienation to the world. There are many forms of alienation in the world and one being alienation of language (Pg. 38). Language has its own meaning once spoken it can mean different things and hold complexity. Alienation, as brought by Hegel, states that it is made from “existence” vs. “essence” (Pg. 39) Work is an alien to man, who produces a separate outcome and does not bring peaceful fulfillment. This idea of work alienation relates to present-day capitalism because people do not get self-fulfillment by working under corporations that isolate their self-expression. People work today for money that comes from their personal labor for the benefit of those in power rather than themselves. Work is a means to survive but not to thrive. Work benefits the system of capitalism, not individuals or humanity.