ENGL 200 D: Reading Literature: Literature in the Marketplace

“the division of labour offers us the first example of how, as long as man remains in natural society, that is, as long as a cleavage exists between the particular and the common interest, as long, therefore, as activity is not voluntarily, but naturally, divided, man’s own deed becomes an alien power opposed to him, which enslaves him, instead of being controlled by him.” (160)

What Marx is suggesting: Job specialization (from the division of labor) leads to people being enslaved by their careers.

Interpret: If you specialize in a specific field and become very good at it, people around you (society) will expect you to continue doing that job. You will no longer be permitted to do whatever job you feel like doing that day (somebody else already specialized and will be better at it than you). Because you have to do your specific field of specialization, your job controls you / you lose your freedom to do any jobs you want.

Why it matters: I disagree with Marx. While it is true that it is very difficult to change fields of specialization, specialization increases efficiency. We may become slaves to our jobs, but by doing so we serve our society the best way we can. In the highly populated world that exists now, it is not possible for everyone to be self-sustainable. However, I do appreciate that Marx wants people to be free to change around their jobs. Just because of the increased efficiency brought about by specialization, I wonder how a truly Marxist society would work.

Interesting thing I learned recently: I don’t really know how Marxist ideas were adapted into different socialist countries, but in the Great Depression, socialist Russia was the only major country that had a positive GDP.