Working-Class Consciousness — Alienation and Economism

Abstract

The anti-Marxist approach to these matters could actually take one of three alternative forms, and I will consider them in turn:

• 1. It could be conceded that men seek self realisation at work through the exercise of creativity and control, but then argued that capitalist industrial structure enables them to achieve this.

• 2. It could be denied that men seek such self realisation. This would contest the Marxist view of man, and raise the possibility that work conditions viewed by the Marxist as ‘objectively’ alienating do not produce subjective alienation.

• 3. The existence of work deprivation could be conceded but its importance minimised. Work deprivation might, for example, be greatly outweighed by happiness experienced outside work in capitalist society. Overall, the worker would emerge as quite content, and the Marxist would be forced to admit that the worker was not alienated. This, like the previous argument, would contest the Marxist view of man by denying the primacy of work.