Marx’s Alienation Theory Application, Essay Example

Introduction

Marx’s theory of alienation has been the subject of recent research regarding the current changes in the society and the capitalist values. The below application essay will review how the theory can be used to analyze the status of college students in the society. The main focus of the essay will be economic, work and individual circumstances, treatment of students as tools, workers or instruments, statistical data and source of income. Recent related literature will be reviewed in order to analyze the work-process of students and their influence on their product.

College Students’ Status Today in the US

The alienation of today’s students is evident from reports and sociological concepts. It is often described as a total estrangement from the process and subject of learning, as well as each other. Revisiting the four different forms of alienation constructed by Marx, it is clear that all forms are present in the current capitalist society. However, in order to analyze the effects of alienation, first there is a need to provide a clear overview of students’ status in the society today in general. Students are economically considered as non-productive members of the society, while many of them do possess jobs to fund their education. One can argue whether they are free to choose their path or the society determines it for them. In order to apply the alienation theory, there is a need to find an authority figure that acts similarly to the bourgeois Marx mentions in his Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts (1944). The one that controls labor and production. This step is going to be completed in the next part of the essay. First, it is important to determine “labor” in relation to college students. The labor of students and their produce is the completion of assignments and exams. The process is determined by education ministers and college authorities, documents, which means that while there is some space for individual initiatives, the rules are set by somebody else. This is why the alienation theory can be applied on this group of the modern society.

Modern Society Alienation

Modern forms of alienation include the loss of worth, power and sense of work. This can be adapted to examine college students’ lives. Many of them do not feel that they are in control of their future, as it is impossible for them to understand why they would benefit from learning one subject or another. In that sense, the authorities are controlling their learning, outcomes, assessments and the knowledge achieved (produce). Losing connection with the product in the process of making can make college years meaningless and alienated. However, the real problem of US college students’ alienation comes when they lose connection with the subject after graduation; they feel like: “I became a speech therapist by passing the exams the authorities set for me and because the market demand for this job is high. This was not my choice but a necessity originating from higher up.” One of the forms of student alienation is described as becoming an object instead of a subject. This can prevent forming identities, result in withdrawal and lack of social interaction. (Frymer, 2005)

The Analysis of the  Forms of Alienation among College Students in the US

According to Marx (1944), the first two form of alienation is the physical and mental estrangement from the process of work and product. This can be described as students’ lack of interest in the subject, as well as their lack of choice when selecting courses. Having said that; there are still some college students who choose the specific course because they are interested in the subject and it matches their career goals. However, some of these students would experience disappointment and excessive control when going through the course, related to the subjects to learn, the books to read and assignments to complete. They lose themselves in the creation of the final product (graduation) (Frymer, 2005 p. 4.) while their skills and knowledge are put into the use of capitalist forces to exploit them as individuals. Becoming an object is a feeling that assumes that the person does not matter; only their produce.

The estrangement of the self and others (number 3 and 4 according to Marx) is also experienced by college students. Because of the demands of the college authorities, families and economy, they often do not have time for “being outside of labor” and this results in estrangement of their self and other students. When people are given tasks to complete and “produce results” while they are treated like objects instead of subjects, that is the true sense of alienation in US colleges.

Demands of the Market

According to  Haltiwanger and Weinberg (2011) job displacement and joblessness are the result of the authorities’ incompetence when determining the number of students taken on for colleges. The number of people with a diploma being unemployed is increasing every day, and while spatial mismatch causes alienation of many students. They are able to study a subject “experts” say are on high demand, only to discover after graduation that they are unable to find jobs. Self-selection would serve the interest of students short term better, however, this might result in a conflict between the market demand and production. Interestingly, production is often used as a term to refer to the graduates leaving higher education; for example; “XY College last year produced 340 qualified experts, due to the market demand” This vocabulary also strengthens students’ feeling of alienation.

Student debt is another issue, and while many college graduates work through their education part time, it is evident that they make an investment into the future provided for them by the capitalist forces.

Alienation Due to Technology

Virtual classrooms are the future of education, according to some experts. With so many students completing a part or all of their studies online, the alienation process is strengthened. According to Rovai and Withting (2005), the physical separation from the college and classroom is literally a fact. In modern sense, taking the definition  of Marx further, “sense of social estrangement, an absence of social support or meaningful social connection”. (p. 98.) This clearly defines Marx’ fourth form of alienation. The authors also confirm that students feel like they have little or no control over what happens in the virtual classroom. Without the group construction of the knowledge and input of ideas, students are unable to be present in the process or produce: learning and knowledge.

References

Frymer, B. (2005)  Freire, Alienation, and Contemporary Youth: Toward a Pedagogy of   Everyday Life InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies, 1(2)

Andersson. F., Haltiwanger. J.,  Kutzbach, M., Pollakowski, H. and Weinberg,D.  (2011).Job Displacement and the Duration of Joblessness: The Role of Spatial Mismatch. Working    Papers 11-30, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.

Marx, K. (1944) Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. Progress Publishers, Moscow 1959

Johnson, G. M. (2005). Student Alienation, Academic Achievement, and Web CT Use. Educational Technology & Society, 8 (2), 179-189

Rovai, A., Withting, M. (2005) Feelings of alienation and community among higher education students in a virtual classroom. Internet and Higher Education. 8 (2005) 97 –110