Human Potential stunted by Alienation

This week I learned all about Karl Marx, the German philosopher and economist who was concerned about the fact that people valued "primacy of matter over idea", meaning that humans valued possessions over other people, as revealed in our historical patterns of inequality of which materialism was the driving force. Marx was highly critical of Capitalism as a form of economy, because he viewed society as people belonging to either one of two classes; the rich ("the haves"), also known as the "bourgeoisie" and the poor ("the have nots") also referred to as "the proletarians. The problem was that the rich landowners just kept getting richer and the poor workers remained poor. He believed that only a complete overhaul of change in the Capitalistic economic system could bring about actual change regarding this inequality. He studied history and society scientifically by being the first great user of the critical method in social sciences. I also learned the concepts of commodity, use value and exchange value regarding the Capitalistic economy. Marx was concerned that people's ideas regarding use value, meaning "how useful is it" and exchange value or "how much can be fetched for it", became too far apart, he noted that people focused more on the exchange value of a commodity or valuable resource while losing sight of it's actual usefulness. This parlayed into the concept known as "the fetishism of commodities"where people are only concerned with obtaining the item while not concerning themselves about its method of acquisition. I immediately recalled a movie that I had watched entitled "Blood Diamond" starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie depicted the horrendous ways that the diamond mine workers were treated while unearthing the treasures that people adorn themselves with and how those same people turned a blind eye to that fact because their personal desire of obtaining the flawless stones were all they cared about, I thought that this was a great example of what Marx was worried about. The most interesting part of our week's lecture was the topic of Human Potential and whether or not we as a people are living up to our full potential. I automatically thought about how the role of labor being prevalent in this regard because our job is often regarded as something that we "have " to do, versus something that we "want" to do. Therefore, we are unable to partake in the activities that do harbor our full potential, because we are too preoccupied by our job that earns the income that we need. The discussion was all brought together by the underlying theme of alienation on the job. I could easily see the correlation between the weak relationship that many people have with their jobs, because one rarely gets to witness the fruits of their labor by the time the job is completed by someone else, so it is hard to develop a strong sense of connection to one's job. This is a prime example of what alienation in the labor market does to a person. People become disconnected or "alienated" from their projects because their level of creativity is non-existent, they feel distance from fellow co-workers, although their actual proximity is relatively close together because interaction is prohibited by their employers for fear of interrupting productivity. Collectively this creates a state of being alienated from their personal human potential, being all that they can be! If people were able to do a job that fulfilled their full potential perhaps they would not feel so alienated and therefore lead more satisfying lives.

SumBlog 1:The Enlightenment Era

 

I feel as though I should preface this blog by stating that this is my very first experience with studying social theory or for that matter, any kind of theory course. With that said, obviously, all of the information that we have discussed in class is absolutely brand new to me and therefore mind blowing to think that there was a time when entire groups of people did not question their ruler in any way for fear of death. They did not concern themselves with personal wants and desires because doing so was seemingly pointless during the time of the Middle Ages. I was instantly interested about learning about how people in society came to possess the morals, values and beliefs that they have. Honestly, I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I had not given much thought about it prior to this class. Now having peeked into the past, I feel as though I have personally taken the lid off of Pandora's box and now there is no turning back to the mind set I possessed before. Perhaps because I am going through a stage in my own personal life where I have slowed myself down long enough to to see the real beauty that simple life has to offer. I now literally take time to smell the roses! That being said I feel as though I most connected with the idea regarding the "Enlightenment Era". As I find myself in a period of "enlightenment" following a tumultuous seven year relationship. I was able to identify with how the Europeans' minds changed and evolved so drastically after the reign of oppression that the kingdoms and churches of the Middle Ages held over them as discussed in our reading titled" The Prophets of Paris: Saint-Simon and Comte", written by Collins and Makosky(2010.) Life was described as "the physical hardships being scarcely imaginable", and that "people knew their places only because they were kept in them". I empathized with them because I understand how it feels to be restricted in personal growth and led to believe in a certain set of "rules" and that they were to be obeyed and how any deviation of said "rules" would be punishable, just as the Europeans were restricted in their ability to think for themselves by the laws governed by the kingdoms and churches of their time. After the King's power was overthrown, the people were free to build a new order that was based on principles of reason and justice, which is exactly how I feel now that I am free of my "oppressor". I related to the Europeans because I too understand how important and life altering the "Enlightenment" period is, I feel as though I am now able to think for myself and make decisions based on what is best for me and my family versus abiding by the rules of a tyrant. Shortly after my "release", I found it hard to grasp the concept that I could do and say what I felt because I was so used to only being allowed to think, feel and speak according to the will of someone else. Now that I am "free", everyday is a new discovery that requires me to think, "what are my likes, dislikes and beliefs",  I feel as though my life has just begun and that my possibilities are endless now that I am able to make my own personal choices, much like how the European people felt after they were granted their freedom to do so as well. I am very excited to learn about where it all began and how society has evolved into how it is today!  I chose this image to express my personal representation of how it feels to be free of the blinders placed upon me by someone else and truly find myself enlightened by the thoughts of my own future!!!