Life And Psychology

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The beginning of the industrial revolution in the 18th century led to the rise of capitalism in society. According to the linguist, political activist, and social critic, Noam Chomsky, capitalism is an economic system in which there is more emphasis on profit maximization and the concentration of wealth in private organizations, as compared to societal welfare, democracy, and public accountability. 

Capitalism prioritizes corporate interests resulting in social inequality that fosters mental health problems, including alienation. Alienation is a state of estrangement from oneself, from others, from society, or from nature. It is an isolation of individuals with respect to their sense of self, their status within their socio-cultural community, and their sense of control within the world of which they are a part of. The sociologist Melvin Seeman described alienation in terms of five dimensions - powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, isolation, and self-estrangement. According to the clinical psychologist George Albee, due to capitalism, the system gives emphasis to individualism and consumerism that give rise to feelings of disconnection, isolation, and alienation.

Over the years, theorists have suggested the ways in which capitalism leads to a sense of alienation in society. The earliest and perhaps the most prominent figures among them is the philosopher, sociologist, political theorist, and economist Karl Marx. Marx, in the mid-19th century, specifically in work Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, extensively wrote about how the capitalistic system results in a sense of disconnectedness and alienation. He suggested that capitalism is exploitative and that it is rationalized and legitimized as freedom, agency, democracy, and fulfillment.

Karl Marx

According to Marx, because the workers do not own the products that they create, they are not able to get the full benefits of it. Due to this, they are unable to realize the true value of their work. Individuals also have no or little say in what they are doing. They are more like machines, viewing their work as a means to an end. This leads to a lack of creativity and personal connection to their work, giving them a feeling of monotony and unfulfillment. The repetitive tasks make individuals disconnected from their own true potential and sense of self. For them, work becomes a means to survive and not something that should be enjoyed, leading to dissatisfaction. 

Marx also suggested that capitalism creates a sense of competitiveness among individuals, which prevents cooperation, mutual support, and a sense of community, making individuals feel isolated and disconnected. 

On the whole, according to Marx, capitalism makes the majority of people disconnected and alienated. Individuals feel disconnected from their work, their potential and sense of self, and from each other, giving rise to a sense of alienation in society.

In the 1890s, the sociologist Emil Durkheim also theorized about alienation. Durkheim linked alienation to the concept of anomie that he introduced in 1893 in his work The Division of Labor in Society. According to Durkheim, anomie is a state of instability and disorderliness in society that occurs due to unclear norms. Such a state occurs when there is rapid change in society because of industrialization and capitalism.

Emil Durkheim

Durkheim suggested that in modern, capitalist societies, social life becomes complex leading to the weakening of social bonds, which makes individuals feel disconnected. It becomes difficult for people to find meaning in a fragmented society. Further the lack of social integration and social isolation develop a sense of alienation among people in society. Durkheim believed that in modern, capitalist societies, the lack of shared norms and social bonding leads to the feeling of alienation.

In the early 1900s, the sociologist and political economist, Max Weber suggested how capitalism results in alienation, specifically in his work of 1903, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber suggested that capitalism promotes a bureaucratic and impersonal society that leads to a sense of disenchantment. According to Weber, the rise of rationality due to capitalism has led to society becoming efficiency-driven, replacing it with emotion-driven actions.

Max Weber

Weber used the term iron cage to describe how individuals in a capitalistic society feel trapped in a bureaucratic system, which makes them lose their personal freedom leading them to become disconnected from their purpose. The bureaucratic system, according to Weber, makes individuals feel like machines, giving rise to a sense of disconnectedness and alienation.

In a similar vein, the Marxist philosopher, literary historian, and literary critic Gyorgy Lukacs, in the early 1900s, suggested that capitalism develops a sense of alienation among people. In 1923, in his work History and Class Consciousness, Lukacs, developed the concept of reification. Reification is the process by which social relationships and human activities become like commodities, under capitalism. This, further, makes individuals see their relationships as mere things, instead of dynamic social interactions.

Gyorgy Lukacs