The Study Of The Western Marxist Theories Of Alienation

The strength of theory is deeply rooted in the heart of realism. The increasing attention given to the Theory of Alienation is due to the fact that men living in modern times have not been able to shake off the survival situation of alienation yet. In a capitalist society, the degree of alienation has gone far beyond the labor scope depicted by Marx in the era of laissez-faire capitalism. People living under the circumstances of contemporary capitalism, constantly threatened by exploitation, unemployment, bankruptcy, crisis and war, are torn by various psychological feelings like loneliness, estrangement, fear, despair and other anxieties, so alienation has become a widespread social phenomenon raising much concern. Therefore, the existence of alienation in modern society should be properly dealt with and different ways and means to de-alienation should be probed into by a comparative study on the differences between the Western Marxist Theory of Alienation and the Marx’s Labor Theory of Alienation; as a result, the Marxist Theory of Alienation can be enriched, but also the Theory of Alienation can be endowed with new content of times.This paper takes on the approach of a comparative analysis as well as one with historical and logical analysis combined. To begin with, it’s a study into the history of the Western Marxist Theory of Alienation and the explanation of its ideology and historical status. Then the inheritance and the differences of it in different periods are revealed; the systematic and logical aspects of this idea are highlighted. Secondly, after a meticulous examination and comparison between the Western Marxist Theory of Alienation and the Marxist Theory of Alienation, the outcome of analysis will show the obvious signs of division between developed countries in the west today and those at an early stage of capitalism.This paper mainly covers the following aspects:firstly, the ideological origin of the Western Marxist Theory of Alienation, including the Theory of Alienation from the perspective of Hobbes, Rousseau, Fichte, Hegel, and Feuerbach, with special emphasis on Marx’s Theory of Alienation. Secondly, the development of the Western Marxist Theory of Alienation is generalized, including Lukacs’s Theory of Alienation of the early Western Marxism, Horkheimer’s Rational Alienation of Frankfurt School, Marcuse’s General Theory of Alienation, Fromm’s Theory of Human Alienation, Habermas’s Communicative Action Theory of Alienation, Feenberg’s Technological Theory of Alienation; the existentialists Sartre’s and Lefebvre’s Theory of Alienation and the representative figures of ecological Marxism, and Agger’s, Levin Lewis’s, O’Connor’s Theory of Alienation. All of which together, constitute a comprehensive system of the Western Marxist Theory of Alienation. Thirdly, at the heart of the aforementioned theories and viewpoints, various forms and subjects of social alienation in modern times are explored. A spotlight will be placed on the nature of alienation, origins, manifestations, consequences and the basic measures to de-alienation. especially on the analysis of the background and the intricate relationships of scientific and technological alienation, communicative action alienation, alienation of daily life, consumption alienation, cultural alienation and others; the survival difficulties caused by alienation of various kinds are also analyzed; and the relationship between the development of human society and alienation as well as the measures to de-alienation are explored. Finally, the achievements and limitations of the Western Marxist Theory of Alienation are analyzed. A study will be conducted on the contribution and development made by the Western Marxist Theory of Alienation to Marx’s Theory of Alienation, and a comparison will be made between Marx’s Theory of Alienation and Western Marxist Theory of Alienation. This will point out that the Western Marxist Theory of Alienation is one-sided and Utopian.Compared with our time to that of the one Marx lived in, manufacturing alienation is no longer the main division, but instead, consumption alienation has taken over as the leading role in today’s modern society. Simultaneously, scientific and technological and communicative action alienation cannot be ignored. China needs to take into account and learn from its process of modernization as both of these occurrences have already taken place in developed western countries. Therefore, the Western Marxist Theory of Alienation has important implications for China’s process of modernization.