Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

Alienation is one of the main themes of modern European, especially German, philosophy. It refers to the condition where a person feels that they have lost their connection, or become “alien,” to the world around them. The rise of alienation as a philosophic concept was closely tied to the rise of modern, industrial society. For premodern peoples, especially for the vast majority living in the countryside, life was generally predictable, and social roles were strictly prescribed. They were mostly bound to a small area and knew the same people their whole lives, and the community was organized through institutions like the church and local nobility. Industry turned that social order upside down. Seeking more steady salaries, people crammed into cities and found themselves confronted with a mass of strangers so that they felt lonely even when encountering thousands of people every day. The integration of so many different kinds of people accelerated the spread of new ideas like liberalism, anarchism, and socialism, posing a direct challenge to traditional sources of authority. One could find a job and just as easily lose it or become rich one day and lose everything the next. Under such circumstances, it was easy to feel dislocated, as though one had no fixed place in the world.