{"id":1084,"date":"2026-08-09T18:46:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/pyq\/explain-marxs-understanding-of-human-essence-and-alienation-upsc-psir-2016-1402\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:23:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:53:46","slug":"explain-marxs-understanding-of-human-essence-and-alienation-upsc-psir-2016-1402","status":"publish","type":"psir_pyq","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/explain-marxs-understanding-of-human-essence-and-alienation-upsc-psir-2016-1402\/","title":{"rendered":"Explain Marx\u2019s understanding of Human Essence and Alienation."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pq-flow\">\n<div class=\"pq-flow-h\">Flow snapshot <em>\u2014 how the answer moves<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p1\"><span>Intro routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> Young <b class=\"pq-sc\">Marx<\/b>\u2019s humanist question <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> what kind of being is man \/ what order lets him flourish<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> essence and alienation as two sides of one enquiry <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> what man is vs what capitalism makes of him<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p2\"><span>Body flow<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p>human essence = species-being \/ <i>Gattungswesen<\/i> <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> social animal, rejects liberal individualism <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> productive, creative, free conscious activity <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> labour as creative self-expression (<b class=\"pq-sc\">Fromm<\/b>: social, cooperative) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> alienation = estrangement from this essence <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> material and social, not intellectual (<i>Entfremdung<\/i>) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> four forms: product as alien thing <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> process as forced labour (\u201coutside himself\u201d) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> species-being as mechanical toil <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> other men as competition over solidarity <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> estranged labour breeds private property <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> society splits into owners and workers<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p3\"><span>Counter-view<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p><b class=\"pq-sc\">Marx<\/b>\u2019s material-social alienation set against <b>Hegel-Feuerbach<\/b>\u2019s purely intellectual alienation<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p4\"><span>Conclusion routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> de-alienation is structural <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> abolition of private property and wage-labour <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> labour restored as free self-activity<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> real freedom = freedom from want + room for self-development <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> secured only by ending alienation<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"pyq_year":[42],"pyq_marks":[35],"pyq_topic":[56],"pyq_paper":[33],"class_list":["post-1084","psir_pyq","type-psir_pyq","status-publish","hentry","pyq_year-42","pyq_marks-15-marks","pyq_topic-western-political-thought","pyq_paper-paper-1"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/psir_pyq"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4678,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1084\/revisions\/4678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pyq_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_year?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_marks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_marks?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_topic?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_paper","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_paper?post=1084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}