mans obsession with objects essays

mans obsession with objects essays According to Carl Marx man produces inanimate objects in order to feel fulfilled. Man produces not by necessity but chooses to produce as a means of self-expression. In Marxs theory of estranged labor he stresses the impact that the capitalist mode of production has upon the subsistence worker. The impact being that through the modern organization of labor man becomes separated through the modern organization of labor, he becomes alienated from his natural self. An individual believes that the products consumed reflect their personality. We see are selves as what we own. The industrial revolution brought about American s drive to gain more through expansion. Expansion comes through production. Before the industrial revolution, the more factor was still present. People wanted more then what they already owned. Americans believed there was opportunity to do what ever they wanted. Americans lived with the frontier mentality that there was always more to obtain. To obtain this more, people had to rely on their own talents since a persons rewards were taken to be quite strictly proportionate to his labors. (Shames pg.57) Expression of ones personality was determined by an individuals ability. This mentality does not hold true in modern industrialized society. Most people do not make everything they own. Not only do we buy impersonal crafts made by a company; people are no longer making their own products. Rather, an individual has only a small part in the creation of a product. A car for example, is made by numerous people all doing a different job for that one car. The nuts and bolts might come from one company, the furnishing from another. People are constantly feeding off one another to create a product. One man alone does not build an entire car from scratch. Therefore, nothing we make is our own. This fact has created a problem w...