Over time, several historians and linguists realize that the appropriation and dissemination of certain words promote an indeterminate process of reinterpretation of the concept that was once behind from them. Today, for example, we see that many people use the term “alienated” when they try to say that someone cannot have the intellectual capacity to understand a certain idea.
Thus, when we study the development of the industrial revolution, we end up having the wrong impression of that the concept of “working class alienation” is the same as talking about “workers' stupidity”. However, this concept worked in the works of Karl Marx has a noticeable difference from its current use. When talking about alienation, Marxist thought refers to every situation in which a human potential is taken by another entity.
Thus, when thematizing worker alienation with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, Marx wanted establish a framework where it demonstrated the loss of a certain skill by the class hardworking. With that, the question arises: "what is this skill that workers lost from the moment industries appeared in the world?"
To answer this question, we must first turn to the rise of artisans in the Middle Ages. During this period, the artisan had access to the techniques and raw materials needed to manufacture a manufactured product. In addition, he mastered all the technical knowledge required for its creation. That way, he knew the costs and all the time it would take to manufacture a particular product.
However, with the expansion of the mercantile economy, this artisan would gradually lose track of this value at the moment in that a large amount of money would be needed to purchase a machine or a certain raw material. In this new framework, the artisan no longer earns compensation proportional to his productive capacity to exchange their workforce for a wage negotiated with the holder of the raw material and machines.
Already at that time, the factory worker failed to notice the existing discrepancy between his productive capacity and the salary he received. With the development of industries and the specialization of work, the worker started to perform a single and repetitive daily task. This way, he would no longer be able to specify how many products were created using his labor.
It was at this moment that the worker's alienation materialized. In this way, many workers came to believe that the salary compensation received every month was fair in relation to the “simple task” they performed on a daily basis. However, it is the lack of knowledge of the value of the wealth generated by him that makes him take this premise as a true fact.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/alienacao-revolucao-industrial.htm
