Since sorrow never comes too late, And happiness to swiftly flies. Thought would destroy their paradise, No more; where ignorance is bliss, ‘Tis folly to be wise. – Thomas Gray
Tag: Marx’s theory of alienation
Meaning of ‘The Sound of Silence’ by ‘Disturbed’
The song “The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed is a powerful rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s classic hit. It speaks of alienation, the loss of genuine communication, and the deep chasms created by our society’s reliance on superficial interactions. With its haunting delivery, Disturbed adds a layer of urgency and depth, turning the song into a brooding anthem for the disconnected.
Related:
The Profound Meaning Behind Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence”
“The Sound of Silence” comes to a close with a warning, pointedly calling out the all-consuming consumerism and using those already lost to it as an example of what’s to come if we continue to find solace in the silence. And the people bowed and prayed / To the neon god they made / And the sign flashed out its warning / In the words that it was forming / And the sign said, “The words of the prophets / Are written on the subway walls / And tenement halls / And whispered in the sounds of silence.”
Karl Marx, Jenny von Westphalen and Engels On Love and Marriage
Karl Marx, Jenny von Westphalen and Engels
On Love and Marriage
From Jenny von Westphalen in Trier to Karl Marx in Paris, 18 August 1844.
The direct, natural, and necessary relation of person to person is the relation of man to woman. The relation of man to woman is the most genuine relation of human being to human being. It therefore reveals the extent to which man’s natural behaviour has become human, or the extent to which the human essence in him has become his natural essence. The relationship also reveals the extent to which man’s need has become a human need: the extent to which, therefore, the other person as a person has become for him a need.
… If you love without evoking love in return – if through the vital expression of yourself as a loving person you fail to become a loved person, then your love is impotent, it is a misfortune.
Private Property and Communism, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844
If you love without evoking love in return – that is, if your loving as loving does not produce reciprocal love; if through a living expression of yourself as a loving person you do not make yourself a beloved one, then your love is impotent – a misfortune.
Marxism and Psychological Science
1.1. The General Bases of Marxist Psychology
The teachings of Karl Marx caused a revolution in social sciences: in philosophy, in political economy, in the theory of socialism. As is known, psychology remained isolated from the influence of Marxism for many years. Marxism was not admitted into the official centers of scientific psychology, and the name of Karl Marx remained almost unmentioned in the works of psychologists for more than 50 years after the publication of his basic work.
Related:
The demand to give up the illusions about its condition is the demand to give up a condition that needs illusions.
A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction
The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.
Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right
Marx and Engel’s Collected Works Volume 3: Karl Marx, March 1843-August 1844 (PDF)
Abstract from The Introduction to Contribution To The Critique Of Hegel’s Philosophy Of Right
Abstract from The Introduction to Contribution To The Critique Of Hegel’s Philosophy Of Right
To abolish religion as the illusory happiness of the people is to demand their real happiness. The demand to give up illusions about the existing state of affairs is the demand to give up a state of affairs which needs illusions. The criticism of religion is therefore in embryo the criticism of the vale of tears, the halo of which is religion.
…
The weapon of criticism cannot, of course, replace criticism by weapons, material force must be overthrown by material force; but theory also becomes a material force as soon as it has gripped the masses. Theory is capable of gripping the masses as soon as it demonstrates ad hominem, and it demonstrates ad hominem as soon as it becomes radical. To be radical is to grasp the root of the matter. But for man the root is man himself. The evident proof of the radicalism of German theory, and hence of its practical energy, is that it proceeds from a resolute positive abolition of religion. The criticism of religion ends with the teaching that man is the highest being for man, hence with the categorical imperative to overthrow all relations in which man is a debased, enslaved forsaken, despicable being…..
Marx, Spinoza, and the Political Implications of Contemporary Psychiatry
Simple logic tells us that those atop a societal hierarchy will provide rewards for professionals—be they clergy or psychiatrists—who promote an ideology that maintains the status quo, and that the ruling class will do everything possible to manipulate the public to believe that the social-economic-political status quo is natural.
Marx, Spinoza, and the Political Implications of Contemporary Psychiatry
China Has Billionaires: Introduction
Are Jesus’s Teachings “Too Weak”? Some Evangelicals Say So
Are Jesus’s Teachings “Too Weak”? Some Evangelicals Say So
Related:
Calling the Sermon on the Mount weak or too liberal is ‘blasphemy and heresy’
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
You must be logged in to post a comment.