Marx's Concept Pf Man

Abstract

This essay looks for the works and writings of Karl Marx. Some would like to call him the last of the Old Testament prophets, because he basically prophesized that man would someday create a paradise on earth. That someday we will all live in brotherhood, sharing our talents and our wealth. His works’ vision was based on an evolutionary point of departure. This paper is looking for what Karl Marx said about the nature of man. This paper is one way of understanding the nature of man according to the different philosophers. The main concern of this essay will be to explain the Marx’s nature of man as a “species being” within the context of alienation, whilst providing an understanding of their place within the social construction of society, as Marx had intended. Marx, explain the nature of man in different ways.

It is difficult to define human beings, because we are capable one thing to do yet we are doing another thing that we want and can satisfy the needs of our being. Marx believes that human beings belong to a specific class and society, yet they are able to alienate themselves. They are aware of what they can do and their potentials. Marx distinguished man from animal because of their vitality, creativity and energy. According to Fromm and Marx (1966), human nature is driven by a relatives drives (Fromm & Marx, 1966). Relative drives means economic gains while constant drives are sexual urge and hunger. Fromm observed that man’s history is a form of self-realization. Marx also observed the creativity of human beings because of the creativity of man, they can create and express themselves to create their own world. According to him, man is a productive, independent and non-alienated (Fromm & Marx, 1966). Marx attracts himself to the human nature because of the natural traits of the human. One of the nature of human is being complex, because they idealized the construction of reality to define the intersection of persons and groups within the society.