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| 21989 | Man is dominated by money, which is the essence of his alienation |
| Full Idea: Money is the alienated essence of man's labour and life, and this alien essence dominates him as he worships it. | |||
| From: Karl Marx (On the Jewish Question [1844], p.60), quoted by Peter Singer - Marx 3 | |||
| A reaction: Presumably this is inherit in the very nature of money, rather than in the wickedness of capitalists who control it. But money is not inherently alienting for the rich, or for the comfortable bourgeoisie (is it?). |
| 24316 | Private property is self-interested freedom, rather than freedom through community |
| Full Idea: The right to private property is the self-interested right to dispose of one's own fortune, independently of society, and is the basis of civil society. It makes men see in others not the realisation of his own freedom, but the barrier to it. | |||
| From: Karl Marx (On the Jewish Question [1844], Vol 3: 135), quoted by Peter Gibson - Natural Ideas: a naturalist system of philosophy | |||
| A reaction: The idea that freedom is a communal matter is probably Hegel's main legacy to Marx. |
| 24315 | The state pretends that inequalities are non-political, but takes their influence for granted |
| Full Idea: The state abolishes distinctions of birth, rank, education, occupation, by saying they are non-political, making all citizens equal partners. But the state allows private property, education, occupation, which exert their influence, and are presupposed. | |||
| From: Karl Marx (On the Jewish Question [1844], Vol 3: 153), quoted by Jaime Edwards/Brian Leiter - Marx 6.1 | |||
| A reaction: It is certainly true that educational qualifications are seen as equal, despite any inequalities in how they are achieved. Marx persistently sees the supposed virtues of liberal societies as illusory. |
| 20519 | Marxists say liberal rights are confrontational, and liberal equality is a sham |
| Full Idea: For Marx liberal rights are egoistic rights of separation: they encourage each individual to view others as limitations to his or her freedom. ....Liberals set up a sham community of 'equal' citizens. | |||
| From: report of Karl Marx (On the Jewish Question [1844]) by Jonathan Wolff - An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Rev) 4 'Marxist' | |||
| A reaction: The point is that equality in law does not ensure equal treatment in daily life. I suppose a liberal right can be seen as an opt-out clause for some aspect of society. |