My Renaissance by Michael McBride

The Renaissance was in essence, an awakening of the critical thinking mind, and this
class has been designed to help students achieve this same emergence. For myself, the reading
that stoked the fire of reason was the Alienated Labor by Karl Marx. Growing up in an America
that is largely run on capitalism, I would hear the name Marx from time to time, but it was
always in a negative light. Upon reading the words of Marx myself I was shocked to find that his
ideals actually struck a chord with me. He saw the devaluation and estrangement of man; with
the rich exploiting and profiting off the working class, who in turn were becoming poorer and
poorer. Though I may not agree will everything Marx taught, I found my thoughts roused by his
words and was excited in the conflicts they presented. With this excitement, I hope to describe
some of the ideals from Karl Marx, known as Marxism. With a better understanding of Marxs
philosophies, I will share my renaissance and the new ideas that seemed to challenge my
previous understanding. Lastly, with my new perspective, I want to consider some examples of
Marxist ideologies. I will do this with examples, some from our class, but also with a surprising
pop culture reference from my childhood.
Marxism was an idea created by Karl Marx in the 1800s. At the center of Marxism is the
struggle between the Capitalist and the Working Class. Though not referenced directly in this
reading, Marx referred to these classes as the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat, respectively. The
Proletariat are those that own a means of production, like land, factories or other resources; the
Bourgeoisie are those that seek employment from the capitalist. In Marxs theory there is an
ongoing struggle between the classes where the capitalists are exploiting the workers, and the
working class try to resist the exploitation. In this scenario, the workers become dependent on
their wages because there are less resources for them to survive; this drives the laborers to work
harder and manufacture more products. Because there are more products, the labor of the
working class becomes worth less and less. This is what Marx referred to as Alienated Labor.
According to Marx the only way to break this cycle is for the Working Class to stand up and
revolt against the capitalists. This would increase the value of the products and the workers
making them thus creating a more equal distribution of wealth.
As someone who has always tried to take pride in my work, the Alienation of labor really
struck a chord with me. Although I feel I work hard, I defiantly do not have the same level of
craftsmanship that previous generations have held. I manage a group of young people who field
customer service phone calls for credit card debt. Pretty far removed from any workmanship or
artistry at all. And even in the work for my agents, they are estranged from any direct benefit of
their efforts. Yes, if they work hard they can be promoted, but they do not see any personalized
advantage for the thousands of dollars they deal with every day. These profits go directly to the
company, its officers and shareholders.
It was easy for me to see the alienation of labor in my own work, but honestly, this is not
what brought about my renaissance. This came more directly from Marxs equalitarian values
and the additional reading I did in the glossary and online. I have always been intrigued by the
idea of a society working together to benefit everyone, but since the cold war these attitudes have
been very taboo. The failed USSR has been the poster child of why communism doesnt work.
And it is true, autocratic communism or socialism doesnt work. But standing in stark contrast to
this authoritative dictatorial control, are many examples of communities coming together and
benefiting. Early Mormons held up the United Order by living the law of Consecration, where
they would donate all they had to the church and the cumulative wealth was distributed as
necessary. To this day, many Christian faiths still pay tithes. The Icarians, a French group that
moved to Nauvoo after the Mormons left also had similar practices. The striking difference
between these groups (as well as many other examples) and the USSR, is that the smaller group
democratically elected to follow communistic or socialistic operations. It is this choice to live in
unity that is empowering, but if a communistic society is forced it becomes enslaving. If forced,
it falls outside the ideals that Marx was promoting. His goal was to free the working class from
the exploitation of capitalist.
At first these Marxist ideas seemed new to me, but I realized they were not new at all.
This discovery was almost as exciting as the actual awaking for me. One example that nearly
slapped me across the face was one from my childhood, Disney/Pixars Bugs Life. This
animated favorite brought to life the struggle Marx described. In the film Grasshoppers take the
place of the Bourgeoisie, extorting food from the ants who were the Proletariat of the story.
When the grasshoppers do not receive their offering they make threats of violence towards the
grasshoppers. The ants work very hard and have developed a system to keep both parties happy,
even though the grasshoppers did not provide much in return. They created the need for
protection in the minds of the ants, a great example of the conflicts created by the class struggle.
The grasshoppers did not consider the ant families when they demanded double the food rations,
much like when capitalist demand more product from the working class often at cut wages to
increase their own profit. Later in the film, exactly as Marx predicts, the ants stand up and revolt
against the grasshoppers.
My renaissance truly came from an unexpected source, especially in a business class,
Karl Marx. While a government should never inforce socialistic or communistic laws or actions,
if people elect to live this way it can truly benefit a community. If this equalitarian society were
to exist, there would be less families stricken by hunger and poverty. The alienation of labor
would be decreased because workers would be able to benefit directly, and indirectly, from their
efforts. In the United States, this is not likely to happen, but in smaller communities it can be a
reality. This realization was my awakening, my renaissance.