Karl Marx’s View of Good Work October 15, 2007

While studing post-modernism in Professor Ott’s Capstone class, I am reading Teach Yourself Post-Modernism.  In a way to better explain the post-modern condition in our culture auther Glenn Ward reflects on the ideas of Karl Marx.  Ward argues that Marx has the "most influential account of modernity" (Ward, 79).  Marx’s ideals revolve around the workplace and he tried to inspire workers to rise against the status quo of the workplace.  Marx defined labour as "as the natural interaction of human being with their environment" (Ward, 79).  I would argue that Marx believed in a good work theory and his definition would be constructed individually because he believed that individual labour is bought and sold as a commodity in a capitalist system.  Marx does not go into idealists concepts of flow or soul but he does value the idea of a living wage in its basic form.  "In order to buy what they need to live, peole have to sell their labour power for wages.  Labour becomes for most unfulfilling and uncreative.  Workers are alienated from the objects they produce and from the possibility of a truly communal life.  They are prevented from fulfilling their true potential" (Ward, 79).  Marx also suggests instead of finding flow and connecting the soul with work, people should lead a revolution to incite change.  While change is needed for workers in general, a revolution might not be the best solution, even if after eight hours in a grey cubicle you feel like attacking your boss with your stapler.