Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

In this chapter, the authors have proceeded from the premises of political economy. Political economy conceals the estrangement inherent in the nature of labour by not considering the direct relationship between the worker and production. They took their departure from a fact of political economy—the estrangement of the worker and his production. The authors have formulated the concept of this fact—estranged, alienated labour. They have analysed this concept—hence analysing merely a fact of political economy. True, it is as a result of the movement of private property that the people have obtained the concept of alienated labour from political economy. Indeed, even the equality of wages demanded by Proudhon only transforms the relationship of the present-day worker to his labour into the relationship of all men to labour. Society is then conceived as an abstract capitalist.