Alienation of Labour in Dys/utopian Societies
In class we briefly discussed the idea of alienation of labour.
In recent years (dating back to around Ford’s time, as Brave New World points out), we have seen increasing mechanization of hte work force. Individuals are being used as machines, as they repeat the same action over and over again on a conveyor belt assembly line. In the past, the individual would have pride for a finished product. New the people who create these items can barely recognize their own work. They have become completely disconnected.
Utopian/Dystopian socities often require the alienation of their labour force. If the individuals are too attached to their work, they are unlikely to blindly accept the will of one individual leader. They will think, innovate, and question, all actions that are strongly discouraged, as they give rise to individual liberty.
There is nothing inherently wrong with individual liberty, from a dys/utopian point of view, other than that it naturally undermines the idea of collective responsibility which must be instilled in all society members. A dys/utopian society could never exist if the individuals were unwilling to sacrifice their freedoms for the better good of those around them. Liberty must come second to society.
I think this is why the labour force in dys/utopian societies is generally depicted as disconnected, alienated from their work. What do you think?
Jamie Goldberg wrote:
I think that it is necessary to detach workers from their work in order to keep them in line. In most dys/utopian societies the world described is more a government controlled nation that a utopia. In order to keep control and prevent uprising the government must ensure that the people are only working for the society and not for themselves. If they gain pride out of their work they are displaying a side of indivduality that is dangerous to the existence of the government. This is the same reason that dys/utopian societies are often described as having governments that can see all even people’s thoughts. If people have thoughts that show the least bit of individulaity then they are dangerous. Dys/Utopias only work because the people are forced to work for the nation instead of themselves which in turn keeps the government running.
Posted 26 Oct 2007 at 2:09 pm ¶
Lindsay wrote:
I don’t think that the purpose of alienated labor is to keep people from feeling proud of their work. It seemed to me that the characters in Brave New World were proud of their contribution to society. I think that alienation of labor is about keeping the people from realizing they can do something by themselves. A dys/utopian government would want their citizens to depend on others and think that they are a part that is insignificant with out the rest of the machine.
Posted 28 Oct 2007 at 11:10 am ¶
manayo wrote:
Question:
Are utopian and dystopian societies so similar that the same rules apply to them? If alienation of labor is characteristic of both type of society, how different are they, really?
“A dys/utopian society could never exist if the individuals were unwilling to sacrifice their freedoms for the better good of those around them. Liberty must come second to society.”
I think that in a utopian -perfect- society, and with we being the people we are, we should be able to experience full individual freedom and still achieve social harmony. Or is utopia only so if humanity is homogenized to the extent where they have no individual perception, or repressed to the extent where they cannot express their individuality? Sounds dystopic to me.
Posted 30 Oct 2007 at 12:07 pm ¶