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Sociology vocabulary · Theories and Thinkers

Alienation

Meaning in sociology, with examples

/ˌeɪliəˈneɪʃən/nounCommon term

In sociology, alienation means: In Marx's theory, the separation of workers under capitalism from the products of their labour, from the work process, from other people and from their own human potential.

In Turkish: yabancılaşma

How it is used

Comes from Marx's early writings, especially the 1844 manuscripts. Later sociologists use it more broadly for feelings of powerlessness, meaninglessness and isolation at work or in society, for example in studies of assembly lines and call centres.

Example sentences

  1. Marx argued that factory work led to alienation because workers had no control over what they produced.

  2. The study measured alienation among call centre staff who had to follow strict scripts.

Common collocations

  • alienation of labour
  • sense of alienation
  • political alienation
  • alienated workers
  • capitalismAn economic system in which the means of production are mostly privately owned and goods and labour are bought and sold in markets for profit.
  • proletariatIn Marxist theory, the working class that owns no means of production and must sell its labour for wages in order to live.
  • anomieA condition in which the norms that guide behaviour become weak, unclear or contradictory, often during rapid social change, leaving people without direction.
  • division of labourThe way work in a society or organisation is split into separate, specialised tasks carried out by different people or groups.

More terms: Theories and Thinkers

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