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Differing Views of Human Nature: Karl Marx & Sigmund Freud
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Compares conceptions of human nature as proposed by Marx & Freud. Marx' conception based on economic interactions & relationship of humans to labor, Freud's conception rooted in theoretical constructs of the mind producing observable behavior.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Compares conceptions of human nature as proposed by Marx & Freud. Marx' conception based on economic interactions & relationship of humans to labor, Freud's conception rooted in theoretical constructs of the mind producing observable behavior.

Paper Introduction:
Differing views of human nature are found in the theories of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. The two writers address diverse aspects of human life, with Marx centering on the economic and political and Freud on the inner life of the mind and the ways in which that manifests itself in human behavior. The two men have as their starting point a conception of human nature which shows why human beings behave as they do, and for both men the reasons for human behavior are hidden from view, hidden from the understanding of the majority of people responding to them. For Marx, the hidden force is economic and involves the relationship of the human being to labor, while for Freud the hidden force is found in theoretical constructs of the mind which govern different aspects of thought and behavior and whose interaction produces the behavior we can see.

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That is, itserves as the source of the conscience. 86). The super-ego is harsh, and itsinteraction with the ego produces a sense of guilt which leads to a needfor punishment. It is not the satisfaction of a specificneed but is rather the means for satisfying other needs. The class struggle is the defining fact ofsocietal life and leads in time to the violent overthrow of the capitalistclass by the working class, producing the dictatorship of the proletariatefor a certain period until a completely classless society is produced. ReferencesFreud, Sigmund, Civilization and Its Discontents. 15). 227).Everything else in life rests on this economic foundation. Always at war in the individual are various forces such as love anddeath, ego and super-ego, super-ego and libido, and so on. The society that results is made up of social classes, with one classdominant at a given time based on the control of the means of production.Human nature is expressed in the way individuals relate to class and theway they are controlled by that relationship. New York: New American Library, 1978. Marx derived the conceptof alienation from Hegel, who used the term to refer to a timelesscondition of man's mind. Human nature isthus a dynamic system in which behavior is produced by the interaction ofthese different components, and this is mirrored in the interactions amongindividuals and groups in society as well. Freud sees a connection between the development of the individual andthe development of society. Human nature includes a natural freedomof behavior that has to be curtailed in civilization, but this verycurtailment leads to neuroses and other human responses to the guilt thatis created and the control that is exerted, or that is attempted to beexerted. Marx had a conception of human history based on dialecticalmaterialism, which includes the sense that the determining factors in thedevelopment, relations, and institutions of mankind are not mystical orideological but economic. Freud thus sees a relationship between the individual lifeand history much as did Marx, but he finds it in terms of his conception ofcontrol over unwanted or undesirable natural impulses in both areas ratherthan in terms of economic forces. The control of the wishes and needs of the ego begins as asocial matter and then is internalized through the establishment of thesuper-ego. They donot own the means of production, while the capitalist who does sells theproduct of the labor of the workers. Freud finds that thecommunity can also develop a super-ego that influences culturaldevelopment. Norton, 1966.Nisbet, Robert, The Social Philosophers. New York: W.W. Freud writes: "In this way one makes the firststep towards the introduction of the reality principle which is to dominatefuture development. Freud sees a relationship between the internal world and theexternal world that the ego has cast off through the super-ego: "The super-ego torments the sinful ego with the same feeling of anxiety and is on thewatch for opportunities of getting it punished by the external world"(Freud: p. Marx found there to be alienation in a differentform in the individual's loss of control, of personal wholeness--analienation that is basically economic. The two men have as their starting point a conception of humannature which shows why human beings behave as they do, and for both men thereasons for human behavior are hidden from view, hidden from theunderstanding of the majority of people responding to them. It is not timeless but is theresult of economic forces in capitalism and derives from private property.The work is external to workers and is not part of their nature, so ratherthan fulfilling themselves in the work they deny themselves. For both Marx and Freud, the forces they see as key to anunderstanding of human nature also are seen as creating tensions whichconstrain behavior and which in time may lead to some form of rebellion,whether violent rebellion against the economic system or a neuroticrebellion against the war between the inner forces of human nature. Freud has developed an extensive system of mental interactions andmental components that affect human behavior. Marx's sense of human nature is seen in his concept of the force ofhistory, in his theory of revolution and of the class struggle leading torevolution, and especially in his concept of alienation based on economicrelationships. The super-ego develops as a response to the development ofcivilization. Human nature isbeing thwarted in this system, reshaped into an objectified thing, and onlythe abolition of private property will create a situation where true humannature, fulfilling itself in itself, can come to the fore (Nisbet, 1973:pp. The cultural development of society and the culturaldevelopment of the individual are at all times interlocked even though wemay not see how at the time. Such work isimposed rather than voluntary. For Marx, thehidden force is economic and involves the relationship of the human beingto labor, while for Freud the hidden force is found in theoreticalconstructs of the mind which govern different aspects of thought andbehavior and whose interaction produces the behavior we can see. Differing views of human nature are found in the theories of KarlMarx and Sigmund Freud. The human being is defined in terms of work, production,and his or her relationship to what is produced. For Marx, human nature reactsto the dynamics of the economic realm, while for Freud human nature reactsto the development of civilization itself and to the constraints suchdevelopment places on the world of nature from which humankind originallyderived. This differentiation, of course, serves the practicalpurpose of enabling one to defend oneself against sensations of unpleasurewhich one actually feels or with which one is threatened" (Freud: p. Humannature in the state of nature is thus one thing, while human nature incivilization has been reshaped and produces a different form of alienationin the Freudian conception. The two writers address diverse aspects of humanlife, with Marx centering on the economic and political and Freud on theinner life of the mind and the ways in which that manifests itself in humanbehavior. 4). The workers sell their laborand are alienated from the product of their labor because of it. As the individual develops during the lifecycle, the ego, or the sense of self, changes from encompassing everythingto detaching itself from the external world and thus including only theinner world of the self. Human actions are rooted in labor activities.Human beings have to secure a livelihood, and to accomplish this theyorganize their productive forces to operate throughout the economicspectrum. When the individual either indulges in certain behavior orrealizes a propensity for certain behavior that would be proscribed bysociety and challenged by the super-ego, the result is guilt and a desirefor punishment. New York: Washington Square Press, 1973.Padover, Saul K., The Essential Marx. This exploitation of one class byanother produces class hostilities which are constant and which are basedon material inequalities. Padover (1978) writes: "These material actions are theovermastering force in all social existence and relationships" (p. For Sigmund Freud, human nature is hidden in the mind and is producedby "the irremediable antagonism between the demands of instinct and therestrictions of civilization" (Strachey in Freud, 1961: p. The ego is the residence ofthe self, and the super-ego is the policeman of the self. The connections are not always clear orvisible to the human being, but they are there. 231-233). It is at this stage that the individual develops a conscienceand a sense of guilt. The ego and the super-ego are closely boundtogether.

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