What is Property?

Abstract

I have argued that, in order to unearth — or construct — sociological foundations for Marx’s economic theories, the two concepts of estrangement and alienation must be kept separate and distinct. In the Introduction, ‘alienation’ (Entäusserung) was said to refer to the renunciation or relinquishment of possession or of a claim to something — usually, but not necessarily, in favour of another person. Its correlative was said to be ‘appropriation’ (Aneignung): taking into possession or assuming new powers of disposal over something — often, but by no means always, from another person. Clearly, neither term refers exclusively to relations involving ‘things’, since it is possible to alienate and appropriate activities or capacities, such as labour and labour-power, or persons (slaves) or abstract social entities (privileges, offices, freedoms, ‘goodwill’ etc.) However, it is fair to say that their primary reference is to things, and that these other uses, however common, are secondary, and have a figurative content. Or, to put it another way, that these diverse sorts of object are being assimilated to things and treated accordingly when they are said to be alienated or appropriated. So whereas solidarity and estrangement concerned the social bonding and sundering of persons, appropriation and alienation concern the making and breaking of social bonds between persons and things.