Reificaition Case Essay

Wikipedia defines reification as (Lat. res involvement + facere to make) n. the gaminging of something into a thing or object the error which consists in treating as a thing something which is not one. Hypostatization, treating an abstract entity as if it were concrete, is a case in point.In redness terms, it is the consideration of a humans being as a physical object, deprived of subjectivity. According to Marxists, this is one of the pitfalls of the capitalist outline because in much(prenominal) a system the laborers and their work out are not valued to their proper extent. Their work is do by as a trade good and is valued according to the unpredictable needs of the market. This concept is closely tied to the Marxist idea of commodity fetishism which Wikipedia describes as an inauthentic state of social relations, said to arise in complex capitalist market systems, where social relationships are confused with their medium, the commodity.Marxist writer, Georg Lukcs, writes thusThe transformation of the commodity relation into a thing of ghostly objectivity pecknot there ore content itself with the reduction of all objects for the comfort of human needs to commodities. It stamps its imprint upon the whole consciousness of man his qualities an abilities are no longer an thorough par of his personality, they are things which he can own or dispose of like the various objects of the remote world.Simply put, Marxists criticize capitalist systems for stripping the human person of his social nature. He is transformed into a commodity or a product. Ones labor is transformed into money which is in turn used to purchase the products of other peoples labor. Although this may facilitate the exchange of goods, the problem of the system lies in the fact that because of this abstraction, the use-value (the actual usefulness of the object) is oftentimes totally different from its exchange-value (the value of the object in the marketplace). For example, a person w ho creates a hammer (which has a variety of uses) ordain be paid less(prenominal) than a person who makes jewelry (an object which has less use than a hammer). The value given to the work of the laborer is incommensurate to the work and effort that he made in order to produce the good.How can reification be avoided?Marxist measures against reification have proven themselves to be ineffective (including complete encounter over the market and standardization of wages). This is because these measures tend to remove the element of competition from the formula, thus, causing production to patronize instead.An alternative mode by which reification is avoided is through the respect of human rights. According to John Locke, apiece person has the natural right to life, liberty and estate which mustiness be protected by the government. These rights must ensure that each person shall be given his due. By treating persons as individuals with human rights and dignity, people will be treated as an end and never as a means. The theory of human rights has been upheld and accredited by most of the world and are embodied in international instruments and conventions, most notable is the commonplace Declaration of Human Rights.In the field of labor and employment, modern societies have integrated this idea of human dignity by setting minimum standards and conditions to be strictly followed by employers under the pain of capture sanctions should they be defied. For example, there could be a law saying that any employee who works beyond octet hours in a single day shall be given additional overtime pay. Another authority would be a law that would lay down a minimum wage based on the living standards and conditions of the locality where the worker belongs.By recognizing the human dignity of every person, reification is completely eradication because persons are then given the respect they deserve. They are no longer treated as cogs in the machinery of production but are c onsidered partners in the enterprise. By holding that each person deserves to be treated with dignity, they are esteemed as subjects never objects, and will be given their due.BibliographyLukcs, Georg. 1967. History & Class Consciousness. Translated by Andy Blunden. Merlin Press.Smith, John, Bob Snider, and Diane Hill. 2005. A study of physics. New York McGraw Hill.Wikipedia. 2006. Commodity fetishism. Wikipedia.http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_fetishism.Ashcraft, Richard. 1986. Revolutionary Politics and Lockes cardinal Treatises of Government.Princeton Princeton University Press.Wikipedia. 2006. Georg Lukcs. Wikipedia. http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Luk%C3%A1cs.Wikipedia. 2006. Human Rights. Wikipedia. http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights.Wikipedia. 2006. John Locke. Wikipedia. http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_locke.Wikipedia. 2006. Reification. Wikipedia. http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reification.