Modernity and Alienation: Revisiting Marx's Theory in Contemporary Cultural Contexts

Marx's theory of alienation is a profound analysis and criticism of modern social problems. Overreliance on factors such as market economy and technological progress has led to imbalanced relationships between humans and themselves, between humans, and between humans and nature, leading to various forms of alienation. Especially, labor alienation and interpersonal relationship alienation have become the most serious problems in modern society. Moreover, since 1990, the number of family relationships among people has decreased from an average of 20.97 to 10.26, the number of neighbors has decreased from an average of 8.23 to 4.32, the number of colleagues per capita has decreased from 115.99 to 70.53, and the number of friends per capita has decreased from 18.29 to 9.32. In order to address the issue of alienation, society needs to strengthen social education and attach importance to interpersonal relationships, in order to promote fairness and justice, and focus on self realization. Strengthening social education is beneficial for enhancing people's ideological awareness, rational thinking, and self-management awareness, thereby better understanding oneself and others, and improving one's own moral level and social quality. Emphasizing interpersonal relationships is beneficial for managing relationships with others in daily interactions, promoting communication and understanding between individuals, and enhancing trust and friendship between them. Promoting fairness and justice is beneficial for resolving social conflicts, eliminating people's dissatisfaction and sense of injustice, and strengthening social cohesion and stability. Finally, paying attention to self-actualization is conducive to improving people's self-knowledge and personal strength, promoting the all-round development of individuals, and making our lives more fulfilling and meaningful. In conclusion, solving the problem of alienation in modern society requires paying attention to the relationship between individuals and society, people and nature, and insisting on the equal and harmonious development of people and self, people and others, which can build a better society.