Investigation of The Role of Production Within Community Through Tocqueville and Marx’s Theories

Introduction

In this paper, I argue the role of production within a community using both Tocqueville and Marx’s theories. Tocqueville speaks about voluntary association being positive for the community, whereas Marx speaks about forced labor and slavery.

Voluntary vs. Forced Labor

Tocqueville discusses how voluntary labor aids in one’s sense of belonging, whereas Marx discusses a loss of sense of self through labor. Inequality is apparent in labor; Tocqueville discusses the hierarchy and its role, and Marx argues how social structure and social locations indicate one’s privileges. When looking at production, we can think of voluntary vs. forced labor, a sense of self, and inequality. Production can have positive and negative implications within a community.

Voluntary Association

Voluntary association involves people working and coming together to do something for the common good, such as Americans combining to give fêtes, found seminaries, build churches, and distribute books (Tocqueville, 1835-1840). In democratic communities, people find themselves helpless if they do not commit to voluntary association. Though there is an obstacle for democratic societies, it is easier for aristocratic societies to form voluntary associations than democrats. This is because aristocrats have a hierarchy with each level holding greater weight in society, so a few associates are enough to influence others and agree on rules. Thus, production brings togetherness through labor; without voluntary association, people would fall back and become “barbarians,” turning into the opposite of community, which is individualism.

Marx’s Materialist Approach

Production can also be negative. Marx (1844) argues a materialist approach, asserting that society needs material needs, and those in charge of production are people who are forced to do labor because of their social location. This affects the nature of whole institutions; one must sell their labor to get the needs they want, such as food. The mode of production of material life is the base and determines the social, political, and spiritual processes of life. For example, proletarians do not own property, so in order to survive, they have no choice but to sell their labor on the market, while the bourgeoisie can hire and pay someone for their production. Those in charge of production can be described as slaves and miserable because they lack power, and their production results in competition. It is evident that Tocqueville views production within a community more positively than Marx. Through labor, one can either feel a sense of belonging or not, depending on the circumstance.

Community as a Family

As mentioned before, voluntary association creates togetherness, working towards a common goal. Tocqueville (1835-1840) argues that the community is seen as a family, and people feel obligated to them rather than alienated. One feels a good sense of self because they are part of a community where everyone is inclusive. An example today is the education institution; the common goal for professors, teaching assistants, and principals is to help students succeed. Professors and teaching assistants can be seen as a family, working together to help their students. Tocqueville emphasizes that collective goods are not exclusive; therefore, everyone belongs and shares a common good, such as clean air shared amongst everyone within a certain community. Without voluntary association, it will lead to individualism, where everyone works for their own advantage, which will create competition, a struggle between classes, and hatred. By promoting social capital, we encourage people to work together, gaining trust and support, which are positive traits for the community.

Alienation and Inequality

Unlike Tocqueville, Marx does not view the community as promoting a sense of belonging. There is a connection between private property, selfishness, and labor, which all relate to alienation. Alienation means distancing from the community and the self, which does not promote a sense of belonging. According to Marx (1844), production allows men to appear as slaves to their objects; the more one produces, the more valueless and worthless one becomes. The worker, therefore, feels like a “stranger.” His labor is not voluntary; it is compulsory for the bourgeoisie to buy their products. Marx compares animals and men, arguing that animals work for their needs for themselves, but men produce for the community only; products belong to animals, whereas man can separate from his product. This is similar to someone dedicating themselves to an assignment; a part of them is taken away once it is handed in. The pleasure we take in production should be available, but it is taken away in a capitalist society.

Despotism and Social Structure

Production within a community causes inequality. Tocqueville speaks of despotism, where there is isolation of men and egoism is present. Despotism is dangerous and feared in all communities because it creates barriers to keep men apart; it makes them not think of their fellows, which will increase inequality. Despotism allows indifference to be a public virtue, which allows people to lack sympathy towards others. Privileged families tend to stay in the same position. In a democratic community, no one's position is stable; new families rise, and others fall.

Marx also looks at hierarchies and social structures influencing inequality. The working class tends to have more pressure on them to produce more products to sell in order to achieve their needs, i.e., food, while privileged people don’t need to work as hard to get their needs. Proletarians are willing to ignore their interests to produce for the universe. Social structure means systems of opportunity. For example, imagine a young boy from Ethiopia wanting to grow up to be an astronaut, and a boy from the US wanting to be an astronaut; the boy from the US has a greater chance because of his social location. In the US, people are more privileged because of production and education. When you have different classes within a community, you have different fundamental interests; for example, the proletariat is of a lower class, and their interest is to earn money through their production in order to survive, whereas the bourgeoisie own means of production.

Conclusion

Production plays a major role within a community. If my argument is valid, then a broader implication for sociology is that if there is no change and a balance of equality and freedom, this will cause the rich to continue getting richer and the poor getting poorer. There must be sympathy towards one another so there is less violence within our world. If the community does not change for the better, intersectionality will continue to be a growing problem in society today.

References

Marx, K. (1844). Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. International Publishers.

Tocqueville, A. (1835-1840). Democracy in America. University of Chicago Press.