New Forms of Alienation as State Control
Marxist states deepened alienation by eliminating worker autonomy and suppressing personal expression. Workers had no say in production, as state-set targets dictated everything. Personal choices about career, residence, or lifestyle faced strict regulation. East Germany’s Stasi spied on everyone, creating profound social distrust. Cuba jailed dissenters while claiming to represent them. The promised freedom became a new form of control, with the Party becoming the alienating force Marx despised. Bureaucratic alienation replaced market alienation.
