(iPoster) Beyond Capitalism: Darwin, Marx, and Ultimate Explanations for Alienation

• In Event: Poster Session: Foundations of Political Theory 3 (Critical); Education Politics and Policy; & Political Science Education
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Foundations of Political Theory 3 (Critical)

Abstract

This paper reexamines Karl Marx’s theory of alienation through the lens of contemporary evolutionary social science. I argue that incorporating frameworks from evolutionary anthropology and psychology not only aligns with Marx’s interest in Darwinian theory but also extends his causal analysis beyond capitalism as the root cause of alienation, without exonerating it. By examining the teleological-like properties of both historical materialism and Darwinian evolution, I introduce the evolutionary distinction between proximate and ultimate levels of explanation to propose that Marx’s theory of alienation ultimately results from an evolutionary mismatch between modern capitalist structures and the ancestral conditions under which human psychology evolved.

Through an interdisciplinary analysis, I revisit Marx’s four types of alienation. First, I explore how capitalist structures disrupt the evolved mechanisms for navigating social exchanges, contributing to alienation from the product of labor. Second, I analyze how adaptations for navigating power dynamics, hierarchy, and leadership in ancestral environments are distorted under capitalism, deepening alienation from the process of labor. Third, I argue that Marx’s remarkably prescient concept of alienation from species-being foreshadows contemporary evolutionary theories, including niche construction theory and Dawkins’ extended phenotype, demonstrating how capitalist incentives create structures that promote systemic alienation. Finally, I explore identity from an evolutionary perspective, highlighting how large-scale, anonymous societies intensify alienation from one another.

With some notable exceptions (e.g., Samuel Bowles & Herbert Gintis), Marxist scholars have typically been skeptical or ideologically hostile to the evolutionary social sciences—often for valid reasons. I argue this is a key strategic mistake. While this paper complements, rather than refutes Marx, one implication is that many of the ultimate causes of alienation predate capitalism and date to the advent of agriculture. This does not undermine the Marxian goal of transcending capitalism but it highlights that doing so without addressing ultimate evolutionary causes of alienation risks reproducing oppressive structures, even in a post-capitalist system.

The paper seeks to follow in the footsteps of Marx, who in his time, applied cutting edge evolutionary social sciences to better understand human nature, combat systemic injustice and promote human flourishing. By situating Marx’s theory within a broader theoretical and methodological framework, the work contributes to contemporary efforts to expand the possibilities of political theory to address the crises of our time.

Author

• Jeff Deminchuk, Washington State University