Abstract
The Marxian theory of alienation has received a large amount of sociological attention from a variety of perspectives. Insofar as any general conclusion has emerged it is that the use of the theory in terms of empirical sociology is severely limited by several major defects. This paper considers the force of these criticisms under two general categories of theoretical deficiency and empirical falsification, and suggests that they offer no grounds for discarding the theory. The argument continues more substantively by analysing the use of the theory in understanding working-class action and consciousness and concludes that it offers several important advantages over its rivals.
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