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  • Essay / Divergent Views of Freedom in the Works of Arendt and Marx

    On the themes of freedom, citizenship, and economics, Hannah Arendt and Karl Marx had opposing views. Born in Germany, Hannah Arendt was a writer recognized for her political and philosophical theories. Karl Marx, also born in Germany, was a philosopher, political theorist and ardent defender of communism. Although she acknowledged that Marx had been a great thinker, Arendt often criticized Marx in her work. Arendt believed that freedom was the ability to be creative and unpredictable in order to start something new; an asset that all humans are born with. For Arendt, this idea of ​​freedom had no relation to the economic state of a society. Additionally, Arendt believed that the key to freedom was political action. On the other hand, Marx believed that freedom was the capacity for self-realization; that is to say, acting with the aim of flourishing. For Marx, this concept of freedom was only achievable in a society without class conflict. While Marx makes a compelling argument, Arendt's is more compelling because it is more accessible; it is almost impossible for a society not to experience some sort of class conflict. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayIt is clear in Hannah Arendt's work that she was inspired by Aristotle. This is particularly visible in the fact that she considered humans to be political in nature; just as Aristotle believed that man was a political animal. Action, particularly political action, was one of three categories that constituted Arendt's concept of vita activa, or active life. This political action consisted of meeting in a public space to make change. To action was added work, to maintain human life, and work, to preserve our world; Arendt strongly emphasized the difference between the two. Furthermore, Arendt believed that an individual's freedom consisted of their ability to take political action; which means that freedom is largely political. In her book Between Past and Future, Arendt states that “the domain where freedom has always been known, not as a problem, of course, but as a reality of daily life, is the political domain” (Arendt, 146 ). This implies that, for Arendt, freedom is almost guaranteed in politics. In her work, Arendt emphasizes that her conception of freedom differs from the concept of free will, which is the ability to act as one chooses, or inner freedom, which is essentially the feeling of being free from constraints. Furthermore, Arendt saw no correlation between freedom and the economic situation of a society. In fact, Arendt believed that freedom was achieved in a society beyond the need for a strong economy. In her book On the Revolution, Arendt writes that "economic growth may one day prove to be a curse rather than a good, and in no case can it lead to freedom or constitute proof of its existence" (Arendt , 209). Obviously, Arendt did not believe that freedom was linked to the state of a society's economy. Unlike Arendt, Karl Marx believed that an individual's freedom depended on the state of his or her economy. He believed that freedom was only achieved in a society that was equal both economically and socially. Extremely critical of capitalism, Marx believed that it created an unethical relationship between workers and their employers. The result is class conflict. Furthermore, under capitalism, workers participate in work for the benefit of their.