Written by Michael Potash   

By Mike Potash

The mention of Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Virginia Tech University, the Aurora, Colorado movie theater, or the South Carolina Emanuel AME church is enough to send chills down the spine. These are locations where, in our recent history, some of the most heinous acts of mass murder have taken place. Perhaps more chilling is the fact that mass killings, defined by the FBI as those involving four or more victims, occur about every two weeks in this country. A third of the victims are kids. The instrument of violence is usually (in three-quarters of cases) a firearm – usually a handgun. And mass killings are on the rise. According to a study conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health; the rate of mass shootings in America has essentially tripled over the last three years. It is in this environment that professionals from many disciplines (not to mention the rest of us) have begun to seriously ponder the root causes of this disturbing trend.

Because most mass murders – indeed, some of the most destructive mass murders – have been committed with firearms, their proliferation has been cited as a major factor contributing to the problem. The fact that in 2013, some 33,169 people lost their lives to the discharge of firearms in the US could easily bolster the case that too many people who possess these weapons should not. The argument is nothing if not rational. Then, there’s the ‘people kill people’ argument – in particular, people with compromised mental health - also playing a role in a number of cases. At the same time, it should be noted that only a small fraction of mass killers are ever diagnosed with mental illness. Still; the withdrawal of 1.8 billion dollars from state mental health budgets during the recession is but one factor of several stressing the mental healthcare system and leading to unfortunate outcomes. The combination of firearms and emotional imbalance is doubtless a lethal combination. But, in light of the fact that the rate of mass killings has grown far faster than either contributing factor suggests that something else is at work here – something more elusive and less tangible. Let me suggest that the problem may stem from an erosion of the connectedness between individuals and the society in which they live. And further; that the reasons for this dissolution were articulated by Karl Marx back in the 19th century.

Perhaps the timing of Marx coming into consciousness during the transformation of the world into a market economy inspired his theory of alienation. The ascendance of the market system drastically changed the relationship between individuals and their work, individuals and their communities. Families, which for generations had farmed their land and crafted for utility, now brought their labor into the marketplace - itself a commodity to be bought and sold. In the past, people sold their wares – the fruits of their labor and ingenuity. Now, they were selling themselves. Along with industrialization came mechanization – another topic on which Marx wrote extensively. A tool requires a craftsman; a machine, an operator. With time, labor was further devalued by automation. Computerization rendered the jobs of many with a relatively high degree of education obsolete. Still, after all this, a workable equilibrium might have been reached. With proper education, one could be prepared to do work that transcended the abilities of computational machines. Engineers and architects might have work security – as might the less-educated who comprised the labor force for an industrial base. But the tenets of market capitalism demand the pursuit of competitive advantage – and that means bypassing all obstacles.

Beginning in the early 1990s, the passage of so-called ‘free trade agreements’ such as NAFTA and CAFTA were touted as much-needed legislation to eliminate barriers to trade and investment between the US and the rest of the world. While these agreements did little to affect trade, they achieved their intended purpose which was to license corporations to shed their American workforces and relocate production to places where labor was cheaper and regulations fewer. The manufacturing sector was exported first. Steel, automotive, electronics, textiles – particularly unionized labor which was expensive - not to mention abhorrent to the management class. Then, to the surprise of some, many white-collar positions suffered the same fate. If manufacturing could be exported – why not engineering? Or, tech support? Usually, such illuminations are conducted in the interest of making an economic point. And certainly, the economic impact of outsourcing has been and continues to be profound. But in an effort to explain the recent spate of mass murders, unmasking the psychological impacts of a market economy on the workforce is likely far more important.

Certainly, economic ruin can lead to desperation and hopelessness which can, in turn, manifest in acts of violence. But the problem is not simply one of economic diminution, but one resulting from a diminution of the character of the work in which many Americans find themselves. For example; the largest US employers include Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Target, and Kroger. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the month of August 2015, manufacturing lost 17,000 jobs but leisure and hospitality gained 33,000. Why is this important? To understand the significance, we have to comprehend Karl Marx’ concept of ‘Social Labor’. Work doesn’t simply change the form of a material. For our species, work is our membership to community; I make your chair, you bake my bread. Marx wrote: “And lastly from the moment that men work for one another in any way, their labor assumes a social form.” Reasonably, we can state that social labor is inseparable from our humanity. It would logically follow then, that to be deprived of the opportunity to engage in social labor is to be deprived to some degree of one’s humanity.

Karl Marx’ theory of alienation posits that as a result of the stratification of society into social classes, people experience estrangement (Gr. Entfremdung) from aspects of their ‘species essence’ – for lack of a better word; ‘humanity’. Lately, our attention has been drawn to the concepts of class warfare and income inequality. Is not income inequality a reflection of labor inequality? The aforementioned list of employers is significant because of the nature of the labor they tend to provide. When people are engaged in craft, manufacture, or creative pursuits they retain a sense that they are, to a great extent, the director of their own actions and that their actions and decisions shape their life, destiny, and social relations. But increasingly, Americans are finding themselves engaged in labor far more mechanistic than social. Alienation from the self, Marx explained, occurs when humans become a mechanistic part within a social class. Further; assuming such a mechanistic role estranges a person from their humanity as the worker increasingly feels more like an instrument, less like a person. A recent survey of Wal-Mart workers regarding their assessment of the meaningfulness of their work would seem to confirm this.

How estranged from one’s humanity does one have to be to commit mass murder? How about when the individual is under great emotional stress? Or psychologically impaired? Or has already used an instrument to kill animals? Karl Marx’ theory of alienation may ultimately provide a piece of the puzzle that had previously been overlooked. If we conclude that the alienated individual is indeed more prone to violence, we should not rejoice in this discovery. Scientific advancements and renewed dedication to mental health can reduce the likelihood of violence associated with such impairment. Common sense gun laws may well serve to restrict gun ownership to those who would use them responsibly. But reducing alienation-induced violence would seem to require nothing less than a fundamental re-configuring of society.

Mike Potash is an electronics technician at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it