Franz Borkenau, Alfred Sohn-Rethel, and Kōstas Axelos
Alienation Stories: Franz Borkenau, Alfred Sohn-Rethel, and Kōstas Axelos by Graham Scott Mackenzie B.A., Simon Fraser University, 2007 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Graham Scott Mackenzie 2012 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2012 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for “Fair Dealing.” Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Graham Scott Mackenzie Degree: Master of Arts (Communication) Title of Thesis: Alienation Stories: Franz Borkenau, Alfred Sohn-Rethel, and Kōstas Axelos Examining Committee: Chair: Martin Laba, Associate Professor Richard Gruneau Senior Supervisor Professor Stuart Poyntz Supervisor Assistant Professor Shane Gunster Internal Examiner Associate Professor School of Communication Date Defended/Approved: September 10, 2012 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Abstract Alienation Stories explores a Marxist theory of alienation through selected works from three lesser known 20th Century theorists: Franz Borkenau, Alfred Sohn-Rethel, and Kōstas Axelos. If we read Marx’s theory of Alienation, roughly, as having three parts: 1) objectification of the subject, 2) development of the subject once objectified, and 3) the return of the objectified subject to a ‘higher level’ of subjectivity, then my readings of Borkenau, Sohn-Rethel, and Axelos each correspond to an aspect of the theory of alienation. Franz Borkenau, read together with Walter Benjamin, corresponds to the first stage of alienation.
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