Marx, Sartre (Existentialism), and Skinner

¶ … Marx, Sartre (Existentialism), and Skinner (Behaviorism) apply in the business sense (organizational ethics)?

On the surface, it might seem counter-intuitive to assert that two of modern capitalism's most dedicated opponents and critics, Karl Marx and Jean Paul Sartre, could provide advice for a manager in a contemporary organization. But by listening to their criticisms, a manager can help counteract exploitative workplace influences and create a more positive and productive environment.

For example, one of Karl Marx's primary criticisms of capitalism was that workers manufactured more than they could ever need or use, and received only a wage in return. This meant that workers were alienated from the product they produced, and felt little sense of accomplishment or connection to what they created, in contrast to workers in agricultural times. Factory workers slaved on property rented out by an owner who did not labor with his hands. The owner merely collected rent and/or used the property and the worker's bodies to make a profit for himself. Sartre discussed the radical alienation of modern human beings from modern society, noting that previous social bonds had been severed by industrialization, and human beings were terribly, radically free of old ethical systems in a manner that was profoundly disturbing. Humans had to learn to use freedom in a positive, rather than a negative fashion, said Sartre.