Daphne Bakopoulos
Brock University
SOCI/CRIM 2P00
October 2, 2025
, 2
Karl Marx's essay on estranged labour, his explanation of primitive accumulation in
Capital, and The New Enclosure by the Midnight Notes all address how capitalism is based on
exploitation, inequality and dispossession. Although being published in separate time periods,
they are related by their belief that capitalism is not natural but rather something that is
established and preserved by stripping resources and authorities from normal people. This led me
to consider the structure of society and the reasons behind the persistence of inequality more
carefully.
Dispossession as the foundation of capitalism is the first main thing. Marx describes how
people were evicted from their land through enclosures and forced to work for pay in Capital,
saying that this happens “in letters of blood and fire” (Marx Estranged Labour). The Midnight
Notes collective (2001) goes one step further by showing how dispossession still occurs today
whether in the United States, where homelessness is linked to raising housing costs and falling
income, or in Nigeria where land is taken for plantation. This makes sense to me since it clarifies
why these issues keep happening in various settings and at various times. I now view matters like
poverty and displacement differently after reading and understanding the text.
A second theme is the commodification of labour and alienation. Marx (Estranged
Labour) claims in the Estranged Labour that workers lose their sense of purpose and become
commodities who produce for others. I now view occupations differently as a result of this. I had
thought that identity and dignity were always provided by labor, but Marx argues that under
capitalism these things are frequently taken away by employment. In the independent economy
of today, alienation is still evident. Many employees of Uber, DoorDash, and Amazon are paid
on a task-by-task basis, have minimal job security, and aren't seen like human beings but rather
like interchangeable components in a machine. Marx's assertion that workers being treated as
Brock University
SOCI/CRIM 2P00
October 2, 2025
, 2
Karl Marx's essay on estranged labour, his explanation of primitive accumulation in
Capital, and The New Enclosure by the Midnight Notes all address how capitalism is based on
exploitation, inequality and dispossession. Although being published in separate time periods,
they are related by their belief that capitalism is not natural but rather something that is
established and preserved by stripping resources and authorities from normal people. This led me
to consider the structure of society and the reasons behind the persistence of inequality more
carefully.
Dispossession as the foundation of capitalism is the first main thing. Marx describes how
people were evicted from their land through enclosures and forced to work for pay in Capital,
saying that this happens “in letters of blood and fire” (Marx Estranged Labour). The Midnight
Notes collective (2001) goes one step further by showing how dispossession still occurs today
whether in the United States, where homelessness is linked to raising housing costs and falling
income, or in Nigeria where land is taken for plantation. This makes sense to me since it clarifies
why these issues keep happening in various settings and at various times. I now view matters like
poverty and displacement differently after reading and understanding the text.
A second theme is the commodification of labour and alienation. Marx (Estranged
Labour) claims in the Estranged Labour that workers lose their sense of purpose and become
commodities who produce for others. I now view occupations differently as a result of this. I had
thought that identity and dignity were always provided by labor, but Marx argues that under
capitalism these things are frequently taken away by employment. In the independent economy
of today, alienation is still evident. Many employees of Uber, DoorDash, and Amazon are paid
on a task-by-task basis, have minimal job security, and aren't seen like human beings but rather
like interchangeable components in a machine. Marx's assertion that workers being treated as
