Abstract

The central question examined in this dissertation is, Can the empirical research into alienation be improved? Social theorists criticize the research for being too subjective and not accounting for the objective aspects of alienation like the ownership of the means of production, for stripping alienation of its critical force, and for not being systematically unified. Not all of these criticisms hit their mark, but there are reasons to suggest the research can be improved. Most studies, as the social theorists say, are too subjective, though there are examples that account for objective aspects like ownership. Nonetheless, where these aspects are examined it is in addition to the multidimensional framework, which is based on the attitudes of powerlessness, normlessness, meaninglessness, self-estrangement, cultural estrangement, and social isolation. The research also suffers because the dimensions are based on different theories of alienation, like those of Marx, Durkheim, Fromm, and Nettler, with no resolution to conflicts between them. An alternative framework is proposed that attempts to resolve some of the difficulties confronting the current studies by suggesting parameters for the empirical use of "alienation" and by outlining the personal, behavioural, situational, and institutional factors applicable to particular types of alienation and dealienation