Work in Marx as a mediator of knowledge

Resumen

LIMA, Wanderson Pereira. Work in Marx as a mediator of knowledge. Educ. Teoria Prática [online]. 2025, vol.35, n.69, e43. ISSN 1981-8106.  https://doi.org/10.18675/1981-8106.v35.n.69.s18116.

This article aims to present labour as an element that mediates knowledge by drawing on its positive and negative aspects as well as on previous studies grounded on a Marxist theoretical framework. It results from a qualitative bibliographical research study that endorses a view of labour as a central element in human development amid the dynamics, mediations, and contradictions of social relations; labour is particularly important in relations among humans and between these and nature, enabling individuals to transform themselves and the surrounding environment. Notwithstanding, the article addresses another form of labour, one which produces individuals’ self-alienation and estrangement from others and, above all, from the products they create. It is, therefore, concluded that only through conscious labour, conscious and rational action as well as free and autonomous activity can humans develop their cognitive abilities, which leads to emancipation. However, knowledge produced by alienated labour is reified, mechanised, operationalised, functionalist, and formalist and needs to be demystified, debated, and surpassed with a view to producing active and participatory individuals in society.

Palabras clave : Labour; Knowledge; Mediation.

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