The Illusion of Individualism in Capitalism: Property, Self-interest, Religion

In his essay on religion, Marx takes the opportunity to to talk about many intertwined topics to religion, including property, self-interest, and individualism. He also develops the idea of ‘species-being,’ which means man's ability to act upon nature with his labor. 

Ultimately, he illuminated that at the core of capitalism lies an unsettling contradiction: while it champions individual freedom, it simultaneously limits people and their freedoms. 

Marx interestingly begins his conversation on individualism with his explanation of property: “The right of property is, therefore, the right to enjoy one’s fortune and to dispose of it as one will; without regard for other men and independently of society. It is the right of self-interest” (42). Here, individualism is not about personal freedom but about property and self-interest—prioritizing the accumulation of wealth. This idea is central to capitalism, where success is often framed as an individual pursuit based on merit, with the ultimate goal being accumulating property/posessions. 

Marx furthers the idea of property to everything, including labour and persons. He writes, Judaism “could turn alienated man and alienated nature into alienable, saleable objects, in thrall to egoistic need and huckstering”(52). In his view, capitalism enables everything to be bought and sold, turning relationships and natural resources into products. He even mentions the example of women as something that can be bought. 

Christianity also played a crucial role in shaping individualism. As Marx noted, “Only under the sway of christianity, which objectifies all national, natural, moral and theoretical relationship, could civil society separate itself completely from the life of the state, sever all the species bonds of man, establish egoism and self need in their place, and dissolve the human world of atomistic, antagonistic individuals. ” The separations caused by religion allowed individuals to be reduced to their self-interest and self-preservation through wealth. 

Marx quotes Thomas Münzer’s fear for this world where “‘every creature should be transformed into property–the fishes in the water, the birds of the air, the plants of the earth: the creature too should become free’” (50). He presents the extreme of capitalism, a world where everything can be bought and sold. However, looking around, and seeing the ownership of water and patenting of seeds, Münzer's fear of nature as a marketplace seems more prophetic than theoretical .

Capitalism, as the exploitative economic system Marx argues, abstracts/separates the worth of individuals from themselves to their wealth. With this, our freedom then comes into question. We can act as we wish in the market, but not everyone has the means to participate. And, if we need to sell our own labor to survive in society, can that be considered freedom? So, is individualism real, or is it just an illusion in capitalism?