Comparison of Herbert Marcuse and Ali Shariati's Views on Private Ownership and Alienation

Marcuse and Shariati were both religious intellectuals who criticized and fought against the capitalist system. They view private ownership, which allows a small portion of society to possess the means of production, as the basis of the capitalist system. Although they have different approaches, they both see this system as the cause of human alienation. They are not opposed to private ownership in general, but rather to the idea that a few individuals can possess the means of production as private property, creating a capitalist system that promotes consumerism, false needs, and competitiveness. This system has led to human alienation through the fabrication of values and concepts. In this study, using a hermeneutic method, we compare Marcuse and Shariati's ideas and views on the non-religious and religious critique of capitalist society, which arises from private ownership as the cause of human alienation. Despite their different intellectual backgrounds, Marxist and Islamic, both thinkers see alienation as a form of forgetfulness and seek to redefine concepts and promote communal ownership of means of production as a solution to overcome alienation. Shariati, with his monotheistic and religious perspective and influenced by Western philosophy, sought to establish an Islamic socialism. Marcuse, based on Kantian humanism and his belief in human destiny, sees the solution in redefining concepts fabricated by the capitalist system and promoting human values. Both thinkers emphasize the importance of human control over their own destiny and seek solutions within their respective intellectual traditions.