A CRITICAL REEXAMINATION OF ALIENATION

This article will examine the concept of alienation and reconsider its usefulness in sociology and in the social sciences. This concept once occupied center stage in sociological theory, but in recent times it has declined in significance. However, a review of the sociofile datab ase reveals that alienation has and will continue to play a major role in sociological theory. The questions discussed in this article inclu de the following: How has the concept of alienation fared during the l ast twenty years? What uses have been made of it in the literature of the social sciences? What role will alienation play in future investig ations of the sociology of labor and other human endeavors? This artic le explores the various meanings associated with alienation and is bas ed on secondary data gathered from journal articles and books publishe d between 1974 and 1994.