Hegelbelieved that, in recognizing our alienation would lead to our freedom The example used in the Why Theory episode on the topicwas a teenager no longer feeling awkward around their parents, as this shows that the teenager has developed a sense of independence from their parents, therefore acquiring freedom. Hegel believed that society needed alienation in order for freedom to exist. Were people like ants, they would have no alienation, and therefore no freedom.

Marxmostly spoke of alienationin the sphere of labor. In that sense, alienation ought to be abolished. In this way we can imagine a society where goods, collectively produced, are under the control of those who produce them. Unlike, say, a factory worker, who may not even be able to afford the things they produce, in communism a worker would have complete say over how such commodities are handled. Further, without a division of labor many more people would be able to partake in various forms of production. This doesn't address other forms of alienation, however.

Slavoj Zizeksays somewhere that he wants to live in a society with only some alienation.