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As Lemert (2013) states, "In the 1860s, Marx was the dominat intellectual and politial force behind the working people's movement..." (p. 28).  Marx really gave us (his) clear view on working people and their relationship to others in society.  He divided society into this working class and the property owners - other names such as haves (property owners) and have-nots (laborers) are interchangable. Marx felt the have-nots/workers were not treated well and through their production of commodities, actually became a commodity themselves.

These quotes from Marx's "Estranged Labor" (1844) help illustrate his thoughts (and I can't say them any better):

"The worker puts his life into the object; but now his life no longer belongs to him but to the object."
 
"...the worker becomes a slave of his object, first, in that he receives work; and secondly, in that he receives means of subistence."

He goes on to say that the labor is external to the worker, and it is not voluntary but forced labor. Marx believes that these workers who are on the production line lose themselves. They are creating a product because they have to earn a living, but essentially, it's taking over their lives; they have no outside life. It seems that the workers' lives are the work. This immediately made me think of one company in particular: Apple.

There have been many reports by the media that Apple's suppliers, namely Foxconn, are overworking their employees and submitting them to unsafe conditions. Investigations into the company show that employees work excessive overtime, sometimes seven days a week, and live in crowded dorms. Some say they stand for such long periods of time that their legs swell until they can hardly walk. Additionally, under-age workers have helped build Apple’s products.

I think this is a good example of the laborers' work becoming the commodity. The employees are living and breathing their work, seem to have no personal time to develop themselves and are in some kind of slave-like situation. I think Marx must be rolling in his grave regarding the labor force assembling and producing Apple products. Check out this video and think about it:

Lemert, C. (2013). Social Theory: The multicultural, global and classic readings. (5th ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.