Contemporary Research Analysis Journal

This article analyzes the transformation of human essence in the commodity economy through the relationships among money, commodities, market competition, technology, and labor pressure. Rather than treating money, commodities, or technology as forces external to human beings, the article emphasizes that they are products created by humans; however, in the course of development, they can turn back to orient human behavior, restructure value systems, and distort social relations. By synthesizing academic studies on materialism, the psychological consequences of money, moral alienation in organizations, labor automation, and occupational stress, the article shows that the decline of humanistic values originates not only from individual greed but also from market mechanisms that make efficiency, profit, and competitiveness the central standards of evaluation. The findings affirm the need to reposition human beings as the ultimate goal of economic development, rather than allowing them to become instruments serving the logic of commodities and profit.

human essence, commodity economy, money, moral alienation, technology, occupational stress

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