Alienation , also known as estrangement, is a breakdown in relations between an individual or group and others. Alienation may also be a breakdown in relations between an individual or group and an idea or concept. People who feel alienated may describe it as apathy (lack of feeling), indifference (loss of caring), loss of affection, disrespect, or even hostility toward the object of their alienation. Objects of alienation may include another person, group, institution, or religion.
Alienation may arise from a variety of circumstances. For example, alienation may occur when a group loses a leader who represented its hopes or when a child discovers the shortcomings of an adult the child has admired. Or it may result when persons believe that a political, economic, or social institution does not share their values, beliefs, or practices.
Actions resulting from alienation may range from withdrawal within oneself to violence toward society. Social and political scientists have studied alienation as a factor in voter apathy, criminal behavior, and mental illness. But alienation sometimes has such positive consequences as artistic creation, invention, and discovery. Alienation has been a topic of philosophical and political writing, as well as a theme in literature. .
