On the topics of freedom, citizenship and economics, Hannah Arendt and Karl Marx had opposing views. Born in Germany, Hannah Arendt was a writer who gained recognition for her political and philosophical theories. Karl Marx, also born in Germany, was a philosopher, political theorist and strong supporter of communism. Although she recognized that Marx had been a great thinker, Arendt often criticized Marx in his work. Arendt thought that freedom was the ability to be creative and unpredictable to start something new; a resource that all humans are born with. This idea of ​​freedom, for Arendt, was not related to the economic status of a society. Furthermore, Arendt believed that the key to freedom was political action. On the other hand, Marx believed that freedom was the ability to self-realize; that is, acting with the aim of self-realization. This conception of freedom, for Marx, was only achievable in a society without class conflicts. While Marx makes a convincing argument, Arendt's is more convincing because it is more attainable; it is almost impossible for a society not to have some sort of class conflict. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay It is clear in Hannah Arendt's work that she took inspiration from Aristotle. This is especially evident from the fact that he considered human beings to be political in nature; just as Aristotle believed that man was a political animal. Action, particularly political action, was one of the three categories that constituted Arendt's concept of vita activa. This political action was about meeting with others in a public space to make a change. Beyond action there was work, to preserve human life, and work, to preserve our world; Arendt strongly emphasized the difference between the two. Furthermore, Arendt believed that an individual's freedom consisted in his or her ability to take political action; which means that freedom is largely political. In her book entitled Between Past and Future, Arendt states that “the field in which freedom has always been known, not as a problem, of course, but as a fact of everyday life, is the political realm” (Arendt, 146). This implies that freedom, for Arendt, is almost guaranteed in politics. In her work, Arendt emphasizes that her conception of freedom differs from the concept of free will, which is the ability to act as one chooses, or inner freedom, which is essentially the feeling of being free from constraints. Furthermore, Arendt did not see a correlation between freedom and the economic status of a society. Indeed, Arendt believed that freedom was found in a society beyond the need for a strong economy. In her book On Revolution, Arendt writes that “economic growth may one day prove a curse rather than a good, and under no circumstances can it lead to freedom or constitute proof of its existence” (Arendt, 209). Clearly, Arendt did not believe that freedom was tied to the state of a society's economy. Unlike Arendt, Karl Marx believed that an individual's freedom depended on the state of his economy. He thought that freedom was found only in an economically and socially equal society. Extremely critical of capitalism, Marx believed that it created an unethical relationship between workers and their employers. As a result, class conflict is created. Furthermore, under capitalism, workers participate in work for the benefit of the employer instead of doing it for their own interest. In this scenario, workers must work to satisfy their needs, or necessities,.