Final answer:
Marx viewed being human as fundamentally connected to our labor and its products; however, capitalism causes alienation by turning labor into a commodity. He proposed a communist society to overcome this alienation, fostering human potential and creative freedom.
Step-by-step explanation:
Karl Marx characterized what it is to be human by emphasizing our intrinsic essence of species being, which is fundamentally defined by the capacity for conscious, purposeful activity and a connection to our labor and its products. He critiqued the industrial capitalist society for creating alienation among workers, as their labor was reduced to a commodity, breaking the natural tie between the worker and their work. This alienation extended to relationships among people, seeing them increasingly as competition rather than comrades. Marx envisioned a communist society where the proletariat would rise, abolish class distinctions, and create a society based on common ownership of the means of production, allowing for the full realization of human potential and creative freedom.