Karl Marx\'s View of Class

KARL MARX'S VIEW of CLASS

Introduction to Marxist Philosophy

Karl Marx (1818-1883) outlined what came to be known as Marxism or Communist Socialism, or Scientific Socialism in his Manifesto of the Communist League or Communist Manifesto in 1848 (Elster, 1986). In principle, Marxist philosophy was based on the belief that all human societal dynamics and evolution was traceable to economic theory and to economic classes, relationships, and consequences. It distinguished itself from another contemporary philosophy -- that of so-called Utopian Socialism -- proposed by Frenchman Louis Blanc and others because the latter conceived of small idealistic (i.e. "utopian") communities in which everyone shared ownership of all land and other resources as well as the responsibilities for providing for the needs of society through government institutions (Cohen, 2009).

Marx valued only the underlying concept of collectivism but considered the Utopian form of Socialism to be completely impractical. Marx considered Socialism to be merely an intermediate or transition stage of society in between Capitalism and Communism (Newman, 2005). The principal distinction between the two is that under Socialism, the national government is still in existence and, therefore, still in control of the population. Conversely, in the ultimate stage of true Communism, there is no longer any national government and all power, property, resources, and the product of all labor are shared and belong collectively to the people.

Instead of Utopian Socialism, Marx proposed a version of Socialism that emphasized what he considered to be the natural and inevitable dynamics that occurred between the two natural classes in society that evolved anytime some individuals were allowed to accumulate great wealth in comparison to others (Elster, 1986). This inherent conflict between the wealthy bourgeoisie class and the poor proletariat class provides the basis for Marxist theory and the political system that came to be known as Soviet Communism in the 20th century after the Communist Revolution (Elster, 1986).

Understanding Marxism and the Concept of Class in Society

Marx argued that one of the consequences of the Industrial Revolution was that a new wealthy class of the "industrial bourgeois" replaced the previous ruling class, that of the feudal lords and nobles who had ruled Europe since the Middle Ages (Lee, 2000). According to Marx, the industrialization of labor by factory work exacerbated the separation of the wealthy class who owned the means of production (primarily, the factories of the era) and the poorer class of workers who depended more and more on the willingness of the wealthy factory owners to employ them (Lee, 2000). Marx believed that as the wealth of a nation became more and more concentrated into the hands of the wealthy class, they exploited the working class more and more simply because the poor had no choice but to work for whatever wages the factory owners were willing to pay for their labor (Elster, 1986).

Marx explained that as the power of the wealthy class increased, they increased their exploitation of workers, eventually paying them only the barest minimum necessary for their survival rather than any fair wage (Butler, 2007). Meanwhile, the wealthy factory workers merely pocketed all of the wealth that was primarily the product of the hard work and sacrifice of the workers and not the factory owners. As the factory owners became wealthier and more powerful, they would be able to out produce, out compete, and eventually, buy out their smaller competitors and thereby consolidate the wealth of the nation and their power over workers continually (Lee, 2000).

This process, according to Marx, would continue unabated until such a large underclass grew that they began to have the power and capacity to revolt against the upper class. Marx predicted that this inevitable dynamic would eventually result in the overthrow of the wealthy class and the evolution of a communal (i.e. "Communist") society in which there would n longer be any wealthy class and in which the former proletariat would become the new rulers of a "proletariat dictatorship" (Crompton, 1993).

Marx believed that in the new society that would emerge after the destruction (by the proletariat) of all of the former institutions through which the former bourgeois ruled and oppressed the poor laborers, would feature a communal collectivism in which there were no class distinctions based on material wealth and in which all members of society were equal and also contributed equally to the common good (Elster, 1986; Lee, 2000). Marx also explained that the roots of the inevitable clash between the classes had its roots in the psychological consequences of alienation attributable to the exploitation of the workers by the factory owners (Gurley, 1976).

More specifically in that regard, Marx wrote that under Capitalism, workers become psychologically alienated from themselves as well as from their work (Gurley, 1976). They become alienated from themselves by virtue of the fact that they are seen and treated by their employers as little more than objects or "cogs" within a large machine. As a result, they no longer identify with or derive any satisfaction from their work, since its value inures only to the benefit of their employers. They also become alienated in another sense, in that work becomes a thankless, mindless, and entirely unrewarding compulsion instead of a source of creativity or satisfaction the way work fulfills basic human needs in connection with self-worth when people work for themselves or reap fair rewards for their efforts (Gurley, 1976).

Personal View and Conclusion

In retrospect, it is understandable that Marx conceived of all societal issues as functions of the dynamics between factory owners and workers. He developed his beliefs at the height of the Industrial Revolution, at a time when it would have appeared that factories would determine the shape of future human societies. While the prospect of unabated exploitation of the poor by the wealthy and the violent overthrow of all government institutions (and of government itself) by the poor class is no longer a legitimate concern, there are disturbing elements of apparent truth in some of Marx's broader concerns that, arguably, are reflected in the current economic issues in the United States.