Karl Marx Theory Of Class Struggle: Definition, Aspects & Elements | UPSC Notes

Karl Marx's theory of class struggle describes one of the most crucial concepts in social and political thinking. Karl Marx believes that differing classes with conflicting interests characterise society. Such conflicts make history and bring about change. His theory is more centred on the tension surrounding property owners who exploit resources and the property owners' workers. Comprehending this conflict allows us to clarify many social issues and changes.

The concept of Karl Marx is still essential in comprehending society and politics. In the notes on the theory of class struggle by Karl Marx, we shall look at how Marx interpreted society based on classes. According to Marx, there is never a time when different groups do not have societal conflicts. Such conflict determines history and social change. In his theory, he looks at two major categories: the owners and users of the resources and the workers. 

The Karl Marx theory of class struggle notes fall under the sociology optional and General Studies Paper 1. It is classified under Class and Class Struggle and Social Change. It addresses Marx's teachings concerning historical materialism, production relations, exploitation, and revolution. This issue clarifies social inequality and conflict, which are vital in the UPSC preparations in sociology and political science. The UPSC aspirants can also get help from Testbook's UPSC CSE Coaching.

What is Karl Marx's theory of class struggle?

Karl Marx's theory of class struggle is a social and economic idea. It says society has two main classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie owns the production means, such as factories and land, while the proletariat comprises workers who sell their labour for wages. Marx believed the bourgeoisie exploits the proletariat by taking surplus value, which causes conflict. This ongoing struggle drives history and will lead to a revolution where workers overthrow capitalism to create a classless society.

The Karl Marx theory of class struggle notes help us understand that society is divided into classes based on ownership of resources. Marx said two classes dominate capitalism: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie owns factories, land, and money. The proletariat are workers who sell their labour to survive. This division creates a sharp inequality. Marx explained that the ruling class (bourgeoisie) exploits the working class (proletariat). The bourgeoisie gain profits by paying workers less than the value they produce.

Capitalism is based on this exploitation. According to Karl Marx's theory on class struggle, there can never be peace between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat as long as capitalism is in place. The working class demands higher pay and better conditions. The elite are interested in the protection of profits and dominance. This is an ongoing conflict, and it intensifies.

Know more about Karl Marx's Historical Materialism

Classes in Karl Marx's Theory of Class Struggle

The theory of class struggle by Marx makes recognition owing to the following classes:

• Bourgeoisie: Holders of the means of production in the form of factories, lands and capital. They have a command over workers and the wealth.
• Proletariat: People who are not the owners of the objects produced. They are forced to sell their labour to earn a living and get wages.

In addition to these two classes, Marx also understood other courses, such as the petite bourgeoisie (small owners who are businessmen), and the lumpenproletariats (very poor and often jobless). Nevertheless, the principal contradiction is between the bourgeoisie, the proletariat, and other classes, either side with it or fade into this struggle.

Aspects and Elements

Historical Materialism and Class Formation:

• According to the theory of historical materialism, as envisaged by Marx, class struggle is transitory and not everlasting since it is the result of historical change. The shifting of modes of production brings about the existence of different social classes and class struggle.
• Every historical period has a dominating class, and the class struggle is carried out within the context of the existing mode of production.
• Case in point: Feudalism to Capitalism
• In this transition, the exploiting classes developed as the ruling classes, replacing the feudal aristocracy with the bourgeoisie (capitalist lords). This revolution occurred due to the transformation in the economic structures, especially industrialisation.

Bourgeoisie vs. Proletariat:

• The key distinction of class struggle in Marxism is the struggle between the capitalists (bourgeoisie) and the proletariat (working class).
• The bourgeoisie possesses and manages the means of production, such as factories and capital. In contrast, the proletariat comprises people who sell their labour to the bourgeoisie in the form of labour to earn wages.
• The bourgeoisie's interests are amassing maximum profits and maintaining supremacy, whereas the proletariats want good wages, working conditions, and finally, the end of the capitalist system.
• Case in point: Industrial Revolution
• Class struggle was huge between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, who owned the factories. Exploitative work environments, low-paid hardworking labour, and daily countless engineering tasks also caused mass protests, strikes, and industrial activities that challenged workers' rights to be treated fairly.

Dialectical Materialism:

• Dialectical materialism (a philosophical approach) developed by Marx gives a way of deciphering and describing class struggle.
• Dialectics is the interaction of opposite forces and contradictions, which bring about new developments and change social life.
• Materialism stresses the significance of material contingencies, including means of production, on the formation of society and the growth of the clash of classes.

Contradictions of Capitalism:

• Marx explained that capitalism does not lack its contradictions, and this is the source of developing a class struggle. By way of example, the consequences of the profit orientation are the generation of the labour force exploitation issue, leading to antagonism between the bourgeois and the proletariat. Over time, the contradictions become intense and may cause a social conflict and a revolutionary change.

Socialism and Revolution:

• According to Marx, a proletarian revolution would result from the class struggle, where working men would rise and topple the bourgeoisie and put in place a socialist society.
• Socialism intends to do away with class differences and exploitation of the labour force, where the means of production are owned and controlled by the labour force that works.
• e.g. the Russian Revolution, 1917
• It can be seen as a model of a proletarian revolution that was impacted by theories of Marxism. The revolutionary Bolshevik Party established a Soviet Union regime through the overthrow of the bourgeoisie ruled Tsarist regime. This revolution aimed to establish a socialist state where no distinctions between classes would be made and the welfare of the proletariat would be given precedence.

The Nature of Class Struggle in Karl Marx's Theory of Class Struggle Notes

In Karl Marx's theory of class struggle, struggle means conflict due to opposing economic interests. The bourgeoisie tries to maximise profit. They control resources and political power to protect their interests. The proletariat resists exploitation and fights for rights like fair wages, better work conditions, and social justice.

Marx called this conflict an "uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight" between oppressors and the oppressed. Historically, the ruling class was kings or nobles. In capitalism, this role is now played by capital owners. The Karl Marx theory of class struggle argues that class struggle drives historical change. When contradictions in capitalism become too intense, they spark social revolutions.

Class Consciousness and Revolution in Karl Marx's Theory of Class Struggle

Karl Marx's theory of class struggle has an essential element called the idea of class consciousness. That is to say that the workers are conscious of what they share in the economic situation and exploitation. First, labourers can be a class simply in sharing conditions. As they achieve self-consciousness, they grow into a class in itself. Factorialism and awareness result in a common cause to make war on the bourgeoisie.

Marx predicted that growing exploitation would push the proletariat toward revolution. They would overthrow capitalism to create a classless and just society called communism. In communism, the means of production are owned by all, eliminating class divisions. The Karl Marx theory of class struggle notes emphasise this revolutionary change as the solution to class conflict.

The Role of Exploitation in Karl Marx's Theory of Class Struggle

In the theory of class struggle, Karl Marx places exploitation at the centre stage. The bourgeoisie makes use of the workers to extract the surplus value. The surplus value is the difference between the workers' output and compensation. Employees contribute more value than wage earners but do not get a fraction. The remaining goes to the profits of capitalists.

This exploitation is not simply unfair treatment but the result of capitalist production relations. It creates inequality and sustains bourgeois dominance. Workers remain impoverished while capitalists grow richer. The conflict over surplus value fuels the ongoing class struggle.

Capitalism and Class Polarisation in Karl Marx's Theory of Class Struggle

Karl Marx's theory of class struggles also explains class polarisation. This means that during capitalism's development, the middle classes shrink. Society becomes more divided between wealthy owners and poor workers. Small property owners lose ground, and the working class grows.

Polarisation deepens the conflict because more people face exploitation. According to Marx, workers become aware of their collective interests, and this polarisation pushes society toward capitalist crises and social upheavals.

Summary of Karl Marx's Theory of Class Struggle

• Society is divided by class based on ownership of production.
• The bourgeoisie owns and controls resources; the proletariat sells labour.
• Class struggle results from opposing economic interests.
• Exploitation is the basis for profit and inequality.
• Class consciousness leads to collective action and revolution.
• Capitalism causes class polarisation and growing inequality.
• The goal is a classless society and communism.

Relevance of Karl Marx's Theory of Class Struggle Today

The Karl Marx theory of class struggle still helps analyse society and inequality in the 21st century. Capitalist economies show growing gaps between the rich and the poor. Workers worldwide face pressures despite technological advances.

Marx's ideas encourage critical thinking about who controls wealth and power. They highlight how economic relationships shape politics and social justice struggles.

Criticism

• Mono-dimensional and Reductive. The exponents of this theory charge that the social links of the world are simplified and reduced to a one-dimensional opposing force between the working classes (proletariat) and the capitalist classes (the bourgeoisie).
• Disregard of Non-Class Factors: another factor not accentuated by the Marx theory is the other factors in the social inequality and power formations relation, such as race, sex, ethnicity and culture, which play a crucial role ineterminism of Economy: Critics level charges of economic determinism against the theory of Marx, who neglects the presence of cultural, political and ideological dynamics on social processes.
• Deficiency of Historical Logic: Some also feel that the theory of Marx is not enough to represent the complexity and diversity in the history of societies, which cannot be applied everywhere.
• Utopianism and Violence: The theory of Marx is linked to utopianism and the justification of the possible application of violence in establishing the changes of the revolutionary character.
• The Absence of Individual Agency: Critics argue that the role of individual agency is minimised in the theory of Marx, and it focuses on social structures.

Thinkers' Views on Karl Marx's Class Struggle

Max Weber:

• Admitted that economic factors played a leading role in the evolution of classes, though based on the fact that not only economics determines how the classes divide.
• The idea of social stratification, including economic classes, social status, and power, is presented as a factor that defines inequality.

Emile Durkheim:

• Acknowledged but did not privilege social classes, emphasising social cohesion and social values as social order.
• The lack of social integration and moral regulation leads to class struggle.

Georg Simmel:

• Interpreted class struggle as a dialectical interaction between individual and social forms of behaviour.
• He underestimated the importance of money as the source of power, and he put some stress on tensions caused by social interactions about class.

Pierre Bourdieu:

• Brought the notion of cultural capital to the continuation of social disparities.
• Reserve the importance of cultural and symbolic resources, e.g. education and taste, in the struggle of classes.

Erik Olin Wright:

• Came up with a theory known as the "social class the oach," which expanded Marx's theory.
• Identified a plurality of aspects of class, such as the exploitation structure, asset and occupation position.
• Polemicised that the source of conflict is class struggle, and disputes are between capitalists and workers and among workers.

Antonio Gramsci:

• Gramsci went further, developing the idea of hegemony based on the thoughts of Marx.
• He argued that the domination of the ruling classes relies on economic coercion and cultural and ideological levels.
• Gramsci also argued the importance of cultural hegemony in making consent and compliance with the subordinate classes.

Indian Thinkers' Views on Karl Marx's Class Struggle

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar:

• He criticised the theory of class struggle that Marx put forward as predominantly espousing the concept of economic classes and ignoring the importance of Indian society, which was stratified based on caste.
• Ambedkar explained that the caste system is a significant component of class struggle in India in the sense that the suppressed castes, through which the caste system is integrated, are the major victims facing oppression and conflicts with the upper castes.
• He stated that the caste system ensures social and economic disparity, giving way to exploitation of the lower-caste by the higher caste. Ambedkar perceived the agitation against caste oppression as a class struggle.

M.N. Srinivas:

• N. Srinivas studied the caste-class intersection in Indian society.
• He did not refute Marx's theory of the struggle between classes, but felt that in the Indian case, there was a need to understand how caste, class,s and power interacted intricately.
• Srinivas has highlighted the predominant role of caste in determining social relations and the distribution of resources, coupled with economic classes.

D.D. Kosambi:

• He used Marx's class struggle theory to explain the ancient Indian social and economic systems.
• Kosambi discussed the interrelationship between agrarian systems, the division of classes, and the exploitation of labour in ancient Indian society.
• His work mentioned the continuity of the history of class struggle since pre-colonial times.

G.S. Ghurye:

• He did not ignore the role of the class struggle theory set out by Marx, but adjusted it to meet the Indian condition.
• Ghurye claimed that religion, caste, or kin relationship, among others, contribute towards the affairs of class divisions in India, other than in economic terms.

Ranajit Guha:

• Ranajit Guha has discussed the concept of subalternity and traced the connection between subalternity and the class struggle in colonial India.
• He proposes to widen the conception of class struggle to contain the views and the actions of subaltern groups.
• Guha also brought the life and sufferings of the marginalised segment of society into light, especially the peasants and the tribes, who were usually left out in the Marxist framework.

Class-in-itself and Class-for-itself

Comparison

Class-in-itself

• Class-in-itself refers to people who share similar social or economic characteristics and have a common identity but are not yet conscious of their shared interests or potential for collective action.
• This class is defined primarily by external factors, such as economic conditions, and the individuals within it may not be aware of their shared identity or have a collective consciousness.
• The class-in-itself is an objective, static entity that exists independently of individual consciousness or awareness.

Characteristics:

• Lack of awareness: The individuals within the class are not fully aware of their collective identity or the social forces that shape their everyday experiences.
• Passive existence: They exist as a social category but do not actively unite or mobilise for specific goals or causes.

Example: 

• The working class in a society can be considered a class-in-itself when individual workers have similar labour conditions, economic struggles, and shared experiences, but have not yet formed a strong sense of class consciousness or organised for collective bargaining or activism.

Class-for-itself

• Class-for-itself represents a stage where the members of a particular class become aware of their shared identity, interests, and potential power as a collective unit. It denotes a higher level of consciousness and active participation.

Characteristics:

• Consciousness: The individuals in the class are aware of their shared interests, social position, and the potential for collective action.
• Organised action: They unite to advance their shared interests and strive for societal change through collective organisation and activism.

Marxist Perspective

• Relevance: The concepts of class-in-itself and class-for-itself are essential components of Marxist theory, as they relate to the understanding of class struggle and the potential for revolutionary change.
• Marxist view: Karl Marx believed that society is divided into classes, and for meaningful social change to occur, the proletariat (working class) must transition from being a class-in-itself to a class-for-itself, leading to a revolution that overthrows the capitalist system.
• Example: According to Marx's theory, when the working class becomes aware of its exploitation by the capitalist class and organises to challenge the existing power structures, it can potentially lead to a proletarian revolution, ultimately leading to a communist society.

Conclusion

These Karl Marx theory of class struggle notes present a well-organised illustration of the controversial Marx theory. They describe the history as an account of the battle between the classes. His concepts present significant teachings on the issues of social change, inequality, and revolution. The theory continues to be an essential aspect in political and sociological studies, particularly during UPSC preparation.

Evaluating these notes, it is possible to understand the main ideas of Marx's class theory as a student. They can observe the influence of class struggle on present societies as well. The Karl Marx theory of class struggle notes enables all learners to understand challenging concepts.

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