Theory of class conflict

Marxian Theory of Class Struggle or Class Conflict
THEORY OF CLASS CONFLICT

Introduction
 The Marxist theory of classes and class
struggle belong to the key problems both of
theory and political practice, strategy and
tactics of the working class.
 It makes possible a scientific analysis of each
historical stage of social development, a
preliminary condition if the political struggle
for the victory of socialism is to have effective
leadership.

THE ESSENCE OF MARXIST
THEORY AND CLASS STRUGGLE
 Marx regards classes and class struggle as a
historical phenomenon which took place at a
given stage of historical development.
 It resulted in a socialist revolution and the
dictatorship of the proletariat, conditions for
the extinction of classes and the creation of
classless society.

The Idea of Class Conflict is
central to Marxian Thought
 Marxian sociology is often called “The
sociology of class conflict”.
 The idea of class war emerges from the
theories of
 Dialectic materialism
 Materialistic interpretation of history
 Surplus value

Main Promise
“ The history of the hitherto existing society is
the history of the class struggles. Freeman and
slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf, guild-master
and journey man, in a word, oppressore
and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to
one another, carried on uninterrupted, now
hidden and open fight, a fight that each time
ended in a revolutionary reconstitution of society
at large, or in common ruin of the contending
classes.”
The communist manifesto, 1848

War between Classes
 Marx says that according to the relentless law of
history, a particular class owns and controls the
means of production, and by virtue of this
exploits the rest of the people.
 The capitalist class makes use of the state as an
instrument of oppression and exploitation.
 Thus at every stage there are broadly two
classes:
 The Exploiters (the owners of means of production)
 The exploited

Essential Aspects of Theory
Marx developed his theory of class conflict in his analysis and critique
of the capitalist society. The main ingredients of this theory of conflict
have been enlisted by Abrahamand Morgan as described in this
session.

1. The Development of the
Proletariat
 Accentuation of capital is the essence of
capitalism.
 Capital is gained according to Marx, from the
exploitation of the masses of population of
the working class.

2. Importance of Property
 According to Marx, the most distinguishing
feature of any society is its form of property.
 Individuals behavior is determined by his
relations to property.
 Property divisions are the crucial breaking
lines in the class structure.
 Classes are determined on the basis of
individual’s relation to the means of
production.

3.Identification of Economic and
Political Power and Authority
 From a marxian perspective, political power
emerges from economic power.
 The power of the ruling class therefore stems
from its ownership and control of the forces of
production.
 The political and legal systems reflect ruling class
interests.
 The political power and ideology thus seem to
serve the same functions for capitalists that class
consciousness serves for the working class.

4. Polarization of Classes
 In the capitalist society, there could be only two
social classes:
 The Capitalists who own the means of production and
distribution and
 The Working classes who own nothing but their own labor.
 Though Marx had repeatedly referred to the
intermediate state such as the “small capitalists”,
“the petti bourgeoisie” and the “lumpenproletariat”,
he was of the firm belief tat at the height of conflict
these would be drawn into the ranks of the
proletariat.
 Raymond Aron has termed this process as
“proletarianisation”.

5. The theory of Surplus
Value
 Marx believed that the capitalists accumulate
profit through the exploitation of labor.
 In fact, the relationship between the
capitalists and workers is not only one of
dominance and subordination, but also of
exploitation.
 The workers produce more wealth in the form
of food, manufactured goods ad services than
is necessity to meet their basic needs.

5. The theory of Surplus
Value(Contd.,)
 In other words, they produce “Surplus
Wealth”.
 But they do not enjoy the use of the surplus
they have created.
 Instead, those how own the means of
production are able to seize this surplus
wealth as “profit” for their own use.
 According to Marx, this is the essence of
exploitation and the main source of conflict
between the classes.

6. Pauperization
 Exploitation of the workers can oly add to their
misery and poverty.
 But the same exploitation helps the rich to
become richer..
 In every mode of production which involves the
exploitation of man by man, majority of people,
the people who labor, are condemned to toil for
no more than the barest necessities of life.
 According to Marx, poverty is the result of
exploitation not of scarcity.

7. Alienation
 The process of alienation is central to Marxian
theory of class conflict.
 The economic exploitation and inhuman working
conditions lead to increasing alienation of man.
 Alienation results from a lack of sense of control
over the social world.
 The social world confronts people as a hostile
thing, leaving them “alien” in the very
environment that they have created.
 The situation of alienation ripens the mood of
the worker for a conflict.

8. Class solidarity and
Antagonism
 With the growth of class consciousness
among the working class, their class solidarity
becomes crystallized.
 The working class becomes internally more
homogeneous and this would help to
intensify the class struggle,
 Because of this class feeling and solidarity,
the workers are able to form unions against
the bourgeoisie.

8. Class solidarity and
Antagonism(Contd.,)
 They club together in order to keep up the
rate of wages.
 They form associations in order to make
provisions beforehand for occasional revolts.
 Here and there contests break out into riots.

9. Revolution
 When the class struggle reaches its height, a
violent revolution breaks out which destroys
the structure of capitalist society.
 This revolution is most likely to occur at the
peak of an economic crisis which is part of the
recurring booms and repressions
characteristic of capitalism.
 Marx has asserted, unlike other wars and
revolutions, this would be a historic one.

10. The Dictatorship of the
Proletariat
 Marx felt that the revolution would be a bloody
one.
 This revolution terminates the capitalist society
and leads to the social dictatorship of the
proletariat.
 Since the revolution results in the liquidation of
the bourgeoisie, they will cease to have nay
power and will be reduced to the ranks of the
proletariat.
 Thus, the inevitable historical process destroys
the bourgeoisie.

10. The Dictatorship of the
Proletariat(Contd.,)
 The proletariats, then establish their social
dictatorship.
 Marx, “those communists who were out ot
destroy personal liberty and who wish to turn
the world into one large barrack or into a
gigantic warehouse.”

11. Inauguration of the
Communist society
 After attaining the success in the revolution, the
workers in course of time, would create a new
socialist society.
 In this new society, the means of producing and
distributing wealth would be publicly and not
privately owned.
 This new socialist society would be a classless and a
casteless society free from exploitation of all sorts.
 In this society, nobody owns anything but everybody
owns everything. Each individual contributes
according to his ability and receives according to his
needs.

Conclusion
 It is clear that at every stage in history, there
is war between the classes.
 Between the classes, there is endless
antagonism and hatred.
 Class conflict is the severest form of class
antagonism.

Bibliography
 Adams N Bert and R.A. Sydie, Sociological Theory,
Vister Publications, New Delhi, 2009
 Abraham M. Francis, Modern Sociological theory,
Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2008.
 Martindale Don, The nature and types of sociological
theory, Rawat Publications, jaipur, 1990
 Delaney Tim, Contemporary Social Theory-
Investigation and Application, Pearson education,
New Delhi,2008.
 Rao Shankar C.N, Principles of sociology with an
introduction to social thought, S .Chand
Publications, New Delhi, 2012

K.THIVYAPRABHA (2K11S39)
III SOCIOLOGY WITH CA

Theory of class conflict

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Theory of class conflict