The Sociology Book

30

became more prevalent, the
bourgeoisie challenged the nobles
and brought about a change to
the economic structure of society.
The opposing elements of feudal
society contained the seeds of the
capitalist society that replaced it.

Marx maintained that, as he and

Friedrich Engels put it in The

Communist Manifesto, “the history

of all hitherto existing society is the

history of class struggles.” Whereas

feudalism had been characterized

by the two classes of nobles or

aristocracy and peasants or serfs,

modern industrial society had

created a bourgeoisie class of

capitalists, which owned the

means of production, and a

proletariat class, which worked

in the new industries.

Class conflict

Tension and conflict between the

classes in society was inevitable,

according to Marx. Therefore, just

as feudalism had been replaced, so

too would capitalist society and the

dominant bourgeoisie. He believed

that the proletariat would one day

control society, having overthrown

the system that had brought

it into existence.

It is the method of production

of material necessities, Marx

argued, that determines the social

structure of capitalist society: the

KARL MARX

Karl Marx’s prediction of a
communist revolution became a reality
in 1917—it did not, however, take place
in an advanced industrial nation as he
had anticipated, but in Tsarist Russia.

Five historical epochs were identified by Marx. Each corresponds to an era in which
people were clearly defined by their labor. According to Marx, the determining force of
history is the dominant mode of production, which shapes the classes in society. The
epochs progress from early human history, when people held things in
common, to capitalism in Marx’s day, with its two great social classes. In
the future lies the classless society of communism.

classes of capital and labor.

Capitalists obtain their wealth

from the surplus value of goods

produced, in the factories they

own, by the labor of the workers.

The proletariat, on the other hand,

own almost nothing, and in order

to survive have to sell their labor to

the bourgeoisie.

The relationship between the

classes is exploitative, enriching

the owners of capital and keeping

the working class poor. In addition,

the unskilled nature of the work in

factories and mills contributes to

a feeling of dehumanization and

alienation from the process of

production, which is aggravated

by the threat of unemployment

when production exceeds demand.

Over time, however, oppression

fosters a class-consciousness in

the proletariat—a realization that

together the working class can

organize a movement for its

collective good. The inherent self-

interest of capitalism tends to

prevent such a development among

the bourgeoisie, and constant

competition leads to more and

EARLY HUMAN HISTORY THE ANCIENT WORLD FEUDALISM CAPITALISM THE END OF HISTORY

CLASSLESS

SOCIETY

(Primitive communism)

SOCIAL ELITE

SLAVES

PEASANTS

(Farmers and agricultural

laborers with limited

rights)

PROLETARIAT

(Workers who do not own

the means of production)

ARISTOCRATIC

ELITE

BOURGEOISIE

(Ruling class in

Control of the means of production capitalist society)

Majority of the population

Collective ownership and control

CLASSLESS

SOCIETY

(Communism—

a dictatorship of the

proletariat; class conflict

resolved and the means

of production held

in common)