Concept of Class - Marx

 Qn. Discuss the Karl Marx's concept of Class.

"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles", the opening sentences of 'Manifesto of Communist Party', show the centrality of the concept of class for Marx.

Classes are defined by Marx based on twin criteria of a person's place in the mode of production and an individual's relationships to the means of production. Since the class is based on ownership (or control) of means of production and ownership of property. The disappearance of class depends on the disappearance of property as the determining factor of status.

Marx defined class in terms of class-in-itself and class-for-itself. For Marx, for a group to be called a 'class', it has to be both a Class-in-itself and a Class-for-itself. Class-in-itself means that members of a class have identical interests, whether they are conscious of them or not (the ruling class). Class-for-itself is a large number of people who are conscious of the unity of their interests but are disaggregated by villages (peasantry - not a class). Working class of a factory, a class-in-itself appropriates a socialized produce to private property (Marx's call for workers of the world unite shows the necessity for the proletarian for the formation of a class). For Marx, Class struggle is the reason for historical change rather than the development of technology. Class struggle would end with the destruction of Capitalism for Communism would be a classless society.

Abolition of the institution of private property is essential for the emancipation of humanity. The real dividing line in society in terms of interests, is not religion or language or community or gender but class.  Marx visualized a classless society and such a society would be a stateless society because, with the disappearance of classes, the very rationale for the existence of the state will disappear.

According to Marx, ideology played a pivotal role in controlling the oppressed. Ideas explained how the existing order benefited everyone in society. Ideas depicted the existing order as beneficial in a particular way, namely to promote the interests of the dominant economic class and protect class privileges. The actual reality was hidden which Marx described as "false consciousness".

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Buddhist contribution to Indian Political Thought

Evaluate the contributions of Buddhist tradition to Indian political thought. UPSC 2014 Paper 1A Qn 2c   The Buddhist tradition has made profound contributions to Indian political thought by introducing a unique blend of ethical, philosophical, and practical principles that have influenced governance, statecraft, and social justice. Rooted in the teachings of Gautama Buddha, the tradition emphasizes the integration of moral values with political practice, offering an alternative vision of power and governance distinct from the more hierarchical and ritualized structures of ancient Hindu polity. 1. Moral Foundations of Governance One of the central contributions of Buddhist tradition to Indian political thought is its emphasis on Dhamma (moral law) as the guiding principle of governance. Unlike the Dharma of Brahmanical tradition, which often had a caste-based interpretation, Dhamma in Buddhism is universal and egalitarian, focusing on ethical behavior, compassion, and the wel...
Read more

Human Rights - Universalism and Cultural Relativism

The debate on human rights is caught between the limitations of both universalism and cultural relativism. Comment. UPSC 2024 Paper 1A Qn 3a The debate on human rights is fundamentally shaped by the tension between universalism and cultural relativism, two competing perspectives on the nature, scope, and application of human rights. While universalists argue that human rights are inherent, inalienable, and applicable to all individuals regardless of cultural or social contexts, cultural relativists contend that rights must be understood within the specific traditions, values, and histories of different societies. This debate raises critical questions about the legitimacy, enforcement, and adaptability of human rights in a diverse global order.   The Universalist Perspective - Universalism, largely rooted in the Enlightenment tradition and codified in international human rights frameworks such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948), asserts that human rights...
Read more

Participative Approach to Development

The idea of Democracy becomes a reality when people are involved in collective problem-solving. The type of system in which development projects are conceived, planned, executed, operated, and maintained by outsiders, people receive benefits with little or no participation in the actual process of development. The field investigations showed the 'top-down' approach as inefficient as outsourcing development projects needed to address social issues. The limitations were - Unequal distribution of development benefits among different sections of the population Increased dependency of people on external resources Indifference of people towards the facilities created Heavy spending by the government on the replacement, operation, and maintenance of facilities created Depletion of natural resources due to over-utilization Under-utilization of inputs, when unsuitable for use The studies demonstrated that the problems ...
Read more