According
to Marx, class conflict is created by the contradictory positions of two groups, the
proletariat and the capitalists, is at the heart of capitalism. Because these represent groups in conflict,
Marx called them classes. For Marx,
every period of history contained fault lines upon which potential conflict
could result, and, thus, every historical period had its own class formations. Because capitalists are continually
accumulating capital while also competing with other capitalists, Marx believed
that more and more members of society would eventually become proletarians in a
process he called proletarianization. Society would then be characterized by a very small number of
capitalists exploiting a large number of poor proletarians subsisting on low
wages. Marx called this group of
proletarians the industrial reserve army.
Thus, the normal operation of the capitalist system, through competition
and exploitation, produces an ever greater number of workers who will
eventually rise up to overthrow the system.
see also: Class Consciousness
More summaries of Marx's writings and ideas:
An Extended Summary of The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels (chapter 1, chapter 2, chapters 3 and 4)
Workers of the world -know more:
