According to Marxist theory, class conflict arises in capitalist societies due to contradictions between the material interests of the oppressed proletariat—a class of wage labourers employed to produce goods and services—and the bourgeoisie—the ruling class that owns the means of production and extract their wealth through appropriation of the surplus product (profit) produced by the proletariat.
Translated from stuffy people, Marx was stating the obvious to anyone who had eyes to look, he was just the first person to have the balls commit it to paper. There are two groups of people; according to Marx; One who has most of the money, most of the power, and thinks that people should be happy to live off of the things that they don't want; the second, a virtual slave class which is continuously manipulated to squabble amongst each other over the crumbs from the rich person's table. This system has been in effect in the west since at least the ancient cities of Sumeria, and I suspect even earlier in eastern societies. Starting with Greek and Celtic societies this concept being either a have or a have not begun to be challenged, resulting in the Great Democracy of Athens, The Roman Senate, The Magna Carta, The Rights of Man, The US Constitution, and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Still behind the wheels of power in our ultra modern society, floats the specter of human wrongness or insanity which makes one person seek power and control over another.
It seems every step we take forward this collective demon of our human flaws tries to drag us back into a past where we are again the ruled and they the rulers. Groups of concerned capitalists bribe, extort and threaten elected officials to allow them special privileges that provide them with an unfair advantage or eliminate costs such as properly disposing of waste or obeyance of labor laws. These individuals threaten the Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness for all other Americans and so must be watched, regulated, and removed from power if necessary.
For the most part, this seems to be what Marx was getting at, though since Marx only looked at the problem from a scientific materialist's standpoint; he failed, in my opinion, to account for human nature.
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The Good Hippie's Almanac - Politics
Non-FictionEssays on politics and Ideas for putting things right in Post Modern America. This a living work in constant change, so check back for updates to sections as they are added. I started this because I have become so sick and tired of the Ele...
