Social class is a central concept within the
study of Sociology. It is one of the first forms of inequality one reads about
when taking an introductory course in the subject. This series will look at
different conceptualisations of social class given by the most popular social
theorists writing on the subject. This first post explains and discusses the
work of Karl Marx.
Karl Marx was interested in historical
materialism: how the economic base of society shapes the classed living
conditions of social groups throughout history. These historical societal
structures are referred to as modes of production. For example, feudalism and
the lived conditions of nobility and peasantry as well as the capitalist and
the consumer within capitalism. Marx wrote about how an individual’s relation
to the modes of production affects their living conditions. In particular,
within the Communist Manifesto, Marx discusses two classes that are in direct
opposition to each other: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
The bourgeoisie are the middle/upper class,
those who own the means of production (e.g. factory owners). The proletariat
are the working class, those who have to sell their labour to survive within
society (e.g. the factory workers). Within these classes there are sub-classes.
Within the bourgeoisie there is the haute (upper), moyenne (middle) and petite
(petty) bourgeoisie. Within the proletariat Marx distinguishes between the
proletariat as workers with a salary and the lumpenproletariat, those who can
be described as residing within the underclass and the poorest within society e.g.
vagabonds and sex workers.
As one can see, Marx’s conceptualisation of
class is dependent upon one’s financial position as he emphasizes the economic
base of society, that is resources and production which creates societal goods
for exchange, as shaping one’s social class and their experience within the
superstructure. The superstructure refers to societal institutions such as the
family, politics, culture, religion and education. Due to the emphasis on the
economic base, Marx does not credit other factors which could conceptualise
one’s class. Similarly, it is difficult to ascertain how relatable the theory
is to society now since the industrial revolution in which Marx was writing. Of
course, it is possible to apply his account to our capitalist mode of
production but what about other aspects of society. Would we still categorise
sex workers as part of the underclass when so many students are engaging in
this work to pay for their way through university?
