Classes

Large groups of people differing from each other by the place they occupy in a historically determined system of social production. In his letter to Weydemer in 1852, Marx pointed out that the existence of classes is only bound up with particular historical phases in the development of production, the inevitable product of the development of the productive forces of society to a certain stage and the result of the contradictory movement between the productive forces and the relations of production. Engels also emphasized that these warring classes of society are always the products of the modes of production and of exchange—in a word, of the economic conditions of their time.

Lenin gave a strict definition of classes. He pointed out that the so-called classes are large groups of people differing from each other by the place they occupy in a historically determined system of social production, by their relation (in most cases fixed and formulated in law) to the means of production, by their role in the social organization of labor, and, consequently, by the dimensions of the share of social wealth of which they dispose and the mode of acquiring it. Classes are groups of people one of which can appropriate the labor of another owing to the different places they occupy in a definite system of social economy. Here, Lenin scientifically pointed out the connotation and essence of classes and the ground and criteria for class divisions. It shows that the possession of the means of production is the economic root cause for the emergence of classes and the economic foundation of the existence of classes and is the decisive ground and criterion for class divisions.

Once classes are formed, it is necessarily manifested and reflected in every respect, politically, intellectually, and mode of life. Therefore, a certain class must have its corresponding political, intellectual and other features, which are in the last instance determined by its economic status.

Class is a historical category and has a process of emergence, development and withering-away. In the primitive society, the level of productive forces was extremely low, except for barely maintaining their own existence, the people had no surplus-produce, no private property, the means of production could only be common ownership, people had to work together and distribute products equally in order to barely maintain their existence, there was no relationship between exploiting and being exploited, ruling and being ruled, appropriating and being appropriated, and there were no classes. By the end of primitive society, a surplus-produce began to appear due to the development of productive forces, and an inequality of private property and property arose due to the expansion of social division of labor and exchange of products, which provided the prerequisites and material basis for the emergence of classes. For the first time, human society was split into two basic antagonistic classes: slave-owners and slaves. Man began to enter class-antagonistic society from classless society. As long as the products provided by the total social labor have only a small amount of surplus beyond satisfying the minimum needs of subsistence of all members of the society, that is to say, as long as labor occupies all or almost all of the time of most members of the society, the society will inevitably be divided into classes.

After the classes arose, with the development of the productive forces of society and the changes of the modes of production, three class social formations have appeared successively in human history: slave society, feudal society and capitalist society. In all class societies, there are two major antagonistic classes. In slave society, the two basic opposing classes of slave-owners and slaves were formed. In feudal society, the two basic opposing classes of landlords and peasants were formed. In capitalist society, the two basic opposing classes of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat were formed. In all class societies, there are still some non-fundamental classes, such as the “freemen” in slave society, the craftsmen and merchants in feudal society, and the petty-bourgeoisie composed of individual workers, small proprietors and liberal professions in the capitalist society. The ground for distinguishing fundamental classes from non-fundamental classes in a society is their respective position and role in the relations of production. The fundamental classes arise from the dominant mode of production. There are different strata, estates and social groups among different classes. Different class positions determine people’s different political standpoints and ideologies. Therefore, in class society, class contradictions and class struggle inevitably exist and are reflected in the political and ideological sphere. The result of struggle and conflict is necessarily the withering-away of classes. Capitalist society is the last class society in human history and the society which includes the fullest degree in the development of class struggle, compared to former class society. The proletariat is the representative of the advanced productive forces and the most promising class in history. It undertakes the historical mission of eliminating all classes and establishing a classless communist society with the development of the productive forces of society,

The abolition of classes is as inevitable as their emergence with the development of the productive forces of society. Of course, the complete disappearance of classes will be a protracted long-term process. After the conquest of political power by the proletariat, it establishes the dictatorship of the proletariat and starts the socialist construction. The exploiting class, as a complete class, no longer exists. However, residual forces of the exploiting class still exist, and class distinctions between workers and peasants still exist. Therefore, it is a protracted and arduous process to completely eliminate the exploiting class and all classes. Lenin pointed out that in order to abolish classes completely, it is not enough to overthrow the exploiters, the landowners and capitalists, not enough to abolish their rights of ownership; it is necessary also to abolish all private property in the means of production, it is necessary to abolish the distinction between town and country, as well as the distinction between manual workers and brain workers. This requires a very long period of time. In order to achieve this an enormous step forward must be taken in developing the productive forces; it is necessary to overcome the resistance (frequently passive, which is particularly stubborn and particularly difficult to overcome) of the numerous survivals of small-scale production; it is necessary to overcome the enormous force of habit and conservatism which are connected with these survivals.