Theory of Class Struggle

Marxist theory on the emergence, development and withering-away of classes, class contradictions and class struggles.

Class is a historical phenomenon that exists at a stage in history when there is a certain development of social production and insufficient production. There must be a struggle between classes with fundamentally opposing material interests. Long before Marx and Engels, bourgeois thinkers saw the existence of classes and class struggle, made economic analyses of all classes, and noticed the historical role of class struggle. For example, Thierry, Guizot and Mignet and other bourgeois historians discovered and put forth the thought of class struggle, narrated the history, development and roots of class struggle to a certain extent, but, confined to the standpoint of the bourgeoisie, their elaboration and understanding of the concept of classes and class struggle were confusing and unclear. The scientific theory of class struggle was founded by Marx. On March 5, 1852, Marx pointed out in his letter to Weydemeyer: “And now as to myself, no credit is due to me for discovering the existence of classes in modern society or the struggle between them. Long before me bourgeois historians had described the historical development of this class struggle and bourgeois economists, the economic economy of the classes. What I did that was new was to prove: (1) that the existence of classes is only bound up with particular historical phases in the development of production, (2) that the class struggle necessarily leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat, (3) that this dictatorship itself only constitutes the transition to the abolition of all classes and to a classless society.” This new contribution is the quintessence of the Marxist theory of class struggle. Later, under the new historical conditions, Lenin further enriched and developed the theory of class struggle. In To the Rural Poor of 1903, Lenin pointed out: “What is the class struggle? It is a struggle of one part of the people against the other; a struggle waged by the masses of those who have no rights, are oppressed and engage in toil, against the privileged, the oppressors and drones; a struggle of the wage-laborers, or proletarians, against the property-owners, or bourgeoisie.” In 1919, Lenin gave a clear definition of class in A Great Beginning: “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.”

Class struggle is a product of the division of human society into classes, the antagonisms and conflicts between classes whose basic economic interests are in a fundamental contrast with one another, the inevitable manifestation of the fundamental contradictions of society, that is, the contradiction between the productive forces and the relations of production, and the basic means of solving class contradictions. The main contents of the theory of class struggle are: First, concerning the emergence of class struggle. All ruling classes always exploit and plunder the ruled classes by virtue of their appropriation of the means of production and their dominant position in the economy, and exercise, at the same time, political rule and ideological control in order to maintain such rule. In order to exist and free themselves from being exploited and oppressed, the ruled classes have to resist and fight. Second, class struggle is a historical category that presents different features in different historical stages. In the three class societies in human history, slave society manifests itself as struggle of the slave class against the class of slave-owners, feudal society as the struggle of the peasantry against the feudal landlord class, and capitalist society as the struggle of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie. In the successive process of class society, class struggles will inevitably take place due to the antithesis in the economic status and material interests between the new exploiting class and the old one. Third, the forms of appearance of class struggle are diverse, and its basic forms are economic struggle, political struggle, ideological struggle (or theoretical struggle). Political struggle is at the center of the class struggle and requires the close coordination of the economic and ideological struggle. The highest form of political struggle is the conquest or maintenance of the state power in order to maintain class interests. Fourth, the historical role of class struggle. Class struggle is the immediate driving force that pushes forward the development of class society, the great lever of social revolutions. Because classes are social groups with an economic foundation, they have greater power to directly influence the course of social development. In times of relative social stability, the constant resistance and struggle of the ruled classes force the ruling class to make certain adjustments, and are conducive to the development of productive forces. In times of social revolutions, the class which represents the demands of new productive forces overthrows the old power through revolution, achieves revolutions in the relations of production, solves the fundamental contradictions of society, i.e., the contradiction between the productive forces and the relations of production, furthers the development of productive forces and pushes forward social progress. Class struggle is the immediate driving force of social development. A history of the development of class society is the history of class struggles. Fifth, the class struggle of the proletariat. The struggle of the proletariat to abolish the bourgeoisie and all the exploiting classes is the greatest and the most profound class struggle in human history to date. Unlike the previous class struggles, it is the “last fight” in the history of class struggles of man. By conquering the political power and establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat, the proletariat transitions to the socialist society, and by building socialism, the proletariat struggles for the realization of the ambitious goal of classless communism. With the ultimate abolition of classes, class struggle ceases to exist.

The Marxist theory of class struggle is an important theory of Marxism. Based on historical materialism, it has scientifically dealt with the inevitable trend of class struggle and its development and provided us with a scientific methodology for the knowledge of class relations in society and for dealing with social problems.

See Classes on p. 200.