Classes and Class Struggle

Class is determined by the objective position a social group occupies in the vast network of production and distribution, by its relation to the means of production (i.e., whether it owns or just works on these means) and consequently, by the share of gross social wealth it possesses. To take a simple example, industrialists occupy a privileged position in a country’s economic (and therefore also in the political) network because they own factories and amass huge wealth by usurping the surplus value produced by industrial workers. The workers on the other hand are underprivileged because they operate, but do not own, the plants and machinery and eat or starve depending on whether they find work or not.

The class configuration of society differs from country to country and time to time (basically according to the mode(s) of production), but every class society is divided into working, exploited classes and exploiting, ruling classes. Struggle between these two sections goes on uninterruptedly in different intensities and forms like wage and land struggle, agitation for political democracy and policy changes, battle for ousting dictatorial and corrupt regimes, and so on. At critical junctures it flares up into revolutions which drastically change the economic, political and cultural character of a society.

Classes carry on their struggle through their mass organisations like trade unions, chambers of commerce, etc. as well as through political parties representing them, or sections of them. In our country, for example, parties like the Congress, the BJP etc. represent and work for capitalists, landlords and kulaks.

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