According to Karl Marx, society has two classes: the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The proletariat is the working-class members of society that sell their labor to earn wages. In contrast, the bourgeoise is the wealthier society members with control over the means of production.
The bourgeoisie would be the capitalist owners of private property, whereas the proletariat would sell their labor as their only way to survive.
The bourgeoisie aims to make as much profit as possible in the marketplace while paying the creators of the product as little as possible to maintain their own wealth.
According to Marx, the bourgeoisie exploits the proletariat, which causes class conflict. Tensions between the two classes are thought to increase with the opposing desires of the bourgeoisie wanting bigger profits while the proletariat defends their right to fair pay and working conditions.
Marxists see capitalism as an unstable system that will eventually result in a series of crises. The more capitalism grows, the more people take advantage of it, and the more oppressed, degraded, and exploited the proletariat will be (Marx, 1873).
What Is A Proletariat Revolution?
A proletariat revolution is a social revolution in which working-class laborers attempt to overthrow the capitalist bourgeoisie.
In the Communist Manifesto, written in 1848, Marx and Engels proposed that the proletariat revolution was inevitable and would be caused by the continued exploitation of the capitalists.
The workers will eventually revolt due to increasingly worse working conditions and low wages.
Why Did Marx Believe That A Proletariat Revolution Was Necessary?
Marx believed that a proletariat revolution was necessary to free the workers from capitalist oppression. Only with a revolution will the workers be able to create a world run by and for the working class.
Marx proposed a theory of historical materialism, describing stages that societies pass through before eventually reaching communism. He suggested that the current stage that society was in was capitalism and that the only way this could end was with a revolution.
He argued that capitalism would break itself down eventually and that a revolution was the inevitable next step for society.
Marx explains that competition between business owners would lead to fewer people owning more and more wealth. These business owners, or capitalists, always look for ways to cut costs and make more money.
This would lead to too many goods being produced, causing a crisis. The businesses that couldn’t keep up would fail, increasing wealth concentration.
As capitalism grows, the middle class (like shopkeepers and small business owners) would shrink, and more people would become part of the working class, or proletariat.
These workers would live in similar conditions, work in factories where their skills don’t matter much, and earn low wages. Marx believed this would lead to a society divided into two main groups: the capitalists and the proletariat.
A stronger understanding of their rank in society strengthens the proletariat’s class consciousness and can radicalize its attitude, meaning the bourgeoisie does not have any chance to win the revolution (Helemejko, 2012).
The workers come to accept that the capitalists are not loyal to them. The workers learn that if efficiency demanded it, the capitalists would easily fire or replace them. As the capitalists gradually grind down the loyalty of the workers, the chance of a revolution increases, and the more necessary it becomes.
Revolution Process
When Marxists talk about the proletarian revolution, they mean the complete solidarity of interest of all the people oppressed and exploited by capitalism. Only by working together against the capitalists does their revolution become successful.
At first, this might be individual workers against their bosses, but eventually, workers would form unions to protect their interests. However, Marx believed that unions were not enough.
He argued that workers needed to form a political movement, led by the Communist Party, to fight against the capitalists on a national and even international level.
Outcome: Capitalism to Communism
In the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels suggest that the proletarian revolution is to be identified with an overthrow of the existing social system by violence.
This revolution would be violent because the capitalists would not give up their power easily. They controlled not just the wealth, but also the government, religion, and even the family structure.
Marx believed capitalists would try to delay this revolution by changing the system or exploiting other countries. But he thought the workers would eventually rise and overthrow the capitalists.
Marx argued that a social revolution would mean changing the existing social and political system from a capitalist to a communist society. A communist society means there are no social classes or private property.
The result of the revolution is that capitalism will be replaced by a classless society in which private property will be replaced with collective ownership. This will mean that society will become communist.
Private property will be replaced with collective ownership, meaning that the means of production will come to a common agreement. Under communism, there would be no exploitation of the labor of others. Instead, accumulated labor is a means of widening and enriching the workers’ existence (Marx & Engels, 2019).
However, looking deeper into the Marxist theory of revolution reveals that Marx and Engels often referred to a peaceful revolution. A revolution is attained because of class struggle, not by violence (Schaff, 1973).
Proletariat revolutions are generally advocated by socialists, communists, and anarchists alike. When Marx wrote about the proletariat revolution in the 1800s, he predicted it would happen soon in Europe, followed by a worldwide occurrence. However, this did not end up being the case.
Evaluation
Marx’s ideas about what happens after the revolution can be quite vague. It is not guaranteed that there will be social and economic equality in a communist society.
Despite Marx’s belief in the 1800s that the proletariat revolution would happen soon after, it did not happen in any advanced industrialized society.
Communist ideas have been introduced in some countries and have shown not to fare well. For instance, there was a fall of communism in the former socialist state of the USSR. So, while Marx’s idea of a communist society may sound promising in theory, it may not be fully sustainable in practice.
For many capitalist countries, the economic conditions gradually improved for the working class. Marx did not predict that there would be major reforms in capitalist societies, such as the working class being permitted the right to vote, abolishment of child labor, and the right of workers to join unions. In contrast to Marx’s theory, many workers in capitalist countries are focused on improving their working conditions rather than starting a revolution.
Marx’s ideas are argued to be a doctrine with little relevance for actual social change. It is said to be ideological for mobilizing political parties and social movements but lacks scientific credibility (Burawoy & Wright, 2001).
Marx’s ideas are considered important for understanding the issues and possibilities of social change and social reproduction in modern societies. It can help sociologists understand how past revolutions have occurred in capitalist societies.
While not every aspect of Marxism is sustainable, the ideas can be built upon to challenge and transform it (Burawoy & Wright, 2001).
Frequently Asked Questions
How Does The Bourgeoisie Exploit The Proletariat?
According to Marx, the proletariat is exploited by the wealthy bourgeoisie in several ways.
The bourgeoisie pays the proletariat as little as possible for their labor, often making them work long hours in poor working conditions and keeping the profits from the sales of the products.
The working class makes just about enough money so that they survive but also not enough, so they have no choice but to continue working under the rule of the ruling class.
Why Can’t The Proletariat Succeed In A Capitalist Society?
According to Marx, the proletarians cannot succeed in a capitalist society because they have little value other than their labor. The workers are almost considered machines whose only purpose is to produce products in line with market competition and profit.
The workers have little power in a capitalist society because if they demand higher wages, the bourgeoisie can hire somebody else. If they refuse to work, they earn no money to survive. The proletariat is thus forced to continue their labor under the power of the capitalist.
What Do The Proletariat Stand To Lose In Their Revolution?
In The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels state, ‘Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win’ (Marx & Engels, 2019).
From this, Marx and Engels can imply that the conditions of the proletariat cannot be made worse by a revolution, but they have everything to gain.
References
Burawoy, M., & Wright, E. O. (2001). Sociological marxism. In Handbook of sociological theory (pp. 459-486). Springer, Boston, MA.
Helemejko, T. (2012). The concept of Marxism.
Marx, K. (1911). A contribution to the critique of political economy. CH Kerr.
Marx, K., & Engels, F. (2019). The communist manifesto. In Ideals and Ideologies (pp. 243-255). Routledge.
Oppenheimer, M. (1972). The proletarianization of the professional. The Sociological Review, 20(1_suppl), 213-227.
Przeworski, A. (1977). Proletariat into a class: The process of class formation from Karl Kautsky”s The Class Struggle to recent controversies. Politics & Society, 7(4), 343-401.
Schaff, A. (1973). Marxist theory on revolution and violence. Journal of the History of Ideas, 34 (2), 263-270.
