Preview

Karl Marx and the Conflict Theory

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
352 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Karl Marx and the Conflict Theory
Karl Marx and the conflict theory

Karl Marx was a socialist who developed a conflict theory about the struggle between the lower class proletariat and the higher class capitalist bourgeoisie of an industrial society.
His theory was a conflict view of a modem ‘nineteenth century’ society.

There are two classes of the ‘modern’ society:

The bourgeoisie, Owners of factory buildings and have the means of production. They have many workers producing items for trade as a source of income and profit, they would use their political power to exclude and oppress for personal purposes, they are Capitalists.

The Proletariats, The lower class workers who work for a wage (or factory tokens).

In the 1800’s the industrial revolution developed society and with it so did the widening gap between the class structures. There were many differences arising between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat people.

The bourgeoisie were mainly interested in developing a capitalist society, using advanced methods of production. They owned factories, the products made in the factories and they controlled the trade.

The Proletariats or working class people have gained nothing in society but work and hard labour, they were oppressed by the bourgeoisie and were given a sense of false consciousness, they felt that being poorly treated by the middle class society was normal.

The proletariats received only enough wages to survive and were not getting the wages that they deserved for the labour that was accomplished. The bourgeoisie were exploiting their workers. The Proletariats worked hard and helped to improve production in society, which developed capitalism and helped the economy to grow faster.

Very soon the middle class were taking over and the rich were staying rich and the poor continued to be poor. The bourgeoisie had political power, they could choose laws, control society and education whilst exploiting there workers.

Critisms of the Conflict Theory
The

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Gke Task 4

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The two most significant social consequences of the First Industrial Revolution were the emergence of the Bourgeoisie and the rise of factories. As a result of new developments in machinery and the formation of factories, the division of the labor force drastically changed. No longer were people born into their crafts; however, they were able to choose factory work as their profession, and wealthy land owners were no longer able to count on the possession of large tracts of land as a form of wealth. The land owners either transitioned into becoming factory owners, or they faced bankruptcy due to lack of production which resulted from people born on their land leaving when they came of age to seek better paying positions in factories. The specialized craftsman were being forced out of existence by factories which could not only produce better goods, but they were able to, in some cases, triple the production of products previously produced by the specialized craftsman. Many people were choosing to become machine operators because the work was easier in the sense that they were able to work in all day long instead on only daylight to dawn, and this increased production led to the formation of the Bourgeoisie. The Bourgeoisie was the newly created middle class that was all but non-existent before the First Industrial Revolution. These positions came into existence due to the increased production of products that needed to be sold to the public. The Bourgeoisie was primarily shop owners, and their ability to market products to the public resulted in their dramatic increase in wealth and status within their local communities. These shop owners basically became the intermediary between the factory owners and the local populace, and their importance resulted in a new power struggle with the Factory and land owners. The Bourgeoisie caused the explosion of Capitalism in Europe and the rest of the world. The shop owners were able to rise above…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the Marxism theory, the proletariat are being exploited by the bourgeoisie as they own the means of production which indicates that they are the basis of the whole society and they control everything in it including the family. This kind of system could be seen as a capitalist society which means it makes the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    During the Industrial Revolution, factory workers received little pay, worked long hours, and never saw improvement in their living and working conditions. In the mean time, the middle class was emerging. They were rich because of the enormous amounts of money created in the country because of the Industrial Revolution. Marx thought that the capitalist system would eventually fail. He described communism as “a form of complete socialism in which the means of production--all land, mines, factories, railroads, and businesses—would be owned by the people” (649). He also thought all goods and services should be shared equally.…

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Flsa Analysis

    • 1329 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In order to improve their living conditions, the proletariat of the capitalist countries fought a long battle against the…

    • 1329 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    During this time the north went through a market and religious revolution. The market changed in the northeast from a rural one to an industrialized one, starting the first industrial revolution in the United States. Many changes happened what was once apprenterships now became wage earning jobs; meaning that men used to practice under a master of the job they wanted to have, to learn their skill set now men are taking jobs instead to earn more money for their families. What was once the quite rural countryside quickly turned into urban centers; they were calling these changes “internal improvements.” This time period brought about the discovery of the middle class or working class, people who weren’t seen as poor or rich they were considered comfortable.…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marx then goes into the first part of the body of his manifesto entitled "Bourgeois and Proletarians." In this part, he goes into how society started communal but then became more unequal as time went on. Systems such as Feudalism, Mercantilism, and Capitalism benefited from the use of exploitation. He first introduces the idea that economic concerns of a nation drive history, and that the struggle between the rich bourgeoisie and the hard working proletariat would eventually lead to Communism. He goes on and on about how the bourgeois have always got what they wanted. Marx reflected more on the negatives committed by the bourgeois than the positives. He states the bourgeoisie "has agglomerated population, centralized means of production, and has concentrated property in a few hands." (Marx, p.8) He then describes the proletarians, or the labor class, and how they were formed, how they have suffered, and how they must overcome their struggles. Marx declares that this “dangerous class,” the social scum, that passively rotting mass thrown off by the lowest layers of old society, may, here and there, be swept into the movement by a proletarian revolution." (Marx, p.15) This began an inevitable revolution where the proletariats take over and dethrone the bourgeoisie.…

    • 1048 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    United State Labor History

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages

    When one considers the effect that the Industrial Revolutions of the 19th and early 20th century, the workers whose backs bore it are seldom reflected upon. It becomes ponderous whether the revolution was a boon or a malediction upon the working class and if they were truly aided by the great rise in standard of living that hallmarked this time. Those who would defend the period would cite pre-Industrialization scenarios, toiling under feudal lords with no future beyond death and an unmarked grave. An opponent of this idea, such as the renowned Karl Marx, would state, 'The modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with class antagonisms. It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, and new forms of struggle in place of the old ones.…

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before the Industrial Revolution, there were two major classes that were the nobles and the peasants. However, when the Industrial Revolution occurred new social groups developed that was called the upper class, the middle class and the working class. The working class was considered as the poor class. It was made up of the poor people that worked in the factories for whole days for a small amount of money. The upper class consisted of wealthy people. They lived outside the country and had longer lives because they could afford medication if diseases spread. In the middle class were the doctors, the factory owners and the lawyers. They were similar to the upper class. The only difference between these two classes was that the middle class did not have servants like the upper class, but some of the people had nannies to look after their…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Marx believed that capitalism contained the seeds of its own destruction. He described how the wealth of the bourgeoisie depended on the work of the proletariat. Therefore, capitalism requires an underclass. But Marx predicted that the continued exploitation of this underclass would create great resentment. Eventually the proletariat would lead a revolution against the bourgeoisie.…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the industrial revolution, a time of rapid change, there were different ideas as to how society should be run. Some people believed that industry should be run with no government interference whatsoever. This would allow owners of large corporations to operate their companies with no regulations. This system is called capitalism, and many people, including Marx and Engels, were opposed to it because without laws controlling businesses, workers were mistreated, monopolies formed, and children were working instead of getting…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Revolution began in Britain and over the course of a few years spread across Europe and to the United States. It all began with a surplus in food. This caused a population increase as people were in better health due to more nourishment, and they had enough food to support children. This raise in population was mainly unskilled laborers. As new inventions came out, more and more people were employed in factories to run the machines. The textile industry and mining industry were two huge employment areas. Life as a worker in a factory was brutal. The workdays were 12-14 hours a day, the workspace was overcrowded, and the sanitation was horrible—all for little pay. The consequences for one mistake were enough to keep everyone on edge. Even children were treated horribly. This led to the working class, called the proletariat, to be working for the middle and upper class, the bourgeois. The middle class was slowly but surely detaching itself from the lower, working class.…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They took power from these people and finally the society is divided into two separate classes directly facing each other; bourgeois and proletarians. (The Communist Manifesto, p. 2) Now, according to Karl Marx, it's the time for the proletarians to take power from the bourgeois and create a new world order. In the document, Karl Marx also argued that in the process of doing their job in wiping out the feudal system, bourgeois created the system that will lead to their own collapse, which is full of exploitation and unequal distribution of wealth. (The Communist Manifesto, p. 4) Hence, like every time when there is a strong divide between classes in the society, it is the time for a revolution to occur. It is the necessary step for the society to progress further, and it can only be attained by "the forcibly overthrow of all existing conditions." (The Communist Manifesto, p.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Marx believed class struggles had existed throughout history and concluded that because of industrialization, society had dwindled down to two classes: the proletariat (laborers) and the bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production). He viewed class struggles and industry as harmful to humanity because they allowed the bourgeoisie to exploit the proletariat.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The proletariat are the workers in society and the bourgeoisie are the ‘affluent’ business owners and doctors and lawyers of society. Karl Marx, who was a Marxist and started the movement, said that society has two classes of people and they are the two which have just been mentioned.…

    • 335 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Karl Marx believed that society is based upon a conflict between Bourgeoisies (Ruling class, Upper class) and Proletariat (Working class). Marx believed that the ruling class were exploiting the working class.…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays