Class consciousness is a complex concept developed within the scope of Marxist sociology and political theory that resonated in the vast Marxist-inspired philosophical, sociological and political production of the 20th century. Thinkers like Louis Althusser and Georg Lukács have returned to class consciousness as a necessary way of seeing themselves within a system like capitalism. Although we refer to class consciousness as a concept, it is for the German philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx a condition of the subject’s existence in capitalism .
Read also: Classic thinkers of sociology: Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx and Max Weber
Class itself
Class here refers to social class , that is, the delimitations that occur within the capitalist system to separate people from different social levels . Despite the possibility of social mobility in the capitalist system, there is an evident difficulty in this mobility, imposed in large part by the exploitation and oppression of a dominant class over a dominated class.
Karl Marx, one of the exponents of the notion of class consciousness.
In Marxist theory, the ruling class is the bourgeoisie , which owns the means of production. The dominated class is the proletariat , which does not have the means of production, but participates with the main gear to maintain the productive system: its labor force. To learn more about this important sociological concept, read: social class .
Don’t stop now … There’s more after the publicity;)
What is class consciousness?
Class consciousness is, for Marx , a situation to which the human being is naturally subject. It allows union, cohesion among equals and the struggle for improvements for the class . The concept of class consciousness is in the book The Holy Family , written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels , as something that the proletariat worker is destined to take within the capitalist system, and is therefore not a goal, but something that is necessary and naturally it must happen.
Engels, who appears in this standing statue, launched with Marx two books that deal well with class consciousness. [1]
The proletariat is a class exploited within the capitalist system. Exploitation is the mark that unites the proletarians in a single objective: to end the current system of exploitation and to implant a new system that destroys social class divisions through a revolution. Class conscience is the way of making ourselves aware that the proletariat has the strength, because they are precisely the main gear of the productive machine. Without class consciousness, there is no possibility of changing society .
For the contemporary German philosopher (considered one of the main Marxists of the 20th century) Georg Lukács , class consciousness is a phenomenon possible only in capitalism . The feudal economic system had a completely different mode of production than the capitalist system. In addition to the almost non-existent social mobility, this system operated a legal and religious confusion with the production and with the social estates (divisions).
Thus, it did not make sense to unite the working classes against feudal lords, not least because they were the ones who had military power and offered protection to other classes. Only capitalism showed how the proletariat is important for the productive process and placed, precisely for this importance, in the hands of the proletariat the power to stop and rise up against the system.
To exemplify class consciousness, we can resort to strike movements . When a sector of workers decides to interrupt its activities, if there is a massive union of workers, the productive system stops. The class consciousness is what guarantees the union . Recognizing yourself as an exploited worker and wanting change is the foundation of class consciousness.
For both Marx and later Marxists, only the proletarian class is revolutionary , so we must expect class consciousness from it. The great bourgeoisie also maintains its conscience (and power ), as this is the best for them.
The so-called petty bourgeoisie, however, is in the middle between the two and is weak and sterile. It is still very much linked to pre-capitalist systems and tries, in most cases, to act as a peacemaker for conflicts between the two other classes. In this sense, change can only be expected from the proletariat that becomes aware of the strength and power of its class. Class consciousness is, therefore, proletarian consciousness.
See also: Social status – position that each group occupies in the social dynamics
Class struggle
The class struggle is clearly evident the moment after the workers become aware of the class . However, for Karl Marx, it is not exclusive to capitalism. This struggle reflects the way in which humanity built its history through production, always showing the conflicts of different social classes. However, it is at the moment when class consciousness appears in the great proletarian mass that it is possible to establish a class struggle that ensures the victorious revolution of the proletariat.
Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Raul Castro, Fidel Castro and Camilo Cienfuegos were responsible for the Socialist Revolution in Cuba.
For Marx, as soon as the proletariat realizes its strength and begins to fight against the system of exploitation and oppression, it unites around a revolution that aims to overthrow capitalism and implant a new economic and political system . All private property is nationalized, and the old media and the government are pushed aside to make way for new systems. The Church, as a fundamental part of maintaining exploitation in the capitalist system, must also be removed.
There is a need for a strong government on behalf of the proletariat that gradually eliminates property and, therefore, the bourgeoisie. The strong government must act in a dictatorial manner at the beginning (dictatorship of the proletariat) and, when private property and social class no longer exist, it must give way to a communist government .
