Importance of the Class Struggle

Enunciated as a concept only in the 19th century with the writings of Marx and Engels, the class struggle is nevertheless a central phenomenon of human life where different interests are put into play and that of the most powerful. Understanding this phenomenon is essential to be able to understand why certain events occur or why social communities move in a certain way.

A fight of unequals

To begin, we can explain what we mean when we talk about class struggle. This concept serves to name the common and daily confrontation that occurs within a society (and thus, it is present in all human societies) between those who have power, wealth, resources and capital and those who are dispossessed or only possess their labour to offer. The class struggle has existed forever and from the earliest beginnings of life in society.

Understanding the latter is fundamental in order not to fail to make visible the fact that societies always will represent a permanent clash of interests and desires that have to do with the social groups that make up. To think that this class struggle can disappear is, according to those theorists who state it, an error and for this reason they suggest paying

The enunciation of Marx and Engels in this regard

The two German philosophers are, without a doubt, the ones who have contributed the most to developing the concept that we are explaining here. In their writings, such as the famous Communist Manifesto, both Marx and Engels established that in every society there is a struggle of interests or class struggle that confronts the owners of capital with the working, dispossessed and declassed sectors. Despite the latter being the majority of society, the powerful are still certain of their victory since they hold power, resources, capital, the means of production and communication, etc.

For Marx and Engels the class struggle in the capitalism it is established in this way, but this does not mean that it can be reversed. Thus, they will propose a future world in which the workers, through the dictatorship of the proletariat, can reverse the game of forces and become dominant over the once powerful minorities.

A search for identity

For many specialists in the subject, the class struggle is not only a reality or a political or economic phenomenon, but also has to do with identities. By constituting himself as a worker or as an oligarch, a person constructs his identity from the elements that define that social class and is opposed, almost unconsciously, to those that are in front. For this reason, the class struggle is something that can be observed in daily life and in the clashes that can occur every day in a society.

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