Class consciousness

In Marxism, class consciousness is the set of beliefs that persons hold regarding their social class or economic rank in society, the structure of their class, and their class interests.^[1]^[2] According to Karl Marx, class consciousness is an awareness that is key to sparking a revolution which would "create a dictatorship of the proletariat, transforming it from a wage-earning, property-less mass into the ruling class".^[3]

Although Marxists tend to focus on class consciousness (or its absence) among the proletariat, the upper classes in society can also think and act in a class-conscious way. As Leonard Fein wrote, "The very rich have been well aware of their class privilege and have labored mightily to protect and defend it".^[4]

^ Wright, Erik Olin (2006). "Class". In Beckert, Jens; Zafirovski, Milan (eds.). International encyclopedia of economic sociology. Psychology Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-415-28673-2.
^ Cite error: The named reference Borland-2008-p134 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Appelrouth, Scott; Desfor Edles, Laura (2010). Sociological Theory in the Classical Era. United States of America: SAGE. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-4129-7564-3.
^ Fein, Leonard (June 17, 2012). "Where Is Class Consciousness?". Forward.

[1] Wright, Erik Olin (2006). "Class". In Beckert, Jens; Zafirovski, Milan (eds.). International encyclopedia of economic sociology. Psychology Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-415-28673-2.

[Borland-2008-p134-2] Cite error: The named reference Borland-2008-p134 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] Appelrouth, Scott; Desfor Edles, Laura (2010). Sociological Theory in the Classical Era. United States of America: SAGE. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-4129-7564-3.

[4] Fein, Leonard (June 17, 2012). "Where Is Class Consciousness?". Forward.

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