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 common 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, propertyless 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 pointed out, "The very rich have been well aware of their class privilege and have labored mightily to protect and defend it".[4][5]

  1. ^ Erik Olin Wright (2006). "Class". In Beckert, Jens; Zafirovski, Milan (eds.). International Encyclopedia of Economic Sociology. Routledge. p. 62. ISBN 978-0415286732.
  2. ^ Elizabeth Borland (2008). "Class consciousness". In Parrillo, Vincent N. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Social Problems, Volume 1. SAGE Publications. p. 134. ISBN 978-1412941655.
  3. ^ Laura Desfor Edles; Scott Appelrouth (2020). Sociological Theory in the Classical Era. SAGE Publications. p. 48. ISBN 978-1506347820.
  4. ^ Leonard Fein (June 17, 2012). "Where Is Class Consciousness?". Forward.
  5. ^ Michael Parenti (1978). "Class Consciousness and Individualized Consciousness". Power and the Powerless. St. Martin's Press. pp. 94–113. ISBN 0-312-63373-4.

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