The proletariats and the bourgeoisie were the two class distinctions that theorist Karl Marx spoke of in his communist manifesto. He argued that the class differences between the two have been a major driving force in historical developments. He also states that class relationships are defined by each eras means of production. He thinks that eventually the proletariats will have a revolution against the bourgeoisie, but I think that his idea that there can be no class distinctions is highly unlikely in today’s society. The notion that the proletariats would have a revolution against the bourgeoisie, and the fact that he says they wouldn’t be able to reallocate all of the property that was there when the bourgeoisie was still in power, thus causing the proletariats to destroy all ownership of private property, is foolish to me. I understand that Marx believed that one communism’s most important characteristics was the equal distribution of property, but I argue against that very characteristic. While I am from a capitalistic country, putting aside those values instilled in me from birth that I learned from our culture, I believe that people have a natural drive to want more material things. I argue that the reason behind ones drive to work hard is the notion that he will reap more benefits for their hard work. By natural human instinct to work hard, and expect more in return, I believe that Marx’s ideas about the proletariats revolution is more of an ideology than an actual event that could happen. History has proven that communist systems all around the world have failed, but I do recognize that those communist governments weren’t the same that Karl Marx had in mind.
Another argument that I have against Marx idea of a revolution, is that society has a need for a person, or group of people, to not necessarily rule over them, but govern them. Civil society needs that figurehead in order to sustain life the way it is. The best example that I can give is with the mafia, or a local gang. You could say that the drug runners, or the mafia members who are low on the totem pole, are the proletariats. The mafia bosses are the bourgeoisie. Every now and then you’ll have a group of the mafia who are unhappy with the treatment that they are receiving from the mafia boss. Sometimes they will get so fed up with that treatment that they will have their own little revolution. All of these revolutions are spawned from a need to be treated more equally or fairly. What ensues is a change in power as they take out the mafia boss, but what concludes isn’t Marx idea that the proletariats, or drug runners, will completely abolish the class distinction that they previously lived with. Instead, someone else steps in and becomes the bourgeoisie. That is the way the world works, it is nothing but a cycle of people in power; once someone loses power, another steps in. Karl Marx was an influential thinker, but I would argue that his idea of a revolution for the proletariats is extremely unlikely to ever happen because of the nature of human beings.
The only way that Marx’s idea works is if you realize that the proletariat taking over would all be communists. It is very difficult to think that they will give up their newly acquired power but that is simply because you don’t share their mindset.
I agree that people are naturally self-interested and would likely seek power in a communist society. Also, it is evident that while some people would attempt to gain more power, others would take advantage of the fact that everyone is equal and not contribute as much to society. Therefore, inherent human characteristics do not agree with communism from the start.
The class distinctions today are less extreme. There is now a rich, middle, and poor class, and even people born into a poor family have more opportunities to become successful. Marx proposed this revolution when there existed a clear distinction between classes and the “proletariats” were forced into horrendous jobs to make a living. People are more content with their occupations and can reap more benefits from hard labor, unlike one hundred years ago.
I definitely agree that today’s society is much more advanced with more than just two classes like Marx talks about. As Avineri points out, Marx could not have predicted that technology would have progressed so quickly, demanding a different type of job. Many technological jobs require a well-educated and skilled worker, which falls in between the upper and lower classes.
Nicole you bring up an interesting point about the different type of distinctions that led Marx to his theory. I think in most modern day countries, labor laws help fight exploitation of workers and keep undesired jobs filled with workers. A contemporary example of this are the companies that have built reputations for giving good benefits, job security and conditions to their workers. If labor conditions had not been reformed since the time period when Marx was writing, I think we would be witnessing more hostility amongst the two sides.
I completely agree with the whole idea that if one person is taken out of power (your mafia example), someone else wants to step in and replace them. The revolution is basically the proletariats being extremely fed up the bourgeosie and just having at it right? Do you think that once the proletariats get into power, theyre going to say “oh, let’s split all the goods up and be even and we can do whatever jobs we want whenever we want and we can all be merry”? No way, right? They will probably, first of all, want the bourgeosie to pay and therefore, probably become their own new proletariats and the old proletariats become the new bourgeosie… It is indeed a cycle.