Class conflict, also class war or class warfare, is both the friction that accompanies social relationships between members or groups of different social classes and the underlying tensions or antagonisms which exist in society due to conflicting interests that arise from different social positions. Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in Societies or Cultures. A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions Class conflict is thought to play a pivotal role in history of class societies (such as capitalism and feudalism) by Marxists^[1] who refer to its overt manifestations as class war, a struggle that is viewed by them as a product of capitalism. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Class War was a UK Class struggle based group and Newspaper originally set up by Ian Bone and others in 1983 Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where

Class conflict can take many different shapes, for example direct violence such as wars fought for resources and cheap labor, indirect violence such as deaths from poverty, starvation or unsafe working conditions; coercion, such as the threat of losing a job or pulling a much needed investment, or ideology, e. g. trying to convince people that the power should be in the hands of the working class or the capitalist class, or instilling passivity and consumerism with advertising

It can be open, as with a business lockout aimed at destroying a labour union, or it can be hidden, as with an informal slowdown in production that protests low wages for an excessively fast or dangerous work process. Consumerism is the equation of personal Happiness with the purchase of material possessions and consumption. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand Strike action, often simply called a strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal by Employees to perform work. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming

Contents 1 Definition of Classes and Class Conflict 2 Class conflict in pre-capitalist socities 3 Class conflict in Capitalism 4 Class conflict in the Soviet Union and similar societies 5 See also 6 Further reading 7 References

Definition of Classes and Class Conflict

Class conflict is a term long-used mostly by socialists, Marxists, and anarchists, to describe social conflicts between two or more social classes. Marxists and many anarchists define a 'class' by its relationship to the 'means of production' --- such as factories, land, and machinery. From this point of view, the social control of production and labour is a contest between classes, and the division of these resources necessarily involves conflict and inflicts harm.

Class conflict in pre-capitalist socities

Where societies are socially divided based on status, wealth, or control of social production and distribution, conflict arises. This conflict is both everyday, such as the common Medieval right of lords to control access to grain mills and baking ovens, or it can be exceptional such as the Roman Conflict of the Orders, the uprising of Spartacus, or the various popular uprisings in late medieval Europe. One of the earliest Marxist analyses of these conflicts is Frederick Engel's German Peasants War^[2]. The Conflict of the Orders, also referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the Plebeians (commoners and Patricians Spartacus (c 109 BC-71 BC according to Roman historians was a Slave who became the leader (or possibly one of several leaders in the unsuccessful slave Popular revolts in late medieval Europe were uprisings and Rebellions by (typically Peasants in the countryside or the Bourgeois in towns against For other conflicts referred to as peasant wars or revolts see Peasant revolt (disambiguation. One of the earliest analyses of the development of class as the development of conflicts between emergent classes is available in Peter Kropotkin's Mutual Aid where he analyses the disposal of goods after death in pre-class societies, and how inheritance produces early class divisions and conflict^[3].

Class conflict in Capitalism

The typical example of class conflict described is class conflict within capitalism. This class conflict is seen to occur primarily between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and take the form of conflict over hours of work, value of wages, cost of consumer goods, the culture at work, control over parliament or bureaucracy, and economic inequality. The proletariat (from Latin la ''proles'' "offspring" is a term used to identify a lower Social class; a member of such a class is proletarian TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity usually in large organizations and government The particular implementation of government programs which may seem purely humanitarian, such as disaster relief, can actually be a form of class conflict. ^[4] Apart from these day to day forms of class conflict, during periods of crisis or revolution class conflict takes on a violent nature and involves repression, assault, restriction of civil liberties and murderous violence such as assassinations or death squads.

Class conflict in the Soviet Union and similar societies

A variety of predominantly Marxist and anarchist thinkers argue that class conflict exists in Soviet-style societies. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 These arguments describe as a class the bureaucratic stratum formed by the ruling political party -- sometimes termed a "new class". Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity usually in large organizations and government In Geology and related fields a stratum (plural strata) is a layer of rock or Soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguishes A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral The New Class is a term to describe the privileged Ruling class of Bureaucrats and Communist party functionaries which typically arises in a Stalinist ^[5] -- that controls the means of production. This ruling class is viewed to be in opposition to the remainder of society, generally considered the proletariat. The proletariat (from Latin la ''proles'' "offspring" is a term used to identify a lower Social class; a member of such a class is proletarian This type of system is referred to by its detractors as state capitalism, state socialism, bureaucratic collectivism, coordinatorism, or new class societies. State capitalism, in its classic meaning is a private capitalist economy under State control State Socialism is a term introduced to describe the type of government in countries ruled by communist parties such as the former USSR, which are generally known as Communist Bureaucratic collectivism is a theory of class society It is used by some Trotskyists to describe the nature of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin Coordinatorism is a term for detrimental effects of individuals taking on coordinating roles as part of any effort at organisation The New Class is a term to describe the privileged Ruling class of Bureaucrats and Communist party functionaries which typically arises in a Stalinist

See also

• Class struggle
• Class war
• Class consciousness
• Social class
• Slave rebellion
• Revolution
• Economic inequality
• Economic stratification
• Exploitation
• labor union
• No War But The Class War
• Anti-hunting
• Classism
• Popular revolt in late medieval Europe
• sharecropping
• taxation
• Conflict of the Orders
• Johnson County War
• Degenerated workers state
• Deformed workers state

Further reading

• Class & Class Conflict in Industrial Society,Ralf Dahrendorf, Stanford University Press, 1959, trade paperback, 336 pages, ISBN 0-8047-0561-5 (also available in hardback as ISBN 0-8047-0560-7 and ISBN 1-131-15573-4). Class struggle is the active expression of Class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective Class War was a UK Class struggle based group and Newspaper originally set up by Ian Bone and others in 1983 Class consciousness, literally is consciousness of one's Social class. Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in Societies or Cultures. A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves. Slave rebellions have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery and are amongst the most feared events A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, "a turnaround" is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively Economic inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of Economic Assets and Income. Economic stratification refers to the condition within a society where social classes are separated or stratified along economic lines The term " exploitation " may carry two distinct meanings The act of utilizing something for any purpose A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming No War But The Class War (NWBTCW has been used as the name for a number of Anti-authoritarian, Anti-capitalist groups Anti-hunting is a term which is (often informally used to identify or describe persons or groups generally in a Political context who stand in opposition to Hunting Classism is prejudice and/or discrimination on the basis of socioeconomic class Popular revolts in late medieval Europe were uprisings and Rebellions by (typically Peasants in the countryside or the Bourgeois in towns against Sharecropping is a system of agriculture or agricultural production in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land (e The Conflict of the Orders, also referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the Plebeians (commoners and Patricians The Johnson County War also known as the War on Powder River or Wyoming Civil War, was a Range war which took place in Johnson County Wyoming In Trotskyist political theory the term degenerated workers' state has been used since the 1930s to describe the state of the Soviet Union after Stalin 's In Trotskyist political theory deformed workers' states are states where the Bourgeoisie has been overthrown through Social revolution, the industrial
• Li Yi. 2005. The Structure and Evolution of Chinese Social Stratification. University Press of America. ISBN 0-7618-3331-5

References

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