Class

More or less large groups of people distinguished among themselves by their relationship to the means of production: (some possess it: bourgeoisie, landowners, bankers, etc.; others have nothing except the strength of their labor: employees, laborers, agricultural workers, etc.) by the different positions they hold in the system of division of labor (some organize and manage, others produce and follow orders); by their different forms of income (investment income, land rent, salary) and by the differing amounts of their wealth and income (wealthy, middle income, poor); by their different forms of interaction with power and the State (dominant classes and exploited classes). Classes are also differentiated by their level of education and culture, although these differences are secondary. Society is divided not only into classes but also into different levels or strata, and groups. In today’s world, the working class, agricultural workers, and the middle strata are, for now, the most numerous. The upper bourgeoisie and the landowners are the wealthiest. People are not always capable of properly evaluating their social status, tending to overestimate it. Thus, many of the poor or working class consider themselves “middle class”. Marxists regarded the working c. as the most revolutionary and progressive. The history of the international workers movement is rich in fiery revolutionary battles and great strikes. Today, the class struggle has moved beyond the old forms of radicalism and taken on a character of more or less peaceful struggle. The ideas of social harmony and compromise prevail over the idea of revolution and open class confrontation. New modes of distribution of property and power as well as changes in social status and standard of living are the principal objectives of the relationship between classes at the present moment.