Family : Marxist - Class Conflict

• Class conflict

  Marx asserted that this exploitation created major differences in interest between the two classes, and this created conflict. The workers' interests lay in higher wages to achieve a better lifestyle, but these would be at the expense of the bosses' profits. The bosses wanted higher profits to expand their businesses and wealth, but this could only be achieved by keeping wages as low as possible by making the workers produce more by working harder.
• Conflict

  Society is based on an exploitative and unequal relationship between two economic classes. The bourgeoisie are the economically dominant class who own the means of production. The working class, on the other hand, own only their ability to work. They sell this to the bourgeoisie in return for a wage.

  However, the relationship between these two classes is unequal and based on conflict because the bourgeoisie aim to extract the maximum labour from workers at the lowest possible cost.
• Conflict

  According to Marxists, the result is that the bourgeoisie exploit the labour of the working class. The difference between the value of the goods and services produced by the worker and the wages paid is pocketed by the capitalist class and lies at the heart of the vast profits made by many employers. These profits fuel the great inequalities in wealth and income between the ruling class and the working class.
• Conflict

  For example, according to HM Revenue and Customs, in 2003, 71 per cent of all financial wealth in the UK was owned by just 10 per cent of the population. Even if we add property ownership to financial wealth, the least wealthy 50 per cent of the population only own about 7 per cent of all wealth in the UK in 2003. These figures are also likely to be underestimates, because people generally do not declare the full sum of their wealth to the tax authorities - for instance, they may keep wealth abroad.