Introduction

Karl Marx is one of the most reputed philosophers of the 19th Century. Born in 1818 in a
middle-class family, Marx studied law in Bonn and Berlin and later plunged deeper into the ideas
of Hegel and Feuerbach (Wheen, 2007). It is after receiving his doctorate in philosophy in 1841
from the University of Jena that he moved with his family to Paris where he became a radical
revolutionary communist and teamed up with Friedrich Engels, another radical philosopher of
his time. At the turn of the twentieth century, over half the world was being organized
and governed under the influence of his ideas.

Definition of Social Differentiation

According to (Shaw, 1978) social differentiation is the distinction between social groups and
persons on the basis of physiological, biological and sociocultural factors, such as sex, age and
ethnicity. Social differentiation exits in all societies and social groups. This is, in fact, the
process by which social hierarchy or social differentiation begins to develop within societies.

Karl Marx’s view on Social Differentiation

Conflict theory is a Marxist perspective and conceptualization of the way in which society is
structured. This perspective depicts society as characteristically dominated by conflicts (Collins
& Sanderson, 2008). Conflict is the determinant of how resources are allocated and who benefits
the most from such allocations. Power is also acquired through conflict, and once such power is
acquired, it is used to dominate the less-powerful and to benefit a few people.

Collins and Sanderson (2008) cited that the basic form of interaction in human society is not
consensus but competition, which culminates into persistent conflicts. Each party or individual
competes against perceived rivals with the goal of gaining an advantage and dominating the
other.

The theory presented by Karl Marx underscores the fact that conflict, and not consensus,
dominates designed mechanisms through different classes in the stratified society, interacts and
relates to each other (Collins & Sanderson, 2008). The rich and the powerful use conflict to
threaten their poor subjects and to maintain the status quo. The poor on the other hand, organize
and use conflicts to push for a revolution that will overthrow the powers that are enjoying the
privileges of capitalist structures. These tensions are thus sustained by the need of each group to
have its interests dominate the structures and operations of the society.

Karl Marx contends that society is stratified into two main social groups. These are the
proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The conflict between these two large social groups results in
what Marx considered revolutionary change. The probable source of conflict between the
proletariat and the bourgeoisie is the desire of the proletariat to have ownership of means of
production, such as factories, power, land, and other valuable resources (Collins & Sanderson,
2008). The bourgeoisie, on the other hand, is not willing to relinquish these resources and give
up their privileged positions of power and overwhelming riches and investments.

Karl Marx’s view on Class and class conflict

According to Karl Marx, society is stratified into classes. The classes comprise the bourgeoisie,
land-owners, and the proletariat. The propertied-upper-class is the minority, while the
proletariats are the majority. Wood (2004) notes Marx’s dissection of the dominant features of
each of these classes in most of his works.

Bourgeoisie

The bourgeoisie owns the means of production. This is due to the huge investments they have
made into factories and machines in the industries. The landowners have rent as their primary
source of income. The proletariats are owners of cheap labor which they offer in exchange for
wages that they use for their basic subsistence (Collins & Sanderson, 2008).

The investment gives the bourgeoisies a lot of profit. Marx conceptualized the structure of the
society in relation to the two major classes. He is focused on the inherent struggles between the
proletariat and bourgeoisie which is the engine that pushes the occurrence of social change
through revolutionary movements. In the understanding of Marxists, the class is defined by the
level of wealth and power that one possesses (Wood, 2004). This power is used to sideline other
classes from property and positions of power. Bourgeoisies use their power to serve their
personal interests and amass more wealth at the expense of the proletariat.

These three different classes, in the understanding of Karl Marx, have different interests which
pit them against each other (Wood, 2004). For example, the bourgeoisie is interested in
safeguarding their investment in the industries, maximizing profits, and minimizing costs. This
makes them engage the proletariats as laborers in the farms to achieve this objective at relatively
minimal wages.

Proletariats

The proletariats, on the other hand, organize and mobilize themselves to collectively push for
better wages, conditions of work and strive to overcome the repressive and exploitative forces of
their masters in the industries and factories. Thus, they struggle to join hands and, through
revolutionary movements, overthrow the bourgeoisie and control the industries and factories
(Wood, 2004). These conflicting interests are what pit the social classes against each other.
Conflicts, and not consensus, therefore, characterize the society as noted by Marx who had
envisaged such a society founded on constant conflicts.

The struggle between the classes is likely to widen with time as the conditions of the laborers
deteriorate further. This likely leads to the disintegration of the social structure. Collins and
Sanderson (2008) asserted that conflicts between proletariats and bourgeoisies would translate
into an industrial revolution. This would mark the triumph of the proletariats over the
bourgeoisie, leading to increased access to capital and means of production by proletariats. This,
according to Marxists, would mark the end of capitalism and the onset of socialism characterized
by public ownership of the means of production.

The fall of capitalism and the bourgeoisie will, therefore, create a classless society as political
power withers away due to the industrial revolution led by the proletariat (Wood, 2004). Thus,
according to Marxists, class and class conflict are the forces behind societal transformation and
not any other evolutionary processes. Radical revolutionary movements are likely to create a new
social order in the society in which capitalism gives way to socialism as witnessed by the
industrial revolutions that altered the social order in Russia in the 19th century.

Analysis of Karl Marx on Social Differentiation

Capitalism has been the subject of criticism from many perspectives during its history. Criticisms
range from people who disagree with the principles of capitalism in its entirety, to those who
disagree with particular outcomes of capitalism (MacKanzie 1984). Among those wishing to
replace capitalism with a different method of production and social organization, a distinction
can be made between those believing that capitalism can only be overcome with revolution (e.g.,
revolutionary socialism) and those believing that structural change can come slowly through
political reforms to capitalism (e.g., classic social democracy). Karl Marx saw capitalism as a
progressive historical stage that would eventually stagnate due to internal contradictions and be
followed by socialism. Marxists define capital as “a social, economic relation” between people
(rather than between people and things). In this sense they seek to abolish capital. They believe
that private ownership of the means of production enriches capitalists (owners of capital) at the
expense of workers. In brief, they argue that the owners of the means of production exploit the
workforce (Wood, 2002).

Altman, (2010) cited Karl Marx’s view, the dynamic of capital would eventually impoverish the
working class and thereby create the social conditions for a revolution. Private ownership over
the means of production and distribution is seen as creating a dependence of non-owning classes
on the ruling class, and ultimately as a source of restriction of human freedom. Marxists have
offered various related lines of argument claiming that capitalism is a contradiction-laden system
characterized by recurring crises that have a tendency towards increasing severity. They have
argued that this tendency of the system to unravel, combined with a socialization process that
links workers in a worldwide market, create the objective conditions for revolutionary change.
Capitalism is seen as just one stage in the evolution of the economic system (Giddens & Antony,
1971).

Normative Marxism advocates for a revolutionary overthrow of capitalism that would lead to
socialism, before eventually transforming into communism after class antagonisms and the state
cease to exist (Arthur, 1977). Marxism influenced social democratic and labor parties as well as
some moderate democratic socialists, who seek change through existing democratic channels
instead of revolution, and believe that capitalism should be regulated rather than abolished.

Conclusion

Karl Marx’s works have influenced and continue to influence sociological academia and studies
in the field of economics. Although some of his ideas, like conflict theory, have been criticized
by scholars since then in the contemporary sociological theory, conflict perspective remain to be
a very popular sociological perspective, while Marx remains in academic records as one of the
great scholars that contributed to the growth of sociology and its relevance in understanding
human interactions and relationships in the society. Contemporary scholars, including critics of
Marxism, continue to draw on his works to develop new concepts and ideas aimed at offering
more accurate explanations of various phenomena in society.

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