The Extreme Capitalist Society In Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times

However, what happens when the roles of the classes turn? This is Karl Marx predicts within his book The Communist Manifesto. The proletariats are the class considered to be the working class, right below the bourgeoise in terms of economic gain. Karl Marx discusses the number ratio between the two classes and discloses the fact that the proletariat outnumber the bourgeoise. Within the class is a sense of belonging, the bourgeoise live their lavish lives and have most of the say so when it comes to power. Most laws and regulations work in the favor of the bourgeoise class, while the working proletariat class is the class of struggle. This is where it ties into man’s self-alienation. Marx’s idea that the working man has alienated himself from humanity by becoming a machine of society, no longer being able to think for himself but rather only thinking of survival and mass production. By focusing on production for the bourgeoise, man is unable to relate to himself or others around him. He is alienated in the fact that he no longer belongs to a community but more so to a factory. This is beneficial to the bourgeoise because they would not have to fear the alliance of the workers against them if each worker felt isolated from one another. Karl Marx describes within his book the overview idea of the working man as a tool for production, a machine himself, isolated

Everyday their main goal was to figure out how they were going to get through that day, how they were going to keep their family alive until tomorrow. The decision, although not appealing was quite simple, another day of working under the bourgeoisie. For if they did not do this than they simply did not survive. A proletariat agreed to accomplish what was asked of him or her; there was no other way around it. Thus, a necessity to speak up and work for changes was found in the people after going through enough unfair treatment and disrespect that no human being deserves. “Marx preached the fiery rhetoric of class warfare, explaining to the mesmerized workers that revolution was not only the sole answers to their difficulties but was indeed inevitable.” [iii]

In order to understand Marx a few terms need to be defined. The first is Bourgeoisie; these are the Capitalists and they are the employers of wage laborers, and the owners of the means of production. The means of production includes the physical instruments of production such as the machines, and tools, as well as the methods of working (skills, division of labor). The Proletariat is the class of wage-laborers, they do not have their own means of production, and therefore they must sell their own labor in order to survive. There are six elements to Marx’s view of class struggle; the first is that classes are authority relationships based on property ownership. The second is a

In The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx defines bourgeoisie and proletariat. Bourgeoisie is the class of modern Capitalists, who were owners of the means of social production and employers. Even though Marx believed that proletariat would take over, he states that historically the bourgeoisie has played a most revolutionary role. When bourgeoisie had the upper hand, it ended all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. The bourgeoisie introduced an ethic based on the absolute right to free trade and to the rational and egoistic pursuit of profit. The proletariat, which was developed as a result of the bourgeoisie, is the class of modern-wage laborers who have no means of production of their own, have become reduced to selling their labor power

In the beginning of the reading Marx was stating that the “line” between the Bourgeois and Proletariats was dispersing, because of division of labor and machinery been developed into existence. He continues to say since those two developments have come about that the Proletariats will eventually take down the Bourgeois on the basis’s of the Proletariats past to present life. The Proletariats know the struggle of fighting for a living and the Bourgeois know nothing, but a life of privilege, which will be a huge advantage for the Proletariats . Marx tells in detail of how the Proletariats realized the advantage they had against the Bourgeois making all the “different” levels of Proletariats come together to conquer a common goal and enemy. In the end he ends with informing the reader if it wasn’t for the other stages of repression the Proletariats wouldn’t have been ready for their rebellion.

The bourgeoisie differs from other industrial classes in that it requires a constant revolutionizing of the modes of production, therefore it also requires a constant revolutionizing of the relations in society. Furthermore the relentless need for an expanding market stretches the bourgeoisie all over the globe, Marx claims that because of this national sovereignty and isolationism have become less possible to sustain. Thus the whole world is forced to become bourgeoisie, however, this also means that over the whole world the proletariat are coming into existence as well.

The proletariat Marx defined in the Manifesto as "a class of laborers, who live only so long as they find work, and who find work only so long as their labor increases capital." The proletariat is a class of property--less people that survives only by selling its labor. It lives only when the capitalist has need for its labor. As the power of

The popular, the majority, the working class, the predominant, the masses. There are countless terms available to describe who has the most socio-political power, the most weathered; the proletariats. In Vladimir Lenin’s eyes, in a capitalist society a proletariat is the term used to describe the working class, the class that does not have ownership of any means of production(land and capital) and whose sole income source derives from labor. The minority, who own the majority of the wealth, the means of production, and the means of coercion(law enforcement and legal system). In a capitalist society, the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariats. Only the bourgeoisie could afford the means of production, therefore they control the proletariat’s

But not only has the bourgeoisie forged the weapons that bring death to itself; it has called into existence the men who are to wield those weapons—the modern working-class—the proletarians.”2 Marx has introduced the solution to creating his equal society. He believes that the proletarians are capable of overthrowing the bourgeois because of their large population.

In the form of capitalist production, this struggle materializes among the minority (the bourgeoisie) that possesses the means of production and the vast majority of the population (the proletariat) producing goods and services. Starting with the assumption that social change occurs because of the struggle between different classes of society that are contradicting one against another, the Marxist analyst would summarize saying that capitalism exploits and oppresses the proletariat, which leads to a proletarian revolution.

He argues that the worker is seen as part of the machinery. He also presents ways in which the proletariat is a unique class. They are connected by improved communication. They are also in the majority in society, and their numbers are increasing. The most significant trait of the proletariat is that they have nothing to lose. By the nature of being proletarians, they have no power and they must defend. They must destroy the entire system to help themselves. Because of this, when they have their revolution, they will destroy the entire system of class exploitation, such as private property. Thus, the stage of history that Marx is describing is the last stage. However, it is important to understand that this stage is only possible because of all the other stages that came before

Here Marx describes the proletariat in whole. He calls them the slaves of the bourgeois class and also of the machines, overseers, and the manufacturers because they are working them constantly. He then describes the type of people who lie in the proletariat class “The lower strata of the middle class- the small tradespeople, shopkeepers, and retired tradesmen generally, the handicraftsmen and peasants- all these sink gradually into the proletariat” (Marx, 264). He also states that people who lie inside the proletariat class are recruited from all of the classes in the population. Another description of the proletariat that he gives is when he says “The unceasing improvement of machinery makes their livelihood more and more precarious” (Marx, 264). This is very unfortunate for the proletariat people because advancements in technology would keep coming and their jobs and pay would be unstable and vulnerable. Workers would also form trade unions to go against the bourgeois and sometimes it would escalate into riots. He says that “Now and then the workers are victorious, but only for a time” (Marx,

The relationship between the bourgeoisie and proletariat was rocky. Both have a labor relationship, but according to Marx it is a suppressive relationship for the proletariat. Both have the same interest that is wealth, they want to earn for a living; the only difference is that the middle class has enough money while the low class have nothing. Even though there is a rivalry between both classes, both go on hand at the same time. The Bourgeoisie depends on the proletariat for their labor, and the proletariat on the bourgeoisie for a

The ruling class control and exploit the working class proletariat who do not have any influence, own or control land, the means of production or capital. The result is continual conflict as the proletariat is reliant on the

     Marx describes the problem in great detail in the first chapter. He feels there is a problem between the bourgeoisie and the proletarians. The bourgeoisie were the oppressed class before the French Revolution and he argues that they are now the oppressors. The proletarians are the new working class, which works in the large factory and industries. He says that through mass industry they have sacrificed everything from the old way of religion, employment, to a man’s self worth and replaced it with monetary value. He is mad that the people of ole that use to be upper class such as skills man, trades people, & shopkeepers, are now slipping into the proletarians or working class. He