SOC281H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Labour Power, Marxist Sociology, Bourgeoisie
Document Summary
Marx writes that the three classes of modern capitalist society re the owners of labour power, the owners of capital, and the landowners, but he suggest that this is the pure form of class distinction. Marx believed that society is divided into classes that are defined by their relationship to the principle means of production in society. In capitalism those who own the means of the production (bourgeoisie) exploit labourers (the proletariat), who have no choice but to sell their labour power to (ie, to work for) the bourgeoisie in order to survive. The emphasize in marx"s work, then is on relationships between those who appropriate the labour of others to make a profit and those who need to sell their labour power. Marx is less concerned with how resources are distributed within capitalism and instead emphasizes the relationships among people who engage in economic systems of production.