Middle class

[Binary011]

I have been having trouble with this one for a while, what role does the middle class play in Marxism? My guess is that they will be on the side of the proletariat of the revolution after having been convinced of the cause? I'm not quite sure and would appreciate any clarifying statements. Thanks in advance.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

What definition are you using for "middle class?" Marxists consider the middle class to be a small group of petit-bourgeoisie individuals, as opposed to the common (and recent) usage towards white-collar proletariat. If you're talking about the former class, we can't be certain. It's likely some will break towards the cause and others will go against us.

[Binary011]

I mean the definition of white collar proletariat, however, they support capitalism more than the blue collar workers on the whole, what would happen with the aforementioned white collar proletarians who aren't even aware they are in fact proletarians and who mostly support capitalism?

[Schrödinger's Cat]

If a revolution is to be successful, all collars to the proletariat must be class conscious.

[Die Neue Zeit]

^^^ It's good that you're not a sectoral chauvinist. :)

[Plagueround]

While I'm a bit newer here, I'll take a stab at this. I would say a majority of the middle class are still proletariat. They may make more money than some blue collar jobs, but they still follow the basic idea of selling labor for wages and not making any money off of investments/capital (although some may hold stocks this is not the way they support themselves).

Also, if you're looking at white collar as being a higher class as blue collar, this is not always true. I know quite a few companies that pay their office staff less than people that operate machinery or do physical work on job-sites. While the white collar jobs may seem more cushy as far as not having to do hard physical labor, they still suffer from the same wage slave problems that other members of the proletariat do. (And on a personal note, some of those jobs look so stressful and unappealing that I would gladly take the physical labor route).

[redSHARP]

most modern middle class have liberal ideas, we just need to push them towards the light. if there is a revolution, the middle class will most likely split.

[Post-Something]

In Marxist theory, there are two main classes, the "Bourgeoisie", and the "proletariat". They fall into these categories because of HOW they make their money, not how much they have or whatever.

The Bourgeoisie make their money by exploiting others, while the proletariat make theirs by prostituting their labor.

You might hear Marxists speak of other classes which Marx spoke about, the "Intelligentsia" (those in academia), and the "petit bourgeoisie" (those who work for themselves). But Marxist theory argues that because of the polarizing effect of capitalism, eventually these two smaller classes will eventually become part of the other two larger ones.

Therefore when people come and ask us about the middle class, it's not always a clear answer that you will get.