Class and Class Consciousness in Marxist Theory

ABSTRACT

Marx’s general theory of ideology stresses the necessary connectedness of social structure and social belief. But it also produces two more specific theses: that the ideas of the ruling class are the ruling ideas; and that different classes tend to produce different forms of class consciousness. This paper traces the history of these notions in communist Marxism and in Western Marxism.

KEYWORDS:

• Marxism
• revolution
• ideology
• class consciousness
• hegemony

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author .

Notes on Contributor

Andrew Milner is Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. His publications include John Milton and the English Revolution (1981), Cultural Materialism (1993), Class (1999), Re-imagining Cultural Studies (2002), Contemporary Cultural Theory (2002), Literature, Culture and Society (2005), Tenses of Imagination: Raymond Williams on Utopia, Dystopia and Science Fiction (2010), Locating Science Fiction (2012) and Again, Dangerous Visions: Essays in Cultural Materialism (2018).