Discussion 5: Class Conflict in the Contemporary U.S.

Marx argued that class conflict was a constituent element of modern life in Western societies. He claimed that capitalism was inherently unfair as the bourgeoise used their economic and political power to shape laws and institutions in a way that kept them in near total control of society, at the expense of the proletariat. This would continue, he argued, unless the proletariat developed class consciousness and decided to ban together to change the social, economic, and political landscape through collective action.

Given what you read in Chapter 5 of the course textbook about how concentrated wealth is in the hands of such a small proportion of Americans, how do you view contemporary U.S. society through the lens of class conflict? Do you believe that the system is tilted in favor of the ultra-wealthy as Marx claimed? Do you believe that poor and working-class Americans will at some point put aside cultural and political differences in favor of a unified class consciousness? What would your solution be to remediate the problem of wealth inequality in the U.S.?