The Bourgeoisie - monopoly capital, own vast majority of the means of production, project influence internationally, shape our economy through their decisions, and are primarily motivated by profit seeking
The Petit Bourgeoisie - small business owners, share similar material interests as the big Bourgeoisie but don’t have comparable influence, usually consumed by monopoly capital during bust periods, and often cling to status quo politics in order to retain their relative position of privilege.
The Proletarian - those who sell their labor for a wage, do not own the means of production except in the case of co-ops but thats a different conversation, material interests contradict that of the bourgeoisie as the worker seeks higher wages which decreases the profits of the employer, and makes up the majority of the population
Lumpenproletariat - these are your unemployed or illegally employed workers, their interests and ideologically leanings can vary dramatically but typically align with the working class except sometimes in cases of organized crime, Lumpens are a important part of the capitalist class system as their desperation makes them good scabs when the workers try to unionize and their condition provides coercion to the worker by reminding them of how they will live without selling their labor. Edit: I think it should be noted that lumpens can play an important role for both communists and fascists depending on who is most successful at agitating them. Nazi Germany spent a lot of effort rallying the Lumpen to their cause and it worked while the Black Panthers also spent a lot of time radicalizing the Lumpens to great success. This is a class that has the least to lose and most to gain from radical social change one way or the other.
The landlord and politician classes are more complex and I don’t have the time to cover them rn. Their interests are almost exclusively aligned with the bourgeoisie though. It should be noted that most politicans are bourgeois and/or landlords. They either own land and business themselves or their family does.
My writing here is very simplistic and there is far more to these classes than I have mentioned but I feel I covered the important bases. If anyone wants to add to it I encourage that.
Edit: I forgot the labor aristocracy. This one is unique to imperialist nations and very difficult to maintain without that imperialist plundering. The labor aristocracy is a subset of the working class which the bourgeoisie allows to live in relative luxury in order to keep the masses from revolting. These people recieve a larger portion of the value they produce for the bourgeoisie in exchange for their investment in the capitalist/imperial system that keeps them interested in maintaining the status quo. They also often receive positions of power over other workers like management.
The Bourgeoisie - monopoly capital, own vast majority of the means of production, project influence internationally, shape our economy through their decisions, and are primarily motivated by profit seeking
The Petit Bourgeoisie - small business owners, share similar material interests as the big Bourgeoisie but don’t have comparable influence, usually consumed by monopoly capital during bust periods, and often cling to status quo politics in order to retain their relative position of privilege.
The Proletarian - those who sell their labor for a wage, do not own the means of production except in the case of co-ops but thats a different conversation, material interests contradict that of the bourgeoisie as the worker seeks higher wages which decreases the profits of the employer, and makes up the majority of the population
Lumpenproletariat - these are your unemployed or illegally employed workers, their interests and ideologically leanings can vary dramatically but typically align with the working class except sometimes in cases of organized crime, Lumpens are a important part of the capitalist class system as their desperation makes them good scabs when the workers try to unionize and their condition provides coercion to the worker by reminding them of how they will live without selling their labor. Edit: I think it should be noted that lumpens can play an important role for both communists and fascists depending on who is most successful at agitating them. Nazi Germany spent a lot of effort rallying the Lumpen to their cause and it worked while the Black Panthers also spent a lot of time radicalizing the Lumpens to great success. This is a class that has the least to lose and most to gain from radical social change one way or the other.
The landlord and politician classes are more complex and I don’t have the time to cover them rn. Their interests are almost exclusively aligned with the bourgeoisie though. It should be noted that most politicans are bourgeois and/or landlords. They either own land and business themselves or their family does.
My writing here is very simplistic and there is far more to these classes than I have mentioned but I feel I covered the important bases. If anyone wants to add to it I encourage that.
Edit: I forgot the labor aristocracy. This one is unique to imperialist nations and very difficult to maintain without that imperialist plundering. The labor aristocracy is a subset of the working class which the bourgeoisie allows to live in relative luxury in order to keep the masses from revolting. These people recieve a larger portion of the value they produce for the bourgeoisie in exchange for their investment in the capitalist/imperial system that keeps them interested in maintaining the status quo. They also often receive positions of power over other workers like management.
The ultrawealthy oligarchy gets the masses fighting against one another while consolidating power and resources for themselves.
It is in their best interest to keep us divided while they rob us blind