Marxist Theory of Social Stratification

The Marxist theory views stratification not as functional but as a product of economic exploitation rooted in the mode of production. It explains how one class controls the means of production while another sells its labour, generating persistent inequality and conflict. Stratification is thus the structural outcome of capitalist relations and changes only through revolutionary transformation.

1️⃣ Foundations of Marxist Approach

Karl Marx analyzed society through historical materialism — the idea that material (economic) conditions determine the structure and evolution of society. The economic base (forces & relations of production) shapes the superstructure (law, politics, ideology). Stratification is a reflection of this class structure.

Key Concepts of Marx’s Theory

• Class – Defined by one’s relation to the means of production. Capitalists (owners) exploit workers (non-owners).
• Surplus Value – The difference between the value created by labour and the wage paid; appropriated by capitalists as profit.
• Alienation – Workers become estranged from product, process, others, and themselves due to commodified labour.
• Ideology & False Consciousness – The ruling class controls ideas, convincing workers that existing inequality is natural.
• Class Consciousness – When workers recognize exploitation, they unite to overthrow capitalist order.

2️⃣ Stages of History & Stratification

Marx viewed history as a succession of modes of production, each generating its own dominant & subordinate classes:

3️⃣ Class Conflict and Revolution

For Marx, history advances through the dialectic of class struggle. As productive forces develop, relations of production become constraints, leading to conflict and revolution.

4️⃣ Marx on Social Mobility

In Marxism, vertical mobility within capitalism is limited and illusory. While individuals may move up, the structure of class relations remains fixed. True mobility is collective — through class revolution.

• Structural mobility = entire classes changing position after economic transformation (e.g., rise of bourgeoisie in industrial Europe).
• Circulation mobility = individual shifts within existing class boundaries (minor, non-transformative).

5️⃣ Neo-Marxist Revisions

Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) — Hegemony

Gramsci extended Marxism by emphasizing cultural and ideological control. The ruling class maintains power through hegemony — consent won by cultural institutions (schools, media, religion). Revolution requires a “war of position” to win minds before economic change.

Ralph Dahrendorf (1959) — Class & Authority

Dahrendorf argued modern stratification is based on authority rather than ownership. Every organization has dominant and subordinate positions, so conflict is institutionalized but managed through law and negotiation (conflict functionalism).

Erik Olin Wright (1985) — Contradictory Class Locations

Wright updated Marx for modern bureaucracies. Many people occupy intermediate positions (e.g., managers, technicians) who both exploit and are exploited. These “contradictory class locations” complicate binary class models and explain partial mobility.

Immanuel Wallerstein — World Systems Theory

Wallerstein applied Marxist logic globally: the world-economy is divided into core, semi-periphery, and periphery nations. Global stratification mirrors capitalist exploitation between countries rather than individuals.

Pierre Bourdieu — Reproduction of Class

Bourdieu emphasized cultural capital and habitus as means of reproducing class inequality. Education transforms economic capital into symbolic legitimacy, making inequality appear natural.

6️⃣ Marxist and Functionalist Comparison

7️⃣ Indian Applications & Relevance

Marxist analysis has been applied to Indian contexts by scholars like A. R. Desai, who interpreted the Indian freedom movement as a bourgeois revolution in colonial conditions. Studies of agrarian class structure (B. B. Mohanty, Utsa Patnaik) show how land relations reproduce class inequality. Caste has also been re-read as a form of “social class with ritual guise.”

UPSC Summary Pointers

• Stratification = product of economic relations & exploitation.
• Class conflict drives social change and mobility (collective, not individual).
• Neo-Marxists (Gramsci, Wright, Wallerstein) update Marxism for modern and global contexts.
• Contrast functional necessity vs. power inequality in answers for clarity.