Historical Transformation of Class essays

Historical Transformation of Class essays Historical materialism is the Marxist approach for interpreting history. It is the interpretation of relations between groups of people and the resulting class struggles. According to Marxist theory, there exists a sequence of historical stages each with its own ruling class. Under feudalism the ruling class is the nobility, whereas the capitalists are predominant in capitalism, and socialism has its proletariats. An understanding of historical materialism is of importance to the ideology of a Marxist, working-class party, and therefore, its program and policy must be based on an understanding of the same in order to be successful. Without knowledge of and ability to apply these laws, the party will be oblivious to tackling the problems arising in the class struggle of a socialistic revolution (McCarthy). Within feudal society, the serf lives and works on a manor, which is owned by a feudal lord, and the lord confiscates a portion of the value gained from production. There were regular conflicts between the landowners and the serfs of the feudal society due to the exploitation of the serfs giving rise to frequent peasant uprisings. The landowners repeatedly infringed upon the peasants prerogative with his time to work on his personal holding. Nobility would forcefully demand more labor services and taxes, hence, accentuating serf exploitation and class differences. When the peasants first began their revolts, they were unsuccessful. This was largely due to their individual mode of production and their lack of ability to maintain an army in the field as it conflicted with harvesting and their families needs. However, as time passed, the growing middle class (the bourgeoisie) fought for independence from feudal rule. They sought to improve their methods of production with superior tools and efficient planning. The use of fertilizer, animal power for plowing and transport, and water and windmills g...