How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. (Section1.1)
We tend to think of history as a series of events. Marx argues that these events can best be characterized through the lens of class struggle: the rich fighting against the poor, and vice-versa, with people in the middle fighting, too.
Quote #2
Freeman and slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf, guildmaster and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary re-constitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes. (Section1.2)
These are examples of how class struggle has unfolded throughout the various economic periods of history. How applicable do you think this is to world history in general? What, if anything, is Marx leaving out?
Quote #3
Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie, possesses, however, this distinctive feature: it has simplified the class antagonisms. Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat. (Section1.5)
Although it might seem as though there are many different factions in our society that have completely different interests, Marx argues that our differences are not so great as our similarities: namely, the proletariat—the workforce—has interests against those of the bourgeoisie—the rich—as its most defining factor.