On Class Formation: A Socio-historical Perspective

In Marxist theory, class structure establishes the conditions for workers to organize and oppose a ruling class with conflicting interests. In a much more pervasive manner than in the past, late capitalism tends to transform vertical conflict into horizontal conflict. Specifically, through processes of "class segmentation"-by introducing new mechanisms of labour force division into the production system, such as outsourcing and precarious employment-capitalism fosters competition within the working class. Nonetheless, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels emphasized that capitalism's development inherently relies on one class generating profit by exploiting other classes. The perspective of this contribution is that the Marxist theory of class remains essential for understanding the conflictual dimension of contemporary capitalist society, and class is capable of "adapting" to the developments and transformations of the productive system. Aiming to demonstrate that class does not lose its relevance as a category of recognition for workers in late capitalism, this article proposes a discussion on the formation of class in Europe, tracing its development from the "social question" of the 19th century to the wage-based society of the late 20th century, and briefly examining the new forms of labour conflict in which independent unionism plays a central role.