Why Class Matters as Much as Ever
Some argue that the continued existence of the middle class refutes Karl Marx’s analysis of capitalism. In an interview with Jacobin, Vivek Chibber explains why this is wrong.
If you’re exploited, it means you are subject to the control, the authority, and the extraction of labor from another class of people: the capitalists. (Ronaldo Schmeidt / AFP via Getty Images)
Utilizing class analysis is the bread and butter of socialist politics. But understanding how classes are shaped and reproduced has changed over time.
In a recent episode of the Jacobin Radio podcast Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber breaks down how the Marxist tradition has theorized class, the difference between a class in itself and a class for itself, and how class analysis is used within political organizing.
Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy and published by Jacobin. You can listen to the full episode here. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
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