Work and the Working Class

Abstract

Ever since Marx first systematised the theory that the proletariat is an agent of social change, there has been a great deal at stake in how the working class is conceptualised. Definitions of the working class always imply notions which allow us to understand social reality, the way that society is being transformed and the factors which determine whether or not the workers will support projects for social change. In their only exchange of letters, Proudhon justifies his reluctance to accept Marx's view of the working class by arguing that "We should not view revolutionary action as a means of achieving social reforms. I must tell you in passing that the French working class appears to me to take the same view." If we assume that the working class bears within it an inherent political project, be it conservative, reformist or revolutionary, that project must be embodied in a party claiming to represent the working class.