Introduction:

The thoughts and ideas of Marx and history of social class conflict of
social change and alienation are of very great sociologist significance.
Marx, who is the most prominent and eloquent exporent of the conflict
theory of social changed believed that the class struggle was driving
force of social change.
Marx theory of history: The materialistic theory of history is the
cornerstone of Marxs social change and political thinking and remain
are of the most thought going perspectives on historical and economic
process ever devised. [ Morison, K; 1995: P-34]
Marx theory on Economy:
First developed from The German Ideology For Marx
Economic Basis:
The Economy is considered to be the basis of the society.
Super-structure: The political, social, religious, moral, educational, legal
and other institutional network are considered to be the super-structure.
Six stages of society of Marx:
Karl Marx divided society on the base of production. His societies are
1. Primitive communism,
2. Slavery,
3. Feudalism,
4, Capitalism,
5. Socialism.
Description of societies:

(i) Primitive communism: In primitive society there is no private

property and hence the productions are owned by the community.
[Rao, C.N.S; 2005:729]
Characteristic: There was no individual property. Tribal societies are
hunting animal and gather food. There was no leadership but protodemocracy. Primitive communist societies tend to be very small. In
primitive society the stage of humanity is not different from any other
animal.
(ii) Slavery: In the ancient society there is slavery in which one class
owns and exploits the members of another. Owners of the slaves get
everything substantial and the poor and the slaves receive very little.
Characteristics: People born to cultivate plants and animals on a large
enough scale to support large population. Citizens now own more than
personal property, land ownership is especially important during a time
of agriculture development. The slave owning class owns the land and
slaves which are the main means of producing wealth. In this society
the master used slaves for producing and increasing their wealth while
the vast majority have very little or nothing. They have no right and are
legally the property of the person who controls then.
(iii) Feudalism: The class of aristocratic landowners or barons exploit
the mass of peasants or serfs in the feudal age.
[Rao, C.N.S; 2005:729]
Feudalism means a type of culture and society where land holding is the
basis of political and economic power.
[Karim N.A.k 1953:47]

Characteristics: This was most obvious during the European Dark ages
when society went from slavery to Feudalism. Feudal societies were
dominant throughout Europe and England between the ninth and the
seventeenth centuries.
(iv) Capitalism: The capitalists own all the important means of
production and make the workers wage slaves or tools. Here the owners
of wealth exploit. The mass of industrial workers.
Characteristics: It appears after the revolution when the capitalists
overthrow the feudal system. The entire economy is guided by market
forces. The means of production are no longer is the hards of monarchy
and its nobles, but rather they are controlled by the capitalists.
(v) Socialism: After the working class gains conscious about their rights
and mounts a revolution against capitalism.
Characteristics: Rather than by market forces alone which brought the
crises of capitalism, production is based on scientific planning and the
democratic consensus of the workers, via communes or councils.
Production is based on scientific planning and the democratic conscious
of the workers.

We can present this diagram is another way as given belowKarl

Marx

Classifying
Societies

Primitive
Communism
Slavery

Slave
Master

Conflict

Slave

Feudalis
m
Feudal lord

Conflic
t

Serfs

Capitalis
m
Bourgeois
ie

Conflict

Socialism

Proletariat

Classless

Own view: The Marxist theory of historical materialism understand

society as fundamentally determined by the material conditions at any
given time. This means the relationships which people enter into with
one another in order to fulfill their basic needs, for instance, to feed and
clothe themselves and their families.
In general Marx indentified five successive stages of the development of
these material conditions in Western Europe.
Marx saw that the first stage is classless, the second, third, fourth stages
are society and fifth stage is classless