Marx And Engels’ "Middle Class" Theory And Its Contemporary Significance

Marx and Engels discussed the middle class for many times,analyzed its composition and its political function,and prepared the conditions for the proletariat to correctly understand the class relations in the capitalist society and make the correct class policy.With the change of the historical background,the theory of "middle class" of Marx and Engels has been verified and deepened the practice of the successors of traditional marxism,and further enriched and developed by western marxists when the capitalist society changes.This paper mainly analyzes the content and influence of Marx and Engels’ "middle class" theory.The first part mainly explains the academic background and practical basis of Marx and Engels’ "middle class" theory.Before Marx and Engels,the English and French classical political economists,the French utopian socialists,and the French historiographers of the restoration period all discussed about the class and the middle class,and they made their own understanding on the basis of the class division and the historical function of the middle class.These can be regarded as the intellectual materials produced by Marx and Engels’ "middle class" theory.The great productive forces created by the industrial revolution led to the intensification of the basic contradictions of the capitalist society and the emergence of economic crisis,which provided a practical basis for the theory.The second part mainly introduces the basic content of Marx and Engels’ "middle class" theory.In his works,Marx and Engels discussed the middle class for many times,and expounded the basis,social status,characteristics and future destiny of this class.They pointed out that the middle class is only a marginal class,without an independent status,swinging between the basic antagonistic classes in society.With their understanding of the changing realities of capitalist society,they pointed out two fateful trends of the middle class: either gradual extinction or increasing numbers.The third part mainly expounds the development and influence of Marx and Engels’ "middle class" theory.The "middle class" theory of Marx and Engels has laid a theoretical foundation for future research on the middle class.The first section of thispart mainly introduces the persistence and development of this theory by Lenin,Mao zedong and other revolutionaries and theorists.The second section mainly introduces the development of this theory by western marxists such as Polanchus and Wright.The fourth part mainly discusses the contemporary significant of Marx and Engels’ "middle class" theory,and expounds the function of the reference of non-marxist middle class theory and its enlightening significance to the social class problem in our country.