More languages
More actions
In sociology, the ruling class, also called the oppressive or exploitative class (from the theory of exploitation of labor), is a social class who set and decide the political agenda of society, normally through the state which this class controls. Under capitalism, the ruling class is capitalists, the private owners of industry.
In the modern era of imperialism and capitalist globalization the ruling class is a network of transnational capitalists which do not have allegiance to any nation; their only allegiance is to their personal accumulation of wealth (and the facilitating of that accumulation).
Dialectically, the existence of a ruling class presupposes that they rule over someone else, which is the oppressed or exploited class (also called the working class). In capitalism, this is the proletariat.
History
Historically, the ruling class has transitioned according to changes in the mode of production. Under feudalism, the ruling class was comprised of feudal lords, under slavery, the ruling class was the slaveowners, and so on.