I—Bourgeois and Proletarians Summary and Analysis

Part 1 examines the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. It considers, briefly, the historical development of both. The archetypical economic developmental path largely is based upon a study of England; the archetypical social development path largely is based upon a study of France. Societal history is the history of class struggle. The oppressor and the oppressed stand in constant opposition of each other and their struggle is uninterrupted and results in the periodic revolutionary reconstitution of society and the repetitive ruin of the opposed classes.

Historically, society has been organized into fine gradations of social rank—into diminutive divisions forming a continuum of privilege that are broadly understood as social classes. Established classes are antagonistic to other classes. The advent of the bourgeoisie has simplified class antagonism into two great hostile...