Ruling classes emerged among humans since the agrarian stage of development which enabled settlements to produce surplus wealth. This constitutes only about 2% of human history. The conditions of humans before this development required total collaboration or cooperation among all members to sustain human life. It appears that the earliest forms of class rule were established from raids against neighboring settlements out of which slaves were secured to serve a warrior class such as we have read about in early Green city-states. From there it is easy to see the evolution into class societies where a ruling class used various methods to exploit their own members.
Thus, the class struggle has ensued ever since, but the struggle has been mostly hidden for obvious reasons. Ruling classes always found it useful to distract and obscure the organization of class rule from their subordinate classes through their use of various ideological instruments, religion being one used most extensively throughout recorded history. In more modern times we have seen the development of additional and very sophisticated means of ruling class indoctrination through institutions of education, media, and even entertainment.
In my opinion, the greatest single contribution of Marxism has been the study and elucidation of the class struggle despite overwhelming opposition from class rulers. Petras continues this effort to explore the class struggle by shinning his very bright intellectual spotlight on its largely hidden operation across the globe during the latest phase of capitalism (neoliberalism).
One of the most important and yet most neglected determinants of the outcomes of the economic crisis and resultant deepening of social inequalities and immiseration is the ‘class struggle’. In one of his most pithy metaphors, Karl Marx referred to class struggle as ‘the motor force of history’.
In this essay we will analyze the central role of class struggle, its impact and reflection in economic decisions and, most especially, the different methods and forms, according to the particular classes engaged in class struggle. (His emphasis)
