Class Conflict in Britain :: Politics Political

Class Conflict in Britain "Class conflict has gradually been diluted by growing affluence." "The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle." This famous opening line from Marx Communist Manifesto refers to the struggle between the labouring, working classes and the bourgeoisie owners of the means of production. The proletariat are exploited by the capitalists for profit and are therefore forced to live in poverty and dire conditions. Marx predicted that eventually the proletariat would overthrow this capitalist system and replace it with a system which is often referred to as Communist - whereby the workers have control. Today, whenever the words 'class' or 'class conflict' are mentioned people usually turn to Marx definition and picture the poor worker fighting for better pay, better living and working conditions. The typical class conflict is typified as workers versus the owners, or bourgeoisie. In Britain this struggle did not develop in the way that Marx predicted - there has never been a genuine proletariat revolutionary threat. In its place has been a tradition of reformist socialism with the Labour Party and the Trades Unions being the main campaigners. In Britain the traditional class conflict is often depicted as Labour Party versus Conservative Party. The Labour Party have fought for workers rights and have been supported at elections by the working class, whereas the Conservatives have drawn most of their support from the middle classes. It is argued that today this traditional class conflict, depicted in no better fashion than the Miners' Strike of 1984, has been diluted by growing affluence. In otherwords the working class have become economically better off. They were given the right to buy council houses, to own shares and have, it is argued, become more middle class. The working class today have a lot more to lose in a fierce class struggle and are therefore happy to uphold the system. The huge decline in the traditional industries, such as coal, has coincided with a rise in the size of the non-manual, service industry - the sphere in which the 'middle classes' tend to be employed. In 1964 50% of the workforce were employed in the manual sector, compared to 36% in 1992. These figures coincide with a 15% rise in the non-manual, 'petty bourgeoisie' jobs. Whilst there may be some truth in this 'embourgeoisement' theory, there is also no doubting the fact that it is an exaggerated view. To say that 'we are all middle class' (Blair 1998) is an absurdity. Class conflict may have been subdued but not only because of growing affluence. The capitalists have managed to silence what was once a