Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
The dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a temporary period after a socialist revolution where the working class holds political power and suppresses the bourgeoisie.
Class struggle refers to the conflict between different social classes in society, particularly between the working class (proletariat) and owning class (bourgeoisie), over resources, wealth distribution, and power.
Dialectic materialism is an approach to understanding society that emphasizes how social change occurs through contradictions, conflicts, and struggles between different classes. It focuses on analyzing historical processes based on material conditions rather than abstract ideas.
Bourgeoisie: The bourgeoisie refers to the capitalist class who own means of production such as factories or businesses. They typically exploit workers for profit.