CLASSES, CLASS CONFLICT (CLASS ANTAGONISM) AND CLASS STRUGGLE: A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF MARXIST THEORY IN THE CONTEXT OF NIGERIA.

Abstract

Since the days of Aristotle and up-to the present day, class, class conflict (class antagonism) and class struggle has represented an important theoretical approach to the study of social, political and economic systems. The basic units of analysis in the class theory is aggregated to the individuals or groups who hold similar positions with regard to the possession of values such as power, wealth, authority or prestige. The relations between the political system and class is one of the most critical factor of analysis, who get what, where, when and how. This study is presented in the context of Marxist theory in the content of Nigeria. Class must be understood along the processes of material production to strictly moving towards self sustenance to production. Therefore, the division between classes has widen and the condition of the society had almost deteriorated so badly that almost all the economic, social, and political structures in Nigeria have collapsed. The class struggle is not likely to transform the Nigerian proletarian into revolution as advocated by Marx. Consequently, the Nigerian workers' triumph instead of eliminating the basis of class division in the ownership through public enlighten rather, the basis of classes thus wiped away, and thereby heading to classless society. Consequently, this then became inevitable the clash of interest between the basic and the dominant. This research output explores classes and class antagonism taking a case study of Nigeria. It is expected to be policy response to the envisaged conflicts facing Nigeria today... The basic classes are those that are directly connected with the means of production prevailing in the society. The productive forces, their nature and levels of development determine political, social and economic relations among people and above all ownership of the means of production. This study therefore was carried out using survey method and relied primarily on the secondary source of data visa-vie taking into cognizance the prevailing crises in Nigerian society today.
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