Class struggle

In political science, the terms class struggle, class conflict, and class war refer to the economic antagonism and political tension that can exist between social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequalities of power in a socioeconomic hierarchy. Commonly cited historical examples of class antagonists are slavemasters and slaves, feudal lords and serfs, landowners and tenants, and capitalists and workers. The writings of several leftist, socialist, and communist theorists portray class struggle as a core tenet and a practical means for effecting radical sociopolitical transformations for the majority working class. It is also a central concept within conflict theories of sociology and political philosophy.