Question

use Class Consciousness as a study guide question for sociology.

Answer 1

Class consciousness refers is a set of beliefs that a person holds regarding their social class or economic rank in society. In other words, it is the subjective awareness of common vested interests and the need for collective political action to bring about social change. According to Marx, defining a person's social class can be a determinant for their awareness of it. For him, the exploited class needed to see themselves as one unit and, together, could revolt and change their working conditions.

Hungarian Marxist philosopher György Lukács stressed the need to distinguish between class consciousness and the ideas or feelings actually held by the members of a social class. An objective analysis of class consciousness, according to Lukács, must take into account those thoughts and feelings but also those that the members would have held were they able to acquire a true picture of their situation and of society as a whole.