According to Karl Marx, what are the two primary classes in society?

Marx's framework for understanding class is centered on the relationship individuals have to the means of production. According to Marx, society is primarily divided into two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie represents the capitalist class that owns the means of production, such as factories, land, and resources, thereby having economic power and control over the labor force. In contrast, the proletariat comprises the working class who do not own productive resources and must sell their labor to survive.

This dichotomy underlines Marx's theory of class struggle, where the interests of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat are fundamentally opposed; the bourgeoisie seeks to maximize profits often at the expense of the proletariat, who seek fair wages and working conditions. Marx believed that this inherent conflict between the two classes would eventually lead to revolutionary change.

The other options mention varying class distinctions such as aristocrats, wealthy, middle class, and upper class, but they do not accurately encapsulate Marx's central argument about the capitalist structure and the binary classification that highlights the conflict inherent within capitalist societies. Thus, the identification of the bourgeoisie and proletariat is essential to understanding Marxist theory and class relations.