The working class is the only one with the power to overthrow the bourgeoisie. The working class has been exploited by the bourgeoisie for centuries, and they have a lot of reasons to be angry with them. If the workers were to rise up, it would take very little for them to overthrow their bosses and take over society. The bourgeoisie are in control of all aspects of life, but they depend on their workers for everything from food to entertainment. If these workers decide to stop doing their jobs, then everyone will be left without anything they need.
Karl Marx believed that human nature was inherently good, but that capitalism and class divisions corrupted it. He argued that in a classless society, people would be able to express their true personalities and live freely. In this way, Marx’s theory of communism is similar to the theory of utilitarianism as developed by John Stuart Mill in his essay “Utilitarianism” (1863).
Marx argued that the only way to achieve this goal was through revolution by the working class: The bourgeoisie would be overthrown by a violent revolution led by the proletariat. After the overthrow of capitalism, a dictatorship of the proletariat would be necessary to eliminate all remnants of bourgeois thought and culture before creating a classless society. Under this dictatorship, all private property would be abolished, money would disappear, and all means of production would be owned collectively by everyone in society. Only then could humans truly flourish as creatures created with free will who were not limited by external forces such as money or social status.
