Property and Power: Towards a Non-Marxian Historical Materialism

THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: THE POLISH ROAD FROM SOCIALISM ON 1. The history of all hitherto existing societies is a history of class struggle - not only that between the exploited and the exploiters, but also that between the ruled and the rulers. And in modern times, there is in some societies a struggle between those who are exploited and oppressed at the same time and those who at the same time exploit and oppress. 2. The struggle between the owners and the direct producers results from the fact that the former exploit the latter, that is, they take from their labour more than they give back. It is possible since only they, the exploiters, have a monopoly of the disposal over the m~ans of production, and the major part of society must provide them with their labour force. Increasing exploitation finally leads to the revolution of the masses -and the owners are forced to make concessions in order to avoid re-occurrences.