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Dictatorship of the proletariat

Definition

The dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a temporary period after a socialist revolution where the working class holds political power and suppresses the bourgeoisie.

Analogy

Imagine a group project where everyone in your class has equal say and decision-making power. During this project, you and your classmates work together to ensure that everyone's needs are met and that no one person dominates or takes advantage of others.

Related terms

Class struggle: Class struggle refers to the conflict between different social classes in society, particularly between the working class (proletariat) and owning class (bourgeoisie), over resources, wealth distribution, and power.

Dialectic materialism: Dialectic materialism is an approach to understanding society that emphasizes how social change occurs through contradictions, conflicts, and struggles between different classes. It focuses on analyzing historical processes based on material conditions rather than abstract ideas.

Bourgeoisie: The bourgeoisie refers to the capitalist class who own means of production such as factories or businesses. They typically exploit workers for profit.