Criticism Of The "useless Class" Theory From The Perspective Of Historical Materialis

The concept of class is an important key to understand the development of human society.Marx recognized the importance of class correctly in the process of human history for the first time and put forward a scientific theory of class.By analyzing the changes of productive forces,division of labor and ownership relations from primitive society to capitalist society,he clarified the causes of class,predicted the results of its elimination and took the relations of ownership as the sole criterion for class division.Marx’s theory of class has aroused wide attention and discussion among scholars.Some scholars believe that the great productive forces from the new scientific and technological revolution have made great changes to the proletariat.Traditional proletariat no longer exists.The new changes brought from the scientific and technological revolution made Harari put forward the theory of "useless class".Harari’s theory of "useless class" mainly pays attention to the changes of productive forces,but it does not pay attention to the mode of production,which also leads to the fundamental error of his theory.The useless class he described is actually the new form of proletariat in the age of digital capitalism.The proletariat has not been liberated in the scientific and technological revolution,but it is further exploited under the dual oppression of the logic of technology and capital.Although the material life of the proletariat has improved,the spiritual world has been further manipulated to become "one-dimensional people".The development of digital technology makes it easier for the proletariat to be replaced by technology.The relative overpopulation,which has existed since the early stage of capitalism,is getting worse under the condition of new technology.In order to alleviate class contradictions,the bourgeoisie created the welfarism system by taking advantage of the developed productive forces brought by the scientific and technological revolution.Ostensibly,it was to ensure the livelihood of the proletariat,but in essence it was still to control the proletariat and thus maintain its own rule.The theory of "useless class" reflects the existential risks of people in the digital age,but it also contains a new way of human liberation.The developed productive forces created by the new scientific and technological revolution have contributed to the birth of the "useless class",but it also enables people to get rid of the complicated and repetitive work and have more time to develop themselves,thus leading to liberation."Uselessness" and "liberation" represent two different logics,that is,capital logic and human logic.To realize the free and comprehensive development of human beings is to go beyond the logic of capital and toward communism.