Marxian theory defines class as a social relation rooted in the structure of economic production rather than in status, occupation, or income alone. For Marx, classes emerge from the specific ways individuals relate to the means of production in a capitalist society. The central divide exists between those who own productive property—factories, machinery, land, and capital—and those who do not. This ownership relation creates fundamentally opposed material interests, which shape the dynamics of exploitation, conflict, and historical change. The bourgeoisie, or capitalist class, owns the means of production and therefore controls the conditions of labor. They derive profit by appropriating surplus value—the difference between what workers