Class conflict is both the friction that accompanies exchanges between members of different social classes and the underlying tensions which exist in society. Class conflict is thought to play a pivotal role in history by Marxists who refer to it as class struggle. Regardless of the truth or utility of that ideology, class conflict exists and is expressed both in daily life and politically.

Sometimes class conflict results in violent struggles, either episodic, such as the Johnson County War in Wyoming in the 19th century, or chronic, such as the revolutionary atmosphere that prevailed in pre-revolutionary Russia.

See also

• class warfare

Further reading

• Class & Class Conflict in Industrial Society,Ralf Dahrendorf, Stanford University Press, 1959, trade paperback, 336 pages, ISBN 0-80470-5615 (also available in hardback as ISBN 0-80470-5607 and ISBN 1131155734