Ruling Class

The term ruling class refers to the social class of a given society that decides upon and sets that society's political policy by mandating that there is one such particular class in the given society, and then appointing itself as that class.

Sometimes, there is a ruling class in a particular sector of the upper class that adheres to quite specific circumstances: it has both the most material wealth and the most widespread influence over all the other classes, and it chooses to actively exercise that power to shape the direction of a locality, a country, and/or the world.

A sociologist, C. Wright Mills, argued that the ruling class differs from the power elite. The latter simply refers to the small group of people with the most political power. Many of them are politicians, hired political managers, and military leaders.

Under the Marxist view of capitalism, the ruling class, the capitalists or bourgeoisie, consists of those who own and control the means of production and thus are able to dominate and exploit the working class, getting them to labor enough to produce surplus-value, the basis for profits, interest, and rent (property income). This property income can be used to accumulate more power, to extend class domination further. The economic power of such a class gives it extraordinary political power, so that state or government policies almost always reflect the perceived interests of that class.

Ruling classes tend to be looked at negatively because they are often viewed as having little respect of or interest in the rights of the inferior classes.