Class consciousness

Class consciousness in political theory, particularly Marxism, refers to the set of beliefs that a person holds regarding their own social class, their economic rank in society, and their perceived class interests.

While Karl Marx rarely used the term "class consciousness", he did make the distinction between "class in itself", which is defined as a category of people having a common relation to the means of production; and a "class for itself", which is defined as a stratum organized in active pursuit of its own interests.