Page "Means of production" Paragraph 10

To the question of why classes exist in human societies in the first place, Karl Marx offered an historical explanation that it was the cultural practice of Ownership of the Means of Production that gives rise to them.

This explanation differs dramatically from other explanations based on " differences in ability " between individuals or on religious or political affiliations giving rise to castes.

This explanation is consistent with the bulk of Marxist theory in which Politics and Religion are seen as mere outgrowths ( superstructures ) of the basic underlying economic reality of a people.