Dictatorship of the proletariat

State of affairs in Marxist theory

In Marxist theory, the dictatorship of the proletariat (sometimes abbreviated as DotP) is a state of affairs in which the proletariat, or the working class, holds political power. The term, as used by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, refers to a transitional stage between capitalism and communism. During this phase, the proletariat acts as the ruling class to suppress the resistance of the bourgeoisie (the former ruling class), destroy the social relations of production underlying the class system, and create a classless society.

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