p The evolution of capitalism is marked by mounting domination of the monopoly bourgeoisie and constant change in the methods of exploiting and repressing the workers and in the conditions of their struggle. The course of world development has radically altered the situation in which the monopoly bourgeoisie perform their exploiting functions. Workers in the capitalist countries are no longer a passive object of class oppression; they are more organised, acting as a vital social force whose struggle and revolutionary gains make an impact on the socio-economic and political environment of the capitalist world. The monopoly bourgeoisie no longer have simply to deal with opposition from workers within bourgeois society, as they did at the time of Marx and Engels or even at the turn of the century. Today the ideals and achievements of socialism are exerting an increasing influence on the condition and struggle of the working class under capitalism.

The growth of irreconcilable class antagonisms is affecting the whole of society and posing a growing threat to the very existence of capitalism. The monopoly bourgeoisie desperately employ all manner of devices to step up exploitation to the maximum, yet, at the same time, they endeavour to weaken the class struggle by making economic concessions, giving hand-outs and practising social demagogy. A study of the modern forms of class oppression is, therefore, absolutely essential to promote the revolutionary movement, and to enable revolutionaries to choose the correct aims and methods of struggle for establishing a truly democratic social system.