imo, most other classes are actually mere 'subdivisions' of the 2 actual classes. some (petite bourgeoisie, pmc, the 'middle' class, maybe the 'political' and 'military' classes) are condoned to mitigate the ruling class' problem of the 'numbers' caitlin regularly mentions by creating the illusion that there's 'class mobility' without taking the loyalty oath ('but first you must learn how to smile as you kill') and being complicit in the great game of exploitation of the many by the few.
the subdivisions of the proletariat indeed seem more tied to the historical circumstances of marx' time with the 'proletariat' being the part of the working class that can be made 'conscious', the 'lumpenproletariat' being the part that is so marginalized that they can't be made 'conscious' as all of their energy is absorbed by the struggle for mere survival, and the (feudal) 'peasants' being unable to get 'conscious' because they haven't experienced industrialization and actual capitalism. (maoist thought kinda tried to disprove that one can't skip the industrialization step in the evolution, which was quite a struggle).
but totally agree with the premise that capitalism evolved significantly since marx and that one should 'dialectically' adapt marxism to the circumstances that have arisen since and not disregard the ability of a conscious capitalism to reactionary adapt and counter the analyses and praxis of marxism and socialism. (e.g. i don't think marx and lenin foresaw capitalism's use of fascism to counter and co-opt revolutionary sentiments into a reset to the status quo).
imo, most other classes are actually mere 'subdivisions' of the 2 actual classes. some (petite bourgeoisie, pmc, the 'middle' class, maybe the 'political' and 'military' classes) are condoned to mitigate the ruling class' problem of the 'numbers' caitlin regularly mentions by creating the illusion that there's 'class mobility' without taking the loyalty oath ('but first you must learn how to smile as you kill') and being complicit in the great game of exploitation of the many by the few.
the subdivisions of the proletariat indeed seem more tied to the historical circumstances of marx' time with the 'proletariat' being the part of the working class that can be made 'conscious', the 'lumpenproletariat' being the part that is so marginalized that they can't be made 'conscious' as all of their energy is absorbed by the struggle for mere survival, and the (feudal) 'peasants' being unable to get 'conscious' because they haven't experienced industrialization and actual capitalism. (maoist thought kinda tried to disprove that one can't skip the industrialization step in the evolution, which was quite a struggle).
but totally agree with the premise that capitalism evolved significantly since marx and that one should 'dialectically' adapt marxism to the circumstances that have arisen since and not disregard the ability of a conscious capitalism to reactionary adapt and counter the analyses and praxis of marxism and socialism. (e.g. i don't think marx and lenin foresaw capitalism's use of fascism to counter and co-opt revolutionary sentiments into a reset to the status quo).