In Marxism, which actor is deemed most important?

• A. State
• B. Class
• C. Individual
• D. Society

Answer: (B)

In Marxism, class is the central actor because the way production is organized—who owns the means of production and who sells labor—determines social power, wealth, and how institutions function. This setup creates fundamental tensions between classes, mainly the owners (the ruling class) and the workers (the oppressed or proletariat). Those class relations shape politics, law, culture, and ideology, which Marxists refer to as the base and superstructure: the economic base drives the development of institutions in ways that maintain or challenge the existing order.

History, for Marxists, unfolds through class struggle. As capitalism develops, its internal contradictions—like inequality and exploitation—become more pronounced, pushing the working class toward collective action and revolutionary change. The state and political arrangements then function as instruments of class rule, protecting the interests of the ruling class rather than acting as independent agents of progress. Individuals act within the constraints and possibilities created by class position, and broad social change comes from changing the class relations themselves.

So, the reason this option best fits is that it centers the social dynamics that, in Marxist theory, actually drive change, rather than viewing the state, individuals, or society in isolation from those power-laden class relations.