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Marx’s basic ideas on class conflict and social change were introduced in chapter 1, and at this point you may want to refresh your understanding of these. Marx and his colleague, Friedrich Engels, never considered themselves professional sociologists. However, they did seek a scientific understanding of society and, from this, an explanation of long-term social change. Marx viewed his scientific work as marking a break with speculative philosophy and all philosophical forms of thought, arguing that ‘the philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point however is to change it’ (Marx and Engels 1970 [1846]: 123). His interest in and commitment to the European industrial working class was closely linked to his studies of capitalism and its operation.