Marx saw that each stage or epoch created a new class or invention that would lead to its downfall. However the downfall would not be an automatically negative event, since with each step humanity at large would benefit. Each passing stage would therefore raise the standard of living of the masses while at the same time be doomed to its own downfall because of internal contradictions and class conflicts.
Only the last two epochs are spared from this fate. With socialism the final oppressive class is overthrown and society is put under the dictatorship of the proletariat and thus advances into communism.
The first three stages are not given particular attention, since by Marx's time they had long come to pass. As such, he does not provide the principles of these stages as he does for capitalism and the stages that follow. Nonetheless, these epochs have common characteristics.
Primitive communism
The First Stage: is usually called
primitive communism. It has the following characteristics.
- Shared property: there is no concept of ownership beyond individual possessions. All is shared by the tribe to ensure its survival.[citation needed]
- Hunting and gathering: tribal societies have yet to develop large scale agriculture and so their survival is a daily struggle.[citation needed]
- Proto-democracy: there is usually no concept of "leadership" yet. So tribes are led by the best warrior if there is war, the best diplomat if they have steady contact with other tribes and so forth.[citation needed]
The primitive communism stage most likely begins soon after the dawn of humanity itself, at the stage where
fire is developed, and communal living therefore becomes more convenient.[
citation needed] Primitive communist societies tend to be very small, consisting of a maximum of a few hundred members, with size being dependent upon the environment. In this stage humanity is no different from any other animal, in that it has not yet found ways to bend nature to its will.
This stage ends with the development of private property,[
citation needed] especially with the development of large scale agriculture. This in turn produces productive property, such as cattle and slaves.[
citation needed]
Slave society
The Second Stage: may be called
slave society, considered to be the beginning of "class society" where private property appears.
- Class: here the idea of class appears. There is always a slave-owning ruling class and the slaves themselves.
- Statism: the state develops during this stage as a tool for the slave-owners to use and control the slaves.
- Agriculture: people learn to cultivate plants and animals on a large enough scale to support large populations.
- Democracy and authoritarianism: these opposites develop at the same stage. Democracy arises first with the development of the republican city-state, followed by the totalitarian empire.
- Private property: citizens now own more than personal property. Land ownership is especially important during a time of agricultural development.
The slave-owning class "own" the land and slaves, which are the main means of producing wealth, whilst the vast majority have very little or nothing. The propertyless included the slave class, slaves who work for no money, and in most cases women, who were also dispossessed during this period. From a Marxist perspective, slave society collapsed when it exhausted itself. The need to keep conquering more slaves created huge problems, such as maintaining the vast empire that resulted (i.e. The
Roman Empire). It is ultimately the aristocracy born in this epoch that demolishes it and forces society to step onto the next stage.
Feudalism
The Third Stage: may be called
feudalism; it appears after slave society collapses. This was most obvious during the European
Middle Ages when society went from slavery to feudalism.
- Aristocracy: the state is ruled by monarchs who inherit their positions, or at times marry or conquer their ways into leadership.
- Theocracy: this is a time of largely religious rule. When there is only one religion in the land and its organizations affect all parts of daily life.
- Hereditary classes: castes can sometimes form and one's class is determined at birth with no form of advancement. This was the case with India.
- Nation-state: nations are formed from the remnants of the fallen empires. Sometimes to rebuild themselves into empires once more. Such as England's transition from a province to an empire.
During feudalism there are many classes such as kings, lords, and
serfs, some little more than slaves. Most of these inherit their titles for good or ill. At the same time that societies must create all these new classes, trade with other nation-states increases rapidly. This catalyzes the creation of the merchant class.
Out of the merchants' riches, a capitalist class emerges within this feudal society. However, there are immediate conflicts with the aristocracy. The old feudal kings and lords cannot accept the new social changes the capitalists want for fear of destabilizing or reducing their power base, among various other reasons that are not all tied to power or money.
These proto-capitalist and capitalist classes are driven by the
profit motive but are prevented from developing further profits by the nature of feudal society where, for instance, the serfs are tied to the land and cannot become industrial workers and wage earners. Marx says,
Then begins an epoch of social revolution (the
French Revolution of 1789, the
English Civil War and the
Glorious Revolution of 1688, etc.) since the social and political organization of feudal society (or the
property relations of feudalism) is preventing the development of the capitalists' productive forces.
[4]
It's less satisfying reading longer works with no discussion groups imo. College was dope 
- but need to do much, much more reading.