According to Marx's dialectical view, which outcome describes the fate of the ruling group?

• A. Sows the seeds of its own destruction
• B. Becomes democratic
• C. Maintains power indefinitely
• D. Leads to gradual reform

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is that in Marx’s dialectical view, the ruling class is undermined by the very system it controls. Under capitalism, the ruling group maintains power by exploiting labor and shaping social conditions to protect its interests. But the system’s inner contradictions—such as the tendency for profits to fall, growing wealth disparities, and periodic economic crises—gradually erode the legitimacy and stability of the ruling class. These dynamics fuel class consciousness and collective action among the oppressed, pushing society toward a transformative change driven by the ruled. That’s why the outcome described as the fate of the ruling group is that it sows the seeds of its own destruction: its attempts to preserve the system end up generating the conditions for its overthrow.

Why the other options don’t fit as the default trajectory in this framework: becoming democratic or maintaining power indefinitely would require overcoming or negating the systemic contradictions Marx emphasizes, which his theory treats as unstable and prone to being resolved only through radical change. Gradual reform also misses the inherently revolutionary tendency Marx associates with capitalism’s crises and class struggle.