So the class struggle here is between capitalists, who want labor at the lowest possible price, and the workers, who want to be paid as much as possible for their work. There are two key ideas that underlie this theory of class struggle. First, Marx believed that production, or work, was the thing that gave life material meaning. Second is that we are by nature social animals. We work together, we collaborate, we are more efficient when we share resources. Marx's criticism of capitalism is that capitalism replaces this egalitarian collaboration with conflict, and that means that it isn't a natural system after all. And by arguing that capitalism actually isn't consistent with human nature, Marx sought to empower the workers.