User:Phil from somewhere/Oppressors–oppressed distinction

Oppressors–oppressed distinction or dominant–dominated opposition is a political and sociological concept that divides groups of individuals into two fundamental social class categories of oppressor and oppressed, a key distinction of the oppressor class being the social class that benefits most from the coercive imposition of a regulatory or taxation regime.

Karl Marx made the concept very influential, and it is often considered a fundamental element of Marxist analysis.

Contexts
Many authors have adapted it to other contexts, including Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Antonio Gramsci, Simone Weil, Jean-Paul Sartre, Patricia Hill Collins in Matrix of domination and Paulo Freire in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed. It has been used in a variety of contexts, including discussions of the bourgeoisie and proletariat, imperialism, self-determination, caste, pedagogy and climate change denial.

Imperialism and self-determination
The theory of oppressor and oppressed nations has been part of Vladimir Lenin's thought on imperialism, self-determination and criticisms of Social Democrats. Lenin wrote:

"That is why the focal point in the Social-Democratic programme must be that division of nations into oppressor and oppressed which forms the essence of imperialism, and is deceitfully evaded by the social-chauvinists and Kautsky. This division is not significant from the angle of bourgeois pacifism or the philistine Utopia of peaceful competition among independent nations under capitalism, but it is most significant from the angle of the revolutionary struggle against imperialism."

Other contexts
The oppressors–oppressed dichotomy has gained more interest in recent years since the rise of social justice movements, including Black Lives Matter and the MeToo movement.

The distinction was a substantial part of Khomeinism. Scholars argue that Ruhollah Khomeini "came to power by openly exploiting class antagonisms," disproving the theory that class analysis is mainly applicable to western society.

Criticism
Derrida judged the "opposition of dominant and dominated" as simplistic, given the conflicts between forces that are fighting for the control of the hegemony are more complicated than the idea that "force is always stronger than weakness".

The political philosopher Kenneth Minogue provides a criticism of the oppressors–oppressed distinction in his work Alien Powers: The Pure Theory of Ideology.