Dictionary: Karl Marx

a)
Karl Marx
(Manifestoon. Noam Chomsky.)

b)
The Marxist approach is used heavily in critiques of media; it is also the basis for Noam Chomsky's philosophy as present in The Propaganda Model.
In an Marxist approach, the emphasis is on class struggle in society. The society is considered to be divided into two classes: the elite (referred to as "bourgeoisie" by Marx) and the rest of the society, which makes the majority of the population (refereed to as "proletarians" by Marx). The bourgeoisie maintain their status/class in the hierarchy by exerting control over the majority/the mass-- these controls include social control, economic control, political control, among other means of control.
While the bourgeoisie are the ones with power, and the ones maintaining status quo, they are also controlled by the same mechanism of control exerted over the majority/the mass (that is, these social, economical, and political control hold power over everyone in the society-- not just the majority/the mass).