Class is a term used by many political thinkers to denote an economic, social, or political group. Aristotle talks about the class of citizens made up of adult, Greek men with a certain level of economic independence, educational attainment, and political experience, and he contrasts this with classes of "noncitizens" (women, children, slaves). Plato's Republic divides society into three natural classes conforming to individuals' natural dispositions: (1) rulers; (2) soldiers; and (3) workers. The rulers, for Plato, are distinguished by the virtue of wisdom (philosopher-kings); the soldiers have the virtue of courage; and the workers or business people have the virtue of moderation. For Plato, these social classes are inevitable and good--they reflect differences in human beings and, if organized properly, create social harmony and justice. St. Thomas Aquinas's conception of classes reflects the social structure of the European Middle Ages: monarchy (royalty), aristocracy, peasants, and churchmen or priests. In this Thomist view, each class is important to the functioning of the whole society, but each is different and requires distinct sets of laws to govern it. The British constitution of monarchy, Lords, and Commons reflects this medieval conception. Western democracies, like the United States of America, claim to have no legal or official classes (the U.S. constitution forbids titles of nobility or aristocracy), but social, economic, and religious classes continue in those countries.

Marxist communist theory emphasizes economic class throughout history, especially owners of property and workers. In Marxism, technology produces different economic classes at various historical stages. During the earliest human communities (primitive communism of tribal society), no classes exist because production is very low level--just hunting and gathering with no fixed wealth. In classical antiquity (ancient Greece and Rome) a slightly more-advanced agricultural economy divides society into master and slave classes. In the Middle Ages (A.D. 500-1500), Marxism says that the economic classes are landlords and peasants. During industrial capitalism, classes are bourgeoisie (capitalists) and proletariat (workers). In socialism, Marx maintained that the working class takes over political power and that this eventually leads to communism (a classless society based on highly advanced production, common ownership of property, extreme abundance, and the elimination of work). Absolute freedom, prosperity, and the end of war characterize future communist society, according to Marx. The failure of this system has caused a reexamination of its premises, but Marxism's tendency to look at society in terms of antagonistic classes, exploitation, oppression, and conflict greatly influenced the sociological view of race, gender, and class relations. Elaborate development of views of classes in society, by education, economic, power, consciousness, and gender has defined much of secular social science.

Communist thinker and Russian revolutionary V. I. Lenin extended Marxist class theory to world imperialism, with advanced capitalist nations being "bourgeois" (even their working classes) and with poor Third World new colonies being exploited "proletariat" countries. This Marxist–Leninist perspective affected much of African and Latin American politics in the latter half of the 20th century. Such class theory declined in influence in the early 21st century with the growth of Third World democracies and the fall of communism.

Other thinkers on social class include Max Weber, who focuses more on official power, and Karl Mannheim, who emphasized noneconomic class groups. In general class analysis has come to be seen as too simplistic to be valuable in political thought; individual character transcends class identification, and placing individuals in race, gender, economic, and educational groupings seems to be oppressive rather than liberating. The American credo to judge people by their individual personality and accomplishments eschews class perspectives.

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