Class consciousness is a term used in social sciences and political theory to refer to the beliefs that a person holds regarding one's social class or economic rank in society, the structure of their class, and their class interests.

While Marx never used the term "class consciousness", he did make the distinction between "class in itself", which is defined as a category of people having a common relation to the means of production, and a "class for itself", which is defined as a stratum organized in active pursuit of its own interests.

Defining a person's social class can be a determinant for his awareness of it. Marxists define classes on the basis of their relation to the means of production – especially on whether they own capital. Non-Marxist social scientists distinguish various social strata on the basis of income, occupation, or status.

Early in the nineteenth century the labels "working classes" and "middle classes" were already coming into common usage. "The old hereditary aristocracy, reinforced by the new gentry who owed their success to commerce, industry, and the professions, evolved into an "upper class". Its consciousness was formed in part by public schools (in the British sense) and Universities. The upper class tenaciously maintained control over the political system, depriving not only the working classes but the middle classes of a voice in the political process."

Karl Heinrich Marx (5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement. He published various books during his lifetime, with the most notable being The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Capital (1867–1894); some of his works were co-written with his friend and fellow German revolutionary socialist, Friedrich Engels.

Born into a wealthy middle class family in Trier, formerly in Prussian Rhineland now called Rhineland-Palatinate, Marx studied at both the University of Bonn and the University of Berlin, where he became interested in the philosophical ideas of the Young Hegelians. In 1836, he became engaged to Jenny von Westphalen, marrying her in 1843. After his studies, he wrote for a radical newspaper in Cologne, and began to work out his theory of dialectical materialism. Moving to Paris in 1843, he began writing for other radical newspapers. He met Engels in Paris, and the two men worked together on a series of books. Exiled to Brussels, he became a leading figure of the Communist League, before moving back to Cologne, where he founded his own newspaper. In 1849 he was exiled again and moved to London together with his wife and children. In London, where the family was reduced to poverty, Marx continued writing and formulating his theories about the nature of society and how he believed it could be improved, and also campaigned for socialism—he became a significant figure in the International Workingmen's Association.

William Galston is a political theorist. He is the Saul I Stern Professor of Civic Engagement and the director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the School of Public Policy of University of Maryland, College Park. In addition, he is a Senior Fellow of Governance at the Brookings Institution. He was also a senior adviser to President of the United States Bill Clinton on domestic policy, and has also been employed by the presidential campaigns of Al Gore and Walter Mondale. Since 1995, Galston has served as a founding member of the Board of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and as chair of the Campaign's Task Force on Religion and Public Values. He previously taught in the department of Government at the University of Texas-Austin.

In political philosophy, Galston has written influential works on political pluralism and on domestic policy issues in liberal society.

Galston was a student of classicist and political philosopher Leo Strauss.

Deepak Chopra (Hindi: दीपक चोपड़ा; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-born, American physician, public speaker, and writer. He is generally specialized in subjects such as spirituality, Ayurveda and mind-body medicine. Chopra began his career as an endocrinologist and later shifted his focus to alternative medicine. He now runs his own medical center with a focus on mind-body connections.^{[clarification needed]} He is also a lecturer at the Update in Internal Medicine event.

Chopra was an assistant to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi before starting his own career in the late 1980s by publishing self-help books on New Age spirituality and alternative medicine. A friend of Michael Jackson for 20 years, Chopra criticized the "cult of drug-pushing doctors, with their co-dependent relationships with addicted celebrities", saying that he hoped Jackson's death, attributed to an overdose of a prescription drug, would be a call to action.

Chopra was born in New Delhi, India. His father, Krishan Chopra (1919–2001) was a prominent Indian cardiologist, and head of the department of medicine and cardiology at Mool Chand Khairati Ram Hospital, New Delhi, for over 25 years, He was also a lieutenant in the British army. His paternal grandfather was a sergeant in the British Army, who looked to Ayurveda for treatment for a heart condition when the condition did not improve with Western medicine.