Final answer:
The bourgeoisie is the group that exploits the proletariat in a capitalist society by paying them less than the value of their work, as put forth by Karl Marx. He argues that this leads to worker alienation and eventual class conflict, predicting a revolutionary shift toward socialism.
Step-by-step explanation:
The group that exploits the proletariat by taking more of the value of the work of laborers than they repay in wages is the bourgeoisie. According to Karl Marx, the bourgeoisie are the class of people who own the means of production, such as factories and resources, and are motivated by the desire to exploit labor. Marx postulated that in a capitalist society, the bourgeoisie employs the proletariat for wages that are less than the value of their labor. This economic arrangement results in the proletariat's alienation, oppression, and eventual push for a revolutionary change.
Marx's theories highlight the historical power dynamics and the conflict resulting from the ownership and labor divide. His ideas encapsulated in works like 'Das Kapital' and the 'Manifesto of the Communist Party' argue that the bourgeoisie class uses their wealth and political influence to maintain a social hierarchy advantageous to them, at the expense of the working class. He believed that this systemic inequality would eventually lead to the collapse of the capitalist system and engender a worker-led societal shift toward socialism.