Final answer:
Marx called the class that owns the means of production the bourgeoisie, a term proffering his critique of their exploitation of the working class, the proletariat. The correct option is D.
Step-by-step explanation:
Marx used the term bourgeoisie to refer to those who own the means of production—the land and capital necessary for factories and mines. In his book Das Kapital, Marx depicted the bourgeoisie as motivated by the desire to exploit labor. Employers paid proletariat workers far less than their labor was worth and retained the surplus value.
This, according to Marx, resulted in the alienation and exploitation of the working class and would eventually lead to the collapse of the capitalist system and a societal shift towards socialism, where the public owns the means of production.