Final answer:
According to Marx, a dictatorship of the proletariat would follow a revolution, leading to a transitional period where the proletariat controls the means of production and political speech, eventually resulting in a classless society. However, the establishment of communism faced practical challenges, including the reluctance of authoritarian governments to relinquish centralized power.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Marx, after a revolution, the dictatorship of the proletariat would be a transitional state where the working class, or proletariat, would seize control from the bourgeoisie. The proletariat would take over the means of production and reorganize society to eradicate class distinctions, eventually leading to a classless society. This period would involve the proletariat controlling all political speech to prevent a counterrevolution and working towards the dissolution of the existing social relations of production that were tightly interwoven with the capitalist economy. This would set the stage for the establishment of communism, which would be a stateless, classless society.
In Marx's view, the revolution was part of historical progress that would inevitably lead to the end of class struggles. However, in practice, the application of Marxist theory has encountered complications, notably during the Russian Revolution, where conditions did not align perfectly with Marx's predictions for industrialized societies.