The transformation of European societies occurred as the population shifted from rural communities to urban centers due to industrialization. This dramatic adjustment in people's lives, which took place due to living in cities, caused many to take a look at the conditions they were living in. The majority of the population made up the working class and most of them faced rigorous working conditions. The rigors of life caused some people to write about the evolution of society and the relationship of the state and its people. Three of the most influential nineteenth century writers who wrote on this subject were Karl Marx, Eduard Bernstein, and Heinrich Treitschke. All three of the writers agreed that the state must be essential in the organization of society, but differed in the role of the state and how the citizens would be organized as Karl Marx and Eduard Bernstein believed in a radical change that would dramatically alter society while Heinrich Treitschke advocated for a strong armed state which would keep the citizens organized. .
One of the most influential writers was Karl Marx, who was the most radical as he thought the current social structure would face its downfall, as previous ones had. According to Marx in The Communist Manifesto, all throughout history, societies have always been riddled by class struggle. Marx stated that every society ended up in a revolutionary struggle between the classes which shapes the way the social classes would be structured. Marx's observation led him to believe that the current society was structured as a bourgeois society, which came out of the feudal society that had already met its downfall. The bourgeoisie society had been simplified into two social classes, which were the bourgeois and proletarians. The proletariats made up the majority of the population as the modern working class, which were brought into existence by the bourgeoisie to meet the increase in demands for production.