“one class possesses the means of production”
Problem with that concept is that ANYONE can owns means of production. Sure, class distinctions seem apparent when talking very large scale production, but the distinction is position on a continuous spectrum and not an either/or. Any prole can start producing with his bare hands, leveraging his work to acquire more, and so produce more. Many a prole has, as a result of hard work, unexpectedly found himself “The Man” while railing against “The Man” along the way.
Those who object to capitalism as class warfare do not understand this.
That’s why the author says:
America never had a proletariat.
In that case, America could not have been a capitalist country.