Empathy vs. Apathy in the Marxian View

A human being can be fundamentally empathetic or fundamentally apathetic. Marx's theories of alienation, self-estrangement, and estrangement from the species being, serve the purpose of explaining why human beings can be fundamentally apathetic. But where then does empathy come from? In Marx's view, every man, woman, and child in a capitalist society, such as our own, would be incapable, or unwilling to hold open a door for an elderly person, or help someone change a tire when they are stranded on the side of the road. I believe it would take quite a lot more than a monotonous job to separate a human being from their altruistic nature. Suppose a human being is so mindlessly occupied in their day-to-day labors that they do begin to see themselves as less man and more monkey. They may no longer be the "creative producer," but humans are also connected to their humanity through their empathetic relationship with other humans.

How would Marx argue that a communist society is better suited to the basic human tendency toward altruism?

America's Class System

Marx’s “The German Ideology” gives deep detail about the division of labor; how it began and why is continues to function. He claims that there are only two class systems that exist in society: the bourgeoisies and the proletariats. He states that “the class which is the ruling material force of society is at the same time its ruling intellectual force.” He goes on to state “the ideas of those that lack the means of mental production are subject to them.” By this he is stating that the bourgeoisies are the ones with the capital therefore they are the ruling class and the rest simply obey.
I find this to be the exact case in today’s society. There are may be politicians that have come from poor backgrounds but they are indeed not poor today. I also see that though we claim there are several classes (lower, working, middle, etc.) the reality is that these are all just different levels within the proletariat class and the so-called middle class has been diminishing for the past decade. Keeping this in mind, do you agree with Marx’s two class system or do you believe that there are other groups in between? How to you see the future of the class system here in America?
President Obama just issued a pay freeze on all Washington D.C. politicians who make more than $100,000 a year. This means that while the working class will get raises throughout the year, these politicians will not. His justification is that “the rest of America in tightening their belts, so can we.” He also plans on giving a tax cut to those within the working class while increasing taxes on those that earn more than $250,000 a year. (Remember that he too is part of that tax increase.) Do you think that this will bring back what has been lost in our middle class? Putting your political beliefs aside, do you think that he is trying to punish those that have been in charge while rising up those that have been exploited?