Marxist theory is based on the concept that society is divided into two groups that directly face each other: the bourgeoisie, meaning the middle and upper classes, and the proletariat, which is used to describe the working class. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels initially used the term “bourgeois” in their book “The Communist Manifesto” to characterize the middle class, which was the class between poor laborers and the nobility or monarchy. The bourgeoisie is the class that owns most of society’s money and labor resources. In Marxist teaching, they are described as possessing the means of production (Nickerson, 2024).
Framing & Perspectives
The proletariat (working class) grows together with the bourgeoisie capital. The proletariat can only survive if they have a job, and they can only keep their work if they contribute to the bourgeoisie’s wealth. Karl Marx believed that conflict in society sprang from the bourgeoisie and proletariat’s reliance on one another. In this conflict, the ruling class disenfranchises the working class (Marx & Engels, 1848). Individuals who identify as Marxists and support Marxist theory share this viewpoint. Among the numerous Marxist groups, there are Marxist feminists, whose primary focus is the role of proletarian women in capitalist society. Marxist feminists believe that the only way to fully improve the situation of all women is for society to transition from private ownership to communal ownership, or from capitalism to socialism. Marxist feminists (ex. Alexandra Kollontai) characterize the bourgeois feminist point of view as believing that women are oppressed because of men’s chauvinist attitudes rather than the economic system. As such, it leads them to assume that the Marxist ideology of abolishing capitalism will not improve the status of women (Krull and Saba, 1972).
Marxist cultural critics have argued that the contemporary bourgeoisie uses materialist theories like modernism to influence culture and prioritize profit and consumption, further placing economic interests above human well-being (Spacey, 2023). An example of this is the rise of Pop Art in the middle of the 20th century. Especially Andy Warhol’s work was pushed by businesses and the media to make everyday life more like a product to be sold (Hoberek, 2024). Marx and Engels stated that the bourgeoisie had gained more wealth in the hundred years they had been in power than all previous generations combined. This new distribution of wealth involves a new distribution of power and, therefore, through various revolutions, the middle class abolished the monarchy and streamlined class struggles, which led to the creation of a capitalist, liberal society. Today, the bourgeoisie is defined as people who have additional houses to rent out, entrepreneurs, CEOs, tech millionaires, or shareholders of companies whose pay is twice or three times as much as their employees (Spacey, 2023).
In modern times, as the fight for LGBTQ+ rights became more popular, a new way of increasing profit was created, called the rainbow bourgeoisie. Rainbow bourgeoisie are capitalists who celebrate and promote queer pride solely because being an ally is profitable. Examples are film studio executives who support having queer characters, but they engage in exploitative labour practices, such as underpaying their employees. This support is viewed as shallow, serving merely to conceal their exploitation of workers and destructive imperialist mindset (Guo & Ollivain, 2020). For this reason, some Marxist philosophers see intersectionality and current progressiveness as “bourgeois” and a continuation of identity politics. Identity politics are viewed as incompatible with communist politics because they are perceived as bourgeois techniques designed to discourage the lower class from uniting around their class identity of being the proletariat (Bohrer, 2023).
Relevance
For some, the notion of becoming an entrepreneur, utilizing their creative abilities to achieve control over their means of production, or working for themselves and becoming bourgeois, may be appealing. The existence of the bourgeoisie creates the misleading impression that a certain lifestyle can be achieved by anybody solely via hard labor (Gamst et al., 2018). That is how the “American Dream” became popular, starting after the Second World War, to motivate U.S. Americans to strive for a better, richer, and more fulfilling life. However, modern U.S. Americans are divided on whether it is really possible or just a myth they have been told for generations (Pew Research Center, 2024).
The modern bourgeoisie explain their “achieved” status as a result of being well-educated and consider themselves to be intellectual elites. Generally, these are individuals who were able to afford to graduate from elite universities. They also have a significant influence on molding culture and establishing what is trendy. For example, they have enhanced the appeal of individuality, materialism, and the value of education (Spacey, 2023). However, bourgeois culture is always changing, since it will always represent the culture of the most powerful and prominent groups, and thus is frequently associated with white male-dominated cultures. Due to this, white European countries are commonly perceived as more successful due to their capitalist principles and thriving “bourgeois culture” (e.g., Wax & Alexander, 2018). While this belief exists, it is ethically problematic because such ideas were used in the past to legitimize colonialism and continue to be used to drive global inequality, rather than reflecting an inherent superiority.
Keywords: Marxism, Capitalism, Socialism, Proletariat, Bourgeoisie, Upper-Class, Lower-Class, Karl Marx
Connected terms: Job Polarization, Overconsumption, Unionization, Classical Feminism
References
Bohrer, A. J. (2023, December 22). Intersectionality and marxism. Historical Materialism. https://www.historicalmaterialism.org/article/intersectionality-and-marxism/
Gamst, G., Kwon, R., & Meyers, L. S. (2018). Development and validation of the American Dream Scale: Assessing the petty bourgeois mentality. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 6(2), 449–483. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v6i2.743
Guo, V., & Ollivain, C. (2020). Down with the rainbow bourgeoisie. Honi Soti . https://honisoit.com/2020/06/down-with-the-rainbow-bourgeoisie/
Hoberek, A. (2024, May 29). Pop art and the fictional middle class. Nonsite. https://nonsite.org/pop-art-and-the-fictional-middle-class/
Krull, I. (1972). The Women’s Liberation Movement. The Need for a Marxist-Leninist Line. Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line. https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-8/pc-women.htm
Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1848). Manifesto of the Communist Party. London.
Nickerson, C. (2024, February 27). Bourgeoisie (capitalist class): Definition & meaning. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/bourgeoisie-capitalist-class.html
Pew Research Center. (2024). (rep.). Americans’ Views of Government’s Role: Persistent Divisions and Areas of Agreement (pp. 1–53). Pew Research Center.
Spacey, J. (2023). 21 examples of the bourgeoisie. Simplicable. https://simplicable.com/society/bourgeoisie
Wax, A., & Alexander, L. (2018, September 15). Paying the price for breakdown of the country’s bourgeois culture. The Philadelphia Inquirer. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/opinion/commentary/paying-the-price-for-breakdown-of-the-countrys-bourgeois-culture-20170809.html
