In class we talked about the differences between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat class during and after the Industrial Revolution. We discussed that the Bourgeoisie or Middle Class is not necessarily what we think of as our middle class today, just as the Proletariat class is not the equal of our lower class. The differences seem to me more like the difference between the upper class and the middle class of present. But, I think our middle class has a lot more in common with the Bourgeoisie than the Proletariat when a closer look is taken.
Our middle class is not seen oppressors of the lower class, but we have much in common with the Bourgeoisie. We believe that a person can increase their power through honest hard work, which is true of all classes, but I feel like it is lived out in the middle class. The values and discipline of the middle class are evident in their hard work, as well as their planning for the future thought savings and investments. People in the middle class tend to dress in the same style i.e. Polo, Ralph Lauren, and Coach. They are usually educated and well versed. There is a distinction made between their work lives and their home lives. Middle class people tend to work regular 9-5 jobs. They do not work the grave-yard shift, and rarely do they work in factories. While the trend today is for both members of a couple to have a job, it has not always been that way in the middle class, which during the Bourgeoisie time was a clear distinction between Proletariat and Bourgeoisie. Women of the middle class usually have the option of being stay at home moms if they choose to. In contrast, the lower class of today does not have that option.
To equate our middle class with the Proletariat class does not seem like a parallel comparison. I am not saying that we were told to compare today’s middle class with the Proletariat class, but if we were to make the comparison I feel like our middle class better compares to the Bourgeoisie. The Proletariat class had an average life expectancy of 17 years. It was not abnormal to have your entire family, children included, working in the same factory or mine for a 10-14 hour day. Women did not have the option of staying at home, nor did their children. Their dress was usually the same as everyone else’s, simple, cheap, and functional. They probably had some sort of dialect slightly off the proper language. And most importantly, they understood that the chances of moving into the middle class were virtually impossible. They knew they were under the oppression of the Bourgeoisie and at their mercy when it came to having work.
While we do not live in the times of the Bourgeoisie and Proletariat, there will always be class distinctions and social differences. I think that our middle class better relates to the Bourgeoisie class and their consumer lifestyle more than the forever-working Proletariat. Both classes shared their lives with their fellow class members, but the Proletariat seemed to cultivate stronger bonds through their hardships. This unity can be seen in the lower class still today.
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I believe that today it is even easier to change classes and there is little class distinction between the classes of America. With a college degree anyone can have the life that they want. ALthough it requires work to get there, that is what the American dream is. Becoming succesful at something is what every American dreams of. That is what makes America what it is today. Anyone can pursue any dream they have and acomplish it, no matter what class you are in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying, but some lower class people may feel like the middle class does opress them. The middle class people today usually do all of the hiring and run businesses and the upper class are kind of in the background as investors or owners. Someone in the lower class may not get a job and may say that the middle class person that did not hire them is opressing them. I believe that the middle class today are not easily picked out because of the similar buying habits or style, I think it depends on whether they were born into the middle class or lived through the move from lower to middle class. Most people that I know have moved up from a upper lower to a lower middle or middle class and are not frugle with their money. The expensive styles are not something that they may spend their money on. They are more likely to save or invest for the future.
ReplyDeleteI believe that you are right about most of this. Our middle class, however, is shrinking. It might be better said that we now have multiple classes divided by our own tax brackets. While it is very true that we are afford many more opportunities like the Bourgeoisie. We are becoming ever more subservient to the tax burdens of social programs. What I think this does is that it turns anyone and everyone below the top ten percent of wage earners or politicians in this country into the Proletariat.(most people live hand to mouth) We are rapidly becoming a two class system that any perceived upward mobility is only semantics. I have no idea how to get out of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that you could compare today's middle class with either the bourgeoisie or the proletariat since the American middle class is an amorphous creature. Where does the middle class start and where does it end? Furthermore, as we discussed in class yesterday, the second phase of the industrial revolution ushered in a whole new group of white collar workers that complicate the original Marxist categories from the 1840s. Also, I think Americans try to think of themselves as a class society and most people, when asked would identify themselves as middle-class.
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