The beginning of the bourgeoisie

2. • THE BOURGEOISIE (/ˌBƆːƷ.WⱭːˈZIː/); IS A
SOCIOLOGICALLY DEFINED SOCIAL
CLASS, EQUIVALENT TO THE MIDDLE OR
UPPER MIDDLE CLASS. THEY ARE
DISTINGUISHED FROM, AND
TRADITIONALLY CONTRASTED WITH,
THE PROLETARIAT BY THEIR RELATIVE
AFFLUENCE, AND THEIR CULTURAL AND
FINANCIAL CAPITAL.

3. IN MARXIST PHILOSOPHY, THE BOURGEOISIE IS THE
SOCIAL CLASS THAT CAME TO OWN THE MEANS OF
PRODUCTION DURING MODERN INDUSTRIALIZATION
AND WHOSE SOCIETAL CONCERNS ARE THE VALUE OF
PROPERTY AND THE PRESERVATION OF CAPITAL TO
ENSURE THE PERPETUATION OF THEIR ECONOMIC
SUPREMACY IN SOCIETY

4. ORIGINS AND RISE
THE BOURGEOISIE EMERGED AS A
HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL PHENOMENON IN
THE 11TH CENTURY WHEN THE BOURGS OF
CENTRAL AND WESTERN EUROPE DEVELOPED
INTO CITIES DEDICATED TO COMMERCE.
THIS URBAN EXPANSION WAS POSSIBLE
THANKS TO ECONOMIC CONCENTRATION DUE
TO THE APPEARANCE OF PROTECTIVE SELF-
ORGANISATION INTO GUILDS.

5. BY THE END OF THE MIDDLE AGES (C. AD 1500), UNDER RÉGIMES OF THE
EARLY NATIONAL MONARCHIES OF WESTERN EUROPE, THE BOURGEOISIE
ACTED IN SELF-INTEREST, AND POLITICALLY SUPPORTED THE KING OR
QUEEN AGAINST LEGAL AND FINANCIAL DISORDER CAUSED BY THE
GREED OF THE FEUDAL LORDS.

6. ACCORDING TO THE MARXIST VIEW OF HISTORY, DURING THE 17TH AND
18TH CENTURIES, THE BOURGEOISIE WERE THE POLITICALLY
PROGRESSIVE SOCIAL CLASS WHO SUPPORTED THE PRINCIPLES OF
CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT AND OF NATURAL RIGHT, AGAINST THE
LAW OF PRIVILEGE AND THE CLAIMS OF RULE BY DIVINE RIGHT THAT
THE NOBLES AND PRELATES HAD AUTONOMOUSLY EXERCISED DURING
THE FEUDAL ORDER.

7. AFTER THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (1750–
1850), BY THE MID-19TH CENTURY THE GREAT
EXPANSION OF THE BOURGEOISIE SOCIAL CLASS
CAUSED ITS STRATIFICATION – BY BUSINESS
ACTIVITY AND BY ECONOMIC FUNCTION – INTO
THE HAUTE BOURGEOISIE (BANKERS AND
INDUSTRIALISTS) AND THE PETITE BOURGEOISIE
(TRADESMEN AND WHITE-COLLAR WORKERS).

8. MOREOVER, BY THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY, THE CAPITALISTS
(THE ORIGINAL BOURGEOISIE) HAD ASCENDED TO THE UPPER
CLASS, WHILE THE DEVELOPMENTS OF TECHNOLOGY AND
TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS ALLOWED THE RISE OF WORKING-CLASS
MEN AND WOMEN TO THE LOWER STRATA OF THE BOURGEOISIE;
YET THE SOCIAL PROGRESS WAS INCIDENTAL.

9. BESIDES DESCRIBING THE SOCIAL CLASS
WHO OWNS THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION,
THE MARXIST USE OF THE TERM
"BOURGEOIS" ALSO DESCRIBES THE
CONSUMERIST STYLE OF LIFE DERIVED
FROM THE OWNERSHIP OF CAPITAL AND
REAL PROPERTY