Tuesday, July 28, 2020



The Interesting Case of the Petite Bourgeoisie 

Innanja M.

Innanja M.

Mar 30, 2018 · 24 min read

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Ivan Kulikov: Family at the table (1938)

The well-to-do hate to see them come; the proletarians loathe them for having vamoosed to greener pastures. The Artists deride them, the Intellectuals despise them. The petite bourgeoisie has been the butt of derision for over 200 years. Ambiguity and fluidity are the main characteristics of this conflicted social class. Now, however, the species seems to be dying out. Why does everybody love to hate them? And where have they gone to?


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Historically, the petty bourgeoisie got a bad press




Now the petits bourgeois were not only derided by the rich, they were zealously fustigated by the proletariat, too.

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The rich and the poor, the Marxists, the artists and the intellectuals unite in their contempt. Climbing up or tottering down, the petite bourgeoise is doomed to disdain, scorn and mockery. If she shows that she has a soul, and ethical principles for which she is willing to sacrifice some of her comfort zone, the laughter becomes positively diabolical.

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The Twentieth Century


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And here we are, having had an education and acquired ideas above our status.

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Are these new petits bourgeois still the enemy?


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“Creating a good society is what all of us should do, however tiny our contribution might be.”
Guy Standing

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Photo by Stéphane Delval

Further Reading


Thanks to P. Owl. 



Innanja M.
WRITTEN BY

Innanja M.


In search of Eudaimonia. Essays in Literature, Politics, Ethics, History and Feminism. Proudly collaborating with the Radical Rag Dolls.