Throughout history, societies and cultures have experienced class struggles to gain control over wealth and production. There have always been elite groups enjoying privileges and wealth, while a working or slave class exists to serve them. To describe these two distinct classes, the terms Bourgeois and Proletariat have been used by philosophers and political experts.
Key Takeaways
- Bourgeois refers to the classes in society that have traditionally held the means of production and wealth, also known as the capitalist class.
- Proletariat refers to the working classes, who are in the majority in every society and are characterized by being the lowest or working class of the society.
- The modern society has evolved from the old feudal system where the landlords were Bourgeois, while the slaves and vassals served them, and new classes and forms of oppression have emerged, yet the class struggle remains the same.
In the writings of Engels, Karl Marx, and other philosophers, Bourgeois has been a term used to describe those classes in society that have traditionally held the means of production and wealth. In capitalist societies, average people are seen as workers who become a cheap means of production for the capitalist class. Workers live on subsistence wages, with all profits going to the Bourgeois class. Bourgeois sets wages in such a manner that the working class (proletariat) is born with nothing and dies with nothing.
Proletariat is the name for the working classes, and in every society, they are always in an overwhelming majority. The modern society has been born out of the old feudal system where the landlords were Bourgeois, while the slaves and vassals were there to serve them. There are new classes and forms of oppression, but the class struggle remains the same. In fact, society is made up of two classes, the haves and the have-nots. It is the class labeled as have-nots that is referred to as Proletariat in the writings of great philosophers and political analysts.
During Roman times, the proletariat was the people without any wealth except their offspring. Karl Marx used the term proletariat for the working class with the ability to dethrone capitalists to help in the creation of a classless society.
