• turnip@sh.itjust.works
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      13 hours ago

      The “middle class” is built on currency debasement and the nominal value of assets built on ever increasing debt loads. Then the scheme fails and we do ever larger bailouts until the currency fails.

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 days ago

      The petite bourgeoisie is/was real. Not sure if it’s the same thing as what people refer to as “middle class,” but it is a separate “class” of people who’s interests mostly lie with the proletariat, yet their small business or whatever makes them believe and act as though they’re part of the owner class.

      • Serinus@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        The merchant class was certainly a thing after the black plague.

        They had enough wealth that they had political influence.

        • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
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          2 days ago

          here in sweden at least we specifically had 4 classes around that time: Nobility, priests, bourgeoise/merchants, and farmers. Bougies were defined by being allowed to run businesses in cities, as farmers in sweden largely kept to themselves outside of cities and basically only interacted with the other classes during specific occasions like selling/buying things in the city or doing legal stuff or more significant religious things.

      • Jerkface (any/all)@lemmy.ca
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        2 days ago

        it is a separate “class” of people who’s interests mostly lie with the proletariat, yet their small business or whatever makes them believe and act as though they’re part of the owner class.

        We are saying the same thing. It is a con the ruling class run on us to make us betray our interests. It’s a lie we tell ourselves because we don’t want to believe we’re in the “lowest” class. It’s a wedge intending to cleave our solidarity.

    • rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago

      Middle-class didn’t even used to be defined by wealth, it was the class of people who worked for themselves, so anyone from a blacksmith to a doctor, tradesman to professional. The idea was that they didn’t have a “boss” to report to, do they were more free to speak thier mind.