Meaning & use
petty bourgeoisie
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Meaning
noununcountableformalspecialist
the social class of small business owners, shopkeepers, and self-employed people, seen as distinct from both wage workers and the wealthy
Grammar: Used with a singular or plural verb: the petty bourgeoisie owns small shops / the petty bourgeoisie are worried about taxes. It is a collective noun, so it does not take 'a' or a plural -s.
Patterns
- the petty bourgeoisie
- the petty bourgeoisie of a country
- the petty bourgeoisie as a class
In Marxist theory, the petty bourgeoisie includes shopkeepers, artisans, and small farmers.
The petty bourgeoisie often feels squeezed between big corporations and organized labor.
Some sociologists argue that the petty bourgeoisie has grown with the rise of gig work and freelancing.
Common combinations
- the petty bourgeoisie
- The petty bourgeoisie was hit hard by the new import taxes.
- the rise of the petty bourgeoisie
- Economic reforms led to the rise of the petty bourgeoisie in the 1980s.
- petty bourgeois attitudes
- Critics accused the party of holding petty bourgeois attitudes.
- the petty bourgeoisie as a class
- Marx saw the petty bourgeoisie as a class doomed to disappear.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lower middle class
- A broader, less political term for people between the working class and the upper middle class; it does not specifically mean small business owners.
- small business owners
- A neutral, everyday phrase that describes the same group without Marxist theory or disapproval.
Word family
- petty bourgeois adjective
- relating to the petty bourgeoisie, often used disapprovingly to mean narrow-minded or materialistic
- bourgeoisie noun
- the capitalist middle class as a whole, especially in Marxist thought
Commonly confused: petty bourgeoisie or bourgeoisie?
petty bourgeoisie vs bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie is the wealthy capitalist class; the petty bourgeoisie is the much smaller-scale class of shopkeepers and self-employed people.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'petty bourgeoisie' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The petty bourgeoisie is a social class of small business owners and self-employed people. Option 2 is wrong because it is not a tax. Option 3 is wrong because 'petty' here means small-scale, not 'unimportant' or 'childish'. Option 4 is wrong because the wealthiest 1% would be the bourgeoisie or capitalist class, not the petty bourgeoisie.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “petty bourgeoisie”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.