A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petite Bourgeoisie: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petty Bourgeoisie

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Dan Evans, A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petty Bourgeoisie, Repeater Books 2023. Buy a copy here. A Nation of Shopkeepers is a book exploring the history and present of the petite bourgeoisie, particularly in Britain. Evans looks at the complicated class structure of modern Britain, how education and housing play a part in class, and considers the impact of individualism upon politics and the left. The conclusion offers suggestions for how the petite bourgeoisie, which Evans positions as vital in modern Britain, could come together with the working class to actually make a difference. Yet, far from disappearing, structural changes to the global economy under neoliberalism have instead grown the petite-bourgeoisie, and the individualist values associated with it have been popularized by a society which fetishizes “aspiration”, home ownership and entrepreneurship. So why has this happened?

A vivid and passionate account of the renewal of class divisions in British society and the visceral forms they take. Anyone who doubts the relevance of contemporary class divides is encouraged to read this book.”It sounds like a terrifying leap to make. But then, as Dan Evans would argue, there is so much to gain. In the UK, we have a pretty appalling understanding of class, even in the workers movement. Class is all too often viewed in solely cultural and aesthetic terms, such as having a regional accent or having a great-grandparent who worked in a mine. You can be a ‘working class’ landlord from Rotherham leasing a flat to a ‘middle class’ tenant who graduated from university five years ago and works behind a till. This mode of thinking tells us nothing about the economic aspects of class. As Evans writes: I remember going to my first socialist meeting as an undergraduate. Halfway through, an audience member raised their hand and asked the panel to define the ‘working class’. One speaker, true to his Marxist principles, responded: ‘everyone who doesn’t own the means of production.’ Discover the best radical writing, carefully curated for you, with the UK’s leading not-for-profit book subscription. Left Book Club was founded by Victor Gollancz in 1936 to oppose fascism and inequality. Relaunched in 2015, today it is a thriving subscription book club building reading groups across the UK – and a membership would make the perfect radical Christmas gift. Left Book Club history

A Nation of Shopkeepers explores the unstoppable rise of the petite-bourgeoisie, one of the most powerful, but underexplored, classes in modern society. Haven't fully 'read' this to my satisfaction yet, but marking as such so I can write some thoughts here.

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There is reason to doubt that Napoleon ever used it. No contemporaneous French newspaper mentions that he did. The phrase was first used in an offensive sense by the French revolutionary Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac on 11 June 1794 in a speech to the National Convention: "Let Pitt then boast of his victory to his nation of shopkeepers". [1] Later, during the Napoleonic wars, the British press mentioned the phrase, attributing it either to "the French" or to Napoleon himself. [2] Initially identified as a powerful political force by theorists like Marx and Poulantzas, the petit-bourgeoisie was expected to decline, as small businesses and small property were gradually swallowed up by monopoly capitalism. Yet, far from disappearing, structural changes to the global economy under neoliberalism have instead grown the petite-bourgeoisie, and the individualist values associated with it have been popularized by a society which fetishizes "aspiration", home ownership and entrepreneurship. So why has this happened? Fernand Braudel, 1982. The Perspective of the World vol III of Civilization & Capitalism, 15th–18th Century

There's a veiled criticism in this saying, that the English are fit for little else, and it comes as no surprise that the two contenders who might claim coinage of it come from two nations with some disdain for the English - the Scots and the French.

An intriguing, very political, and unexpectedly personal book for those who are obsessed with class and the global failures of the left.”– Alpkan Birelma The petite-bourgeoisie — the insecure class between the working class and the bourgeoisie — is hugely significant within global politics. Yet it remains something of a mystery.

Initially identified as a powerful political force by theorists like Marx and Poulantzas, the petit-bourgeoisie was expected to decline, as small businesses and small property were gradually swallowed up by monopoly capitalism. Yet, far from disappearing, structural changes to the global economy under neoliberalism have instead grown the petty bourgeoisie, and the individualist values associated with it have been popularized by a society which fetishizes "aspiration", home ownership and entrepreneurship. So why has this happened? A Nation of Shopkeepers has lots of interesting debate, some useful, some, to my mind as not so. To disinter Poulantzas and claim just about everyone and their dog is middle class is a bit much. Also I think it overstates the role education (especially as something like 40% of youngsters go on to university) and of older folks and trades owning (or having a mortgage on) a house. Remarks after speaking to National Chamber of Trade, Margaret Thatcher Foundation https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/102496 This analysis is much more helpful than a purely cultural or a rigidly economic one, as it allows us to get to grips with divisions in the workplace and society and the comlex relationships of power involved. It helps us understand the ‘intermediary classes’ between proletariat and capitalist, with whom this book is primarily concerned. Evans thinks of the middle class or the petit bourgeoisie as a “DNA double helix” with two distinct fractions; the Traditional Petit Bourgeoisie and the New Petit Bourgeoisie, which have arisen due to profound changes to the economy over the last fifty years but have not yet been adequately examined by the Left. What is the ‘Traditional Petit Bourgeoisie’?

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Evans himself mentions (though he disagrees with it) that a majority of people in Britain identify themselves as working class. This surely gives us hope as organisers, as well as a potentially fertile terrain to organise. Ultimately for the workplace organiser the fluffy distractions of party politics and the latest fad issues of the day do not matter.