7.1a The Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat

The bourgeoisie class, or capitalists, own the means of production. They earn their income from this ownership rather than working for a wage. For example, consider a hair salon. An individual or a corporation may own the building and equipment in the salon and rent each chair to a hairstylist. This salon owner may never cut or style hair, but they still earn money through the rent they collect.

Members of the proletariat sell their labor power and their ability to work to the bourgeoisie or an employer in exchange for a wage. Labor power is valuable if it increases the owner’s capital (or profit). Most people who have held a job have experienced being sent home early from their shift, having unpredictable hours, being laid off, or made to work overtime. All these variations in working hours are a response to whether the employee’s labor is increasing or decreasing the owner’s profit.

Photo 7.3

Many Fast-Food Restaurants Require Customers to Make Their Drinks

The proletariat is also vulnerable to displacement by machines, cheaper labor, and automation. For instance, during the 1990s, McDonald’s restaurants used a semi-automated fountain drink dispenser. Employees could select the cup size the customer ordered and have it filled to the correct size. While the machine filled the drinks, the employee would bag the rest of the order. Today, customers who buy inside the store make their drinks. First, machines reduced labor needs at McDonald’s. Now, the cost of serving drinks in-store has dropped to almost nothing because customers do it for free. Machines, cheaper labor, and automation disrupt people’s work and can lead to unemployment. However, these tools also enable businesses to expand their number of locations, as they need fewer employees to manage each one.

The critical difference between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat is that the first owns the means of production, and the other must sell their labor for a wage. The amount of income earned is irrelevant to this arrangement. Even highly paid professional athletes, movie stars, and musicians are often members of the proletariat. Some high-income individuals can transition from the proletariat into the bourgeoisie, however. For example, Rihanna is one of the youngest self-made female billionaires, not from performing but from her ownership of Fenty Beauty and Savage x Fenty (Berg, 2021). Rihanna does not need to perform or create new music to maintain her wealth, as she will continue earning income through her ownership stake in these companies.

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Rihanna Is One of the First Self-Made Women Billionaires