Abraxas and Bourgeoisie: Difference between pages

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'''Abraxas''', or '''Abrasax''', was a word engraved on certain antique stones, called on that account Abraxas stones, which were used as amulets or charms by [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] sects.

{{Unreferenced|date=April 2007}}

{{redirect|Bourgeois}}

'''Bourgeoisie''' ([[Received Pronunciation|RP]] [{{IPA|ˌbɔː.ʒwɑːˈzi}}], [[General American|GA]] [{{IPA|ˌbu.ʒwɑˈzi}}]) is a classification used in analysing human societies to describe a [[social class]] of people who are in the [[upper class | upper]] or [[merchant]] class, whose status or power comes from employment, education, and wealth as opposed to [[aristocratic]] origin. '''[[Petite bourgeoisie]]''' is used to describe the class below the bourgeoisie but above the [[Proletariat]].

Abraxas was an [[Archon]] with a [[chimera (creature)|chimera]]-like appearance: he had the head of a [[rooster]], the body of a man, and legs fashioned like [[snake]]s. Abraxas was redeemed and rose above the seven spheres and now reigns beyond the worlds. There are references to Abraxas in several gnostic writings.

In a [[capitalism|capitalist]] [[society]] the term often refers to the owning and [[ruling class]]es. The term is widely used in many non-English speaking countries as an approximate equivalent of [[middle class]](Found in the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Fredric Engels), but in English speaking countries usage of the word as a term of art is associated with those with [[socialist]] or anti-capitalist political leanings.

==Influences==

In common usage the term has pejorative connotations suggesting either undeserved wealth, or lifestyles, tastes, and opinions that lack the sophistication of the rich or the authenticity of the intellectual or the poor. It is rare for people in the English speaking world to self-identify as members of the bourgeoisie, although many self-identify as middle class, which some would argue is technically bourgeoisie. In the United States, where social class affiliation lacks some of the structure and rules of many other nations, Bourgeoisie is sometimes used to refer to those seen as being ''upper class''.

*The robot that is converted to the human cause in the [[Matriculated]] short film in the [[Animatrix]] series is suspiciously similar to Abraxas.

Bourgeoisie is a [[French language|French]] word that was borrowed directly into [[English language|English]] in the specific sense described above. In the French [[feudalism|feudal order]], "bourgeois" was formally a legal category in society, defined by conditions such as length of residence and source of income. The word evolved to mean [[merchant]]s and [[trader]]s, and until the 19th century was mostly synonymous with the ''middle class'' (persons in the broad [[socioeconomics|socioeconomic]] spectrum between [[nobility]] and [[serf]]s or [[proletariat|proletarians]]). Then, as the power and wealth of the nobility faded in the second half of the 19th century, the bourgeoisie emerged as the new [[ruling class]].

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The French word ''bourgeois'' evolved from the [[Old French language|Old French]] word ''burgeis'', meaning "an inhabitant of a town" ([[cf]]. [[Middle English language|Middle English]] ''burgeis'', [[Middle Dutch language|Middle Dutch]] ''burgher'' and [[German language|German]] ''Bürger''). The Old French word ''burgeis'' is derived from ''bourg'', meaning a [[market town]] or medieval village, itself derived from [[Latin language|Late Latin]] ''burgus'', meaning "[[fortress]]"<ref>[[American Heritage Dictionary]] [[etymology]]</ref>

:''The text below is based on the 1911 encyclopedia, and is probably not correct with respect to present-day research in Gnosticism, it needs to be checked.''

==Rise of the Bourgeoisie==

The letters of abraxas, in the [[Greek language|Greek]] notation, make up the number 365, and the [[Basilides|Basilidians]] gave the name to the 365 orders of spirits which, as they conceived, emanated in succession from the Supreme Being.

In the early [[Middle Ages]], as cities were emerging, [[trade (profession)|artisan]]s and tradesmen began to emerge as both a physical and economic force. They formed [[guild]]s, associations and [[company (law)|companies]] to conduct business and promote their own interests. These people were the original bourgeoisie. In the late Middle Ages 14th and 15th centuries, they were the highest guildsman and artisan's, evidences in their ability to pay the fines for breaking sumptuary laws, and by paying to be called citizens of the city in which they in habited or the ability to be called Bourgeoisie. In fact the King of France granted nobility to all of the Bourgeoisie of Paris in the late fourteenth century. They eventually allied with the [[monarch|king]]s in uprooting the [[feudal|feudalist]] system. They did this by introducing the modern economics few points of adjustments to market demand. After the middle ages and going into the renaissance they were gradually becoming the ruling class in [[Industrialisation|industrialised]] [[nation-state]]s. In the [[17th century|17th]] and [[18th century]], they generally supported the [[American revolution]] and [[French revolution]] in overthrowing the laws and privileges of the absolutist feudal order, clearing the way for the rapid expansion of commerce.

These orders were supposed to occupy 365 heavens, each fashioned like, but inferior to that above it; and the lowest of the heavens was thought to be the abode of the spirits who formed the earth and its inhabitants, and to whom was committed the administration of its affairs.

Concepts such as [[personal liberty|personal liberties]], [[religion|religious]] and [[civil rights]], and [[free trade]] all derive from bourgeois [[philosophy|philosophies]]. But the bourgeoisie was never without its critics; it was first accused of narrow-mindedness, [[materialism]], [[hypocrisy]], opposition to change, and lack of culture, among other things, by persons such as the playwright [[Molière]], or the novelist [[Flaubert]], who denounced its banality and mercenary aspirations. The earliest recorded pejorative uses of the term "bourgeois" are associated with aristocratic contempt for the lifestyle of the bourgeoisie. Successful embourgeoisement typically meant being able to retire and live on invested income.

Abraxas stones are of very little value. In addition to the word Abraxas and other mystical characters, they have often cabalistic figures engraved on them. The commonest of these have the head of a fowl, and the arms and bust of a man, and terminate in the body and tail of a serpent.

With the expansion of commerce, trade, and the market economy, the bourgeoisie grew in size, influence, and power. In all industrialized countries, the aristocracy either faded away slowly or found itself overthrown by a bourgeois revolution. Thus, the bourgeoisie rose to the top of the social hierarchy. This, coupled with the advances of industry, resulted in the birth of an entirely new lower class, the [[proletariat]] or [[working class]]. Increasingly, criticisms of the bourgeoisie began to come from below.

''Initial text from 1911 encyclopedia.''

== The Marxist view ==

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One of the most influential of the aforementioned criticisms came from [[Karl Marx]], who attacked bourgeois political theory and its view of civil society and culture for believing these concepts and institutions to be universally true; in Marx's view, these concepts were only the [[ideology]] of the bourgeoisie as a new [[ruling class]], which sought to reshape [[society]] after its own image.

[[Marxism]] defines the bourgeoisie as the [[social class]] which obtains income from ownership or [[trade]] in [[capital (economics)|capital]] assets, or from commercial activities such as the buying and selling of commodities, wares, and services. In medieval times, the bourgeois was typically a self-employed proprietor, small employer, entrepreneur, banker, or merchant. In industrial [[capitalism]], on the other hand, the bourgeoisie becomes the ruling class - which means it also owns the bulk of the [[means of production]] (land, factories, offices, capital, resources). This enables it to employ and exploit the work of a large mass of wage workers (the [[working class]]), also known as the industrial middle class, who have no other means of livelihood than to sell their labour to property owners.

'''Abraxas''' is also the name of a god, like the Christian God, but not omnibenevolent.

Marx distinguished between "functioning capitalists" actually managing enterprises, and others merely earning property rents or interest-income from financial assets or real estate ('[[rentier]]s').

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'''''[[Abraxas (album)|Abraxas]]''''' is a name of an album by [[Santana]].

Marxism sees the [[proletariat]] (wage labourers) and bourgeoisie as directly waging an ongoing [[class struggle]], in that capitalists [[exploitation|exploit]] workers and workers try to resist exploitation. This exploitation takes place as follows: the workers, who own no means of production of their own, must seek employment in order to make a living. They get hired by a capitalist and work for him, producing some sort of goods or services. These goods or services then become the property of the capitalist, who sells them and gets a certain amount of money in exchange. Part of this money is used to pay workers' wages, another part is used to pay production costs, and a third part is kept by the capitalist in the form of profit (or [[surplus value]]). Thus the capitalist can earn money by selling the surplus (profit) from the work of his employees without actually doing any work, or in excess of his own work. Marxists argue that new wealth is [[Labour theory of value|created through work]]; therefore, if someone gains wealth that he did not work for, then someone else works and does not receive the full wealth created by his work. In other words, that "someone else" is exploited. Thus, Marxists argue that capitalists make a profit by exploiting workers.

In the [[rhetoric]] of some [[communism|Communist]] parties, "bourgeois" is sometimes used as an [[insult]], and those who are perceived to collaborate with the bourgeoisie are called its [[lackey]]s. Marx himself primarily used the term "bourgeois", with or without sarcasm, as an objective description of a social class and of a lifestyle based on ownership of private capital, not as a [[pejorative]]. He commended the industriousness of the bourgeoisie, but criticised it for its moral hypocrisy. This attitude is shown most clearly in the [[Communist Manifesto]].

In the view of some 20th century Marxist currents, the [[nomenklatura]] or lower state bureaucrats in "[[communist state]]s" were or are a ''state bourgeoisie'' presiding over a system of [[state capitalism]]. To some schools of [[anarchism|anarchists]], ''all'' prominent members, functionaries and leaders of any kind of state are part of this state bourgeoisie. According to these interpretations, the bourgeoisie is composed of any individuals who have exclusive control over the means of production, regardless of whether this control comes in the form of private ownership or state power.

==Bourgeoisie In America==

Capitalism has always been the foundation for production and market in the United States starting with the slave trades prominence in the south. Today capitalism has evolved and is a major ideology in American culture.

In America, the average citizen would not outright identify themselves as bourgeoisie, but they will admit to belonging to America's middle class which in a sense is generally the same. Many slang usages have diminished the word into a negative. Today many Americans view the term bourgeoisie as being someone who is uptight. Though the original meaning references the middle class, it is generally a term used to describe the country's wealthier citizens.

== See also ==

{{wiktionarypar2|bourgeoisie|bourgeois}}

* [[Social class]]

* [[Proletarianization]]

* [[Aristocracy]]

* [[Capitalism]]

* [[The Communist Manifesto]]

* [[Leninism]]

* [[Libertarian Socialism]]

* [[Marxism]]

* [[Middle class]]

* [[Pink collar]]

* [[Pop culture]]

* [[Popular revolt in late medieval Europe]]

* [[Bourgeois personality]]

==References==

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*Hal Draper, ''Karl Marx's Theory of Revolution, Vol. 2: The Politics of Social Classes''. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1979.

*Ralph Miliband, ''Class and class power in contemporary capitalism'', in: Stanislaw Kozyr-Kowalski and Jacek Tittenbrun, ''On Social Differentiation. A Contribution to the Critique of Marxist Ideology, Part 2''. Poznan: Adam Mickiewicz University Press, 1992, pp. 7-62.

*Ernest Mandel, ''Social differentiation in capitalist and postcapitalist societies'', in: Stanislaw Kozyr-Kowalski and Jacek Tittenbrun, ''On Social Differentiation. A Contribution to the Critique of Marxist Ideology, Part 2.'' Poznan: Adam Mickiewicz University Press, 1992, pp. 63-91. khfrmmsx

*Erik Olin Wright et al., ''The Debate on Classes.'' London: Verso, 1989.

*Anthony Giddens, ''The Class Structure of the Advanced societies''.

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{{Citations missing|date=December 2006}}

== External links ==

*[http://www.gegenstandpunkt.com/english/state/toc.html The Democratic State] &ndash; A Critique of Bourgeois Sovereignty

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