tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post1395119887540793963..comments2023-12-29T18:13:21.495-06:00Comments on pink scare: What is middle class, really?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-86503186742997443052011-03-26T17:31:31.213-05:002011-03-26T17:31:31.213-05:00I agree with what you say about the fact that some...I agree with what you say about the fact that some doctors may, in fact, have more in common with techs, nurses, etc. than with the investors who own for-profit hospitals. A person's class, on the Marxist view, is in the first instance defined in terms of their relationship to the means of production. It's this way of thinking about class- in terms of economic power relations- that interests me (and which is desperately needed in our political vocabulary).thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05268192967377248928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-15661371963708928062011-03-24T15:28:18.881-05:002011-03-24T15:28:18.881-05:00I've gotten questions about the role of profes...I've gotten questions about the role of professionals in the working class, because it seems counterintuitive (in the minds of folks who classify based on income) for a doctor to be a worker. <br /><br />The way things are going in the medical system, the number of private practice physicians ("middle class") is decreasing and the number of hospital-affiliated / hospitalist physicians is increasing ("working class)." <br /><br />A person's income is not indicative of their class - doctors in hospital settings are just as alienated and exploited as any other worker. A physician employed by a hospital has much more in common with the nurses, techs, and maintenance staff than with the hospital owners who profit off of people's illnesses.JrDochttp://twitter.com/TrAntidotenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-78633507587654566992010-09-24T23:14:04.501-05:002010-09-24T23:14:04.501-05:00Thanks, Sheldon.
I'm fine with petit bourgeoi...Thanks, Sheldon.<br /><br />I'm fine with petit bourgeoisie (or petty capitalist for that matter)- and I agree that we could more or less drop middle class from our political vocabulary entirely. Still- I do think there is a distinction between a so-called professional and a small shopkeeper (i.e. classic petit bourgeois) in terms of how they're related to production.<br /><br />Also, as a matter of strategy- I do think that reaching some politically inchoate people means revaluing and destabilizing the terms and concepts with which they're familiar living in a capitalist society. In other words, I do think there's some political import to taking up the tools where they lie and using them against the prevailing "we're all middle class" ideology. But, I agree with what you say- given that the term is so ideologically loaded and directed towards convincing people that we live in a classless society without divisions, it would be better if it just went away.thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05268192967377248928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-51960006698788973902010-09-23T19:17:27.116-05:002010-09-23T19:17:27.116-05:00Great Post! but whatever happened to the term the ...Great Post! but whatever happened to the term the "petty bourgoisie", or "petty capitalist" if you prefer or can't spell the latter word? I prefer to get rid of the term "middle class" all together. <br /><br />I have enjoyed many of the recent posts here on Pink Scare. Keep it up.Sheldonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04604847159462215168noreply@blogger.com