Well, that might be stretching it, but social movements and revolutions are often borne of the bourgeoisie. The nationwide protests which started in the University of California system were part of the March 4th National Day of Action for Public Education. Across the nation, students, and in some instances staff, instructors, and faculty, protested budget cuts, rising fees, and mandatory furloughs. Protests over cuts at UCSD, as well as over recent racial tensions stemming from a “Compton cookout” party held during Black History month.
We’re seeing a large cadre of middle-class students protesting rising fees at public universities with rhetoric that makes educational access sound like social infrastructure. Rhetoric that often sounds like the dreaded “S” word, socialism. While students protesting fee and tuition hikes are nothing new, the sociopolitical zeitgeist is, in my opinion, different. Social movements and revolutions are sparked by gaps between an “old guard” and those feeling it is out of touch. If the middle class and the bourgeoisie in particular start to feel disenfranchised by deep structural issues in society and the political economy—look out.
Right now, I feel the socialpolitical zeitgeist is one of dissatisfaction with the status quo, which is beginning to lump Obama into the category of the powers-that-be. The squeezing of the middle class, evident in the rising gini coefficient in the US now over .40 {Canada’s was lower at .32 in 2004, on par with much of Europe}, are sensitizing the middle masses to perceived inequities and slights. Public university funding cuts that undermine the acquisition and development of cultural capital, so intertwined with the potential to generate economic capital, is political dynamite in a floundering economy.
If the middle classes feel politically and economically thwarted over time, I can see the youth rebelling. I’ve been having France on my mind, so the question I have is would such a middle-class rebellion be more like Paris, 1968 or The Great Cat Massacre?
Twitterversion:: Seeds of discontent brewing w/student protest movemnt started in Univ. of Calif. sys. Bourgeoisie rebellion in the cards? http://url.ie/59g1 @Prof_K
Song:: The Sterehoes-“May 68”
Comments 4
Woz — March 5, 2010
"social movements and revolutions are often borne of the bourgeoisie."
That's a pretty hefty statement to throw out with no evidence. Anything you can point to that adds weight to this? Because I feel like there could be a lot of evidence to say social movements and revolutions are often borne of the working class...
working-class activist — March 5, 2010
Don't forget that not only UC students and faculty attended the March 4th defense of education protest. Thousands of CSU students, community college students, high school students, elementary school students, faculty, parents, school board members, and other individuals protested across California. Not all of these individuals can be considered bourgeoisie.
I am a student at San Francisco State University, and while you could assert that one must be bourgeois to attend a CSU college, I disagree. I use grants, scholarships, loans, and work to pay for college and would thus not necessarily consider myself wealthy enough to be bourgeois. People can certainly be working class to attend community colleges, high schools, and elementary schools.
Here's an excellent photo of the San Francisco rally:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29792566@N08/4407267933/sizes/l/in/set-72157623430832555/
and the entire set of photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29792566@N08/sets/72157623430832555/with/4407251121/