The national bourgeoisie is comprised of mostly-independent producers and entrepreneurs (Bulatlat Contributors, 2015). It is an entrepreneurial class interested in the independent political and economic development of the country (Rosewall, 2019). They’ve established businesses that are thriving in the industry.
- They are the 2% of society. They take control of the bigger businesses in the Philippine society, but they do not have huge control and influence on the socio-economic and political state of the country in comparison to the comprador bourgeoisie.
- This social class is one of the true bourgeoisie who already participates in the Marxist view of capitalist exploitation fueled by their desire to develop capitalist production. (Linda Elitista, 2019)
- However, they are not what the majority condemns, for those who we truly condemn are the 1% of Philippine society—the comprador bourgeoisie. The national bourgeoisie is also oppressed by the comprador bourgeoisie and foreign economic powers, and they face the fear of losing their money. (Linda Elitista, 2019)
The State of the National Bourgeoisie
The national bourgeoisie is part of the capitalist class which is comprised of approximately 2% of the Filipino population. They are businessmen who hold the means of production in society, and their actions are fueled by capitalism, production, and profit.
The national bourgeoisie desires the improvement of capitalist production in the Philippines (Linda Elitista, 2019), for they benefit from it and see this as progress. People of this class want to climb the ladder to the big bourgeoisie class. (Linda Elitista, 2019) This desire is affected by feudalism (Linda Elitista, 2019) that—despite not being formally implemented or established in society—continued to influence our politics, economy, and the people.
Despite being businessmen and capitalists themselves, “Ginigipit ang pambansang burgesya ng malalaking kapitalistang dayuhan na nagtatambak ng yaring produkto sa Pilipinas at nagmamanipula sa mga saligang patakaran ng reaksyunaryong gobyerno kaugnay ng ekonomiya, pananalapi, taripa, at pagbubuwis… (The national bourgeoisie is oppressed by big foreign capitalists who export their products to the Philippines and manipulate the economy, finances, tariff, and taxes in relation to the government.)” (Linda Elitista, 2019) They are not only opressed by foreign big powers but also the 1%—the comprador bourgeoisie—who control Philippine society and the landscape of the businesses. (Guerrero, 1970)
The national bourgeoisie also has a complicated relationship with feudalism—fettered by and benefits from feudalism. They are oppressed by the landlords, but they also depend on their land as collateral in getting loans from banks for investment projects. Their confused stand continues in relation to the government where they complain about graft and corruption but are eager to join the bureaucrat capitalists. Sometimes, it is against the imperialist powers that oppress them; however, they are eager to be part of the big bourgeoisie, too. (Guerrero, 1970)
Nevertheless, the national bourgeoisie can join the masses at certain times and to a limited extent, especially the left-wing businessmen. In this class, there are left-wing and right-wing capitalists. According to Amando Guerrero (1970), author of Philippine Society and Revolution, “The left-wing is most oppressed by imperialist rule and is always in danger of bankruptcy due to the increasing combinations of the foreign monopolists, comprador big bourgeoisie, and upper section or right-wing of the national bourgeoisie … The right-wing can easily swing over to the side of counterrevolution because of its fear of the masses and its close attachment to the big bourgeoisie.”
The Capitalist Exploitation
For they adhere to capitalism, they participate in the capitalist exploitation of workers as well. Capitalism is an economic system wherein private individuals or businesses own capital goods and the means of production; true capitalism functions with a free market or laissez-faire in which the businesses and individuals are completely unrestrained. (The Investopedia Team, 2020) Profits—as well as losses of the business—hold center stage in the capitalist society; exploitation due to profit does, too.
Karl Marx and his long-time collaborator Friedrich Engels viewed the world through historical materialism which sees the changes over time concerning the material reality of production. Despite the timeline going from feudalism to capitalism, social classes never disappeared. Marx viewed society in two economic classes in relation to the ownership of the means of production—the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. (CrashCourse, 2017)
As the bourgeoisie aims to get wealthier and richer through owning the means of production, the proletariat work for those who own the means of production. The difference between them concerning the means of production fuel exploitation as Marx argued, “If the proletariat lack access to the means of production, then they only have one thing they can sell: their labor.” Although they are selling their labor for payment, they are paid less than the work that they produce. Marx argues that the profit of the capitalist class itself is exploitation. (CrashCourse, 2017)
When the capitalist employs a worker for a certain amount of money, that worker would give them their intellectual and labor power to produce more goods of better quality and more services of better quality. However, the capitalist wouldn’t pay them the amount equivalent to their labor—that’s how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The salary of the worker is a lot less than what the capitalist gets from their business. The capitalist essentially “rips off the worker” or exploits in Marxist language. (Nolita Werrett, 2016)
Marx argues that the focus of capitalism on profit drives exploitation because the capitalist pays the worker less than the value of their work. Despite the national bourgeoisie participating in capitalist ideologies and actions, they are not the “villains of one’s society.”
The social majority’s opponent is the comprador big bourgeoisie and the imperialists or foreign powers.
Summary
- The national bourgeoisie is the businessmen who adhere to capitalist ideologies.
- They participate in capitalist exploitation through profit maximization.
- They are still not the opponents of the society’s majority—ang masa.
