- 13 Jun 2017 16:58
#14814290
In nearly all countries where communism emerged the vast majority of the population were rural peasants. China and Russia were primarily agrarian societies. Indonesia which was on the verge of going communist before the 1965 coup was also a mostly rural country with landed farmers. In all of these countries the industrial proletariat descended from peasants who had moved to the cities.
In Western countries I have noticed that many people have ancestors who were not peasants. Even though their grandfathers or great grandfathers may have worked in factories, their distant ancestors may have been merchants or craftsmen. Are the vast majority of the population in Britain, France and the Netherlands descendants of peasants, or do they descend from the merchant/craftsmen classes? Why does nearly everyone who tells me something about their family history always involve something bourgeois?
In Western countries I have noticed that many people have ancestors who were not peasants. Even though their grandfathers or great grandfathers may have worked in factories, their distant ancestors may have been merchants or craftsmen. Are the vast majority of the population in Britain, France and the Netherlands descendants of peasants, or do they descend from the merchant/craftsmen classes? Why does nearly everyone who tells me something about their family history always involve something bourgeois?