The economic conditions of the TPB, the torn position of owning Means of Production whilst being financially dependent on their own labour, influences everything that the TPB does and thinks. The work of a self-employed person is not just their “job”, but an “entire social world whose values, outlook on life and society – thrift, discipline, piety and so on – flowed from their unique working situation.” The author dismisses the widely understood myth that class is about wages and instead proceeds with the Marxian understanding of being about one's social relationship at work and ownership of the means of production The phrase "a nation of shopkeepers" is an expression commonly used to refer to England or the United Kingdom. It is often attributed to Napoleon, though this claim is disputed and earlier occurrences exist. A Nation of Shopkeepers is a book exploring the history and present of the petite bourgeoisie, particularly in Britain. Evans looks at the complicated class structure of modern Britain, how education and housing play a part in class, and considers the impact of individualism upon politics and the left. The conclusion offers suggestions for how the petite bourgeoisie, which Evans positions as vital in modern Britain, could come together with the working class to actually make a difference. Haven't fully 'read' this to my satisfaction yet, but marking as such so I can write some thoughts here.

A vivid and passionate account of the renewal of class divisions in British society and the visceral forms they take. Anyone who doubts the relevance of contemporary class divides is encouraged to read this book.” In 2021, in the EU, there were twenty-one million micro-businesses, making up 93% of all companies within the bloc, employing over eighty million people. In the UK, 96% of all businesses are micro-businesses, and 76% of all businesses have no employees … it is small firms that account for the majority of new jobs created in the British economy.”It sounds like a terrifying leap to make. But then, as Dan Evans would argue, there is so much to gain. The “Network” model of Industrial Unionism was developed during the IWW’s foray into organising Deliveroo and JustEat riders in 2017-2018, through the IWW Couriers Network. These gig-economy workers were technically “self-employed” and thus had no trade union rights and competed against one another for work. The Network was a way to bring these atomised workers together into an Industrial Union to develop common demands that would make work-life better for them all. It had lots of local successes in various cities (particularly Cardiff and Glasgow) and culminated in the large #FFS410 strike in October 2018. Though the project unfortunately derailed, for reasons that can be found in this piece by FW Pete Davies, it is a model that could be adapted and practiced in different circumstances.The North America-based IWW Freelance Journalists Union is a similar project aiming to unite isolated workers, and there are conversations in UK and Ireland to form an organisation by and for freelance artists. This is a brilliant and provocative book and I recommend it highly. Not because Evans gets it right as I am unconvinced by his primary thesis. The Art of Advertising' tells the story of British advertising from the mid 18th century to the 1930s from three perspectives: the development of printing, the birth of commercial art and the extent to which advertising mirrored society. This third theme is explored through subjects such as class, the perception of women, celebrities, royalty, politics, war and local history. Relying on a structuralist Marxist framework, leaning heavily on the work of Poulantzas, they propose that neoliberalism has changed the class structure from one that was relatively simple, with a large working class, small middle and small ruling class; to one that is far more complex, with a bloated intermediate class and a more heterogeneous ruling class. The intermediate, middle class is then best understood when split into two - the "upper" professionals may be classed as the professional-managerial classes, while the "lower", which is frequently degraded and proletarianised, may be classed as the new petty bourgeoisie, with the lower section being much larger than the upper

This is the real point to A Nation of Shopkeepers. Petty bourgeois existence may define us, but it also props up an exploitative system. This will only end when the petty bourgeoisie – old and new – realises its position and chooses to break free from the toxic cycle of aspiration and precarity.I'll admit, I don't read much Marxist literature, and it will take study for me to fully understand this book. But from what I do understand, I like the critiques of the media's inability to understand the existence of people living in 'working class' towns who are not actually working class in terms of their social position, despite having accents/not having degrees from Oxbridge/etc. I also like the critiques of the snobbery and insularity of the English Left. Yet, far from disappearing, structural changes to the global economy under neoliberalism have instead grown the petite-bourgeoisie, and the individualist values associated with it have been popularized by a society which fetishizes “aspiration”, home ownership and entrepreneurship. So why has this happened?

Napoleon would have been correct in seeing the United Kingdom as essentially a commercial and naval rather than a land based power, but during his lifetime it was fast being transformed from a mercantile to an industrial nation, a process which laid the basis for a century of British hegemony after the Battle of Waterloo. Although the UK had half the population of France during the Napoleonic Wars, there was a higher per capita income and, consequently, a greater tax base [ citation needed], necessary to conduct a prolonged war of attrition. The United Kingdom's economy and its ability to finance the war against Napoleon also benefitted from the Bank of England's issuance of inconvertible banknotes, a "temporary" measure which remained from the 1790s until 1821. [7] Origin of phrase [ edit ]

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shopkeepers". Napoleon.org. Angleterre…a people which he [Napoleon] so disdainfully used to call a nation of shop-keepers Mike Savage, author of The Return of Inequality “A brilliantly readable exploration of the difficulties and the necessity of class analysis for any imaginably successful left politics.”Initially identified as a powerful political force by theorists like Marx and Poulantzas, the petit-bourgeoisie was expected to decline, as small businesses and small property were gradually swallowed up by monopoly capitalism. Yet, far from disappearing, structural changes to the global economy under neoliberalism have instead grown the petite-bourgeoisie, and the individualist values associated with it have been popularized by a society which fetishizes "aspiration", home ownership and entrepreneurship. So why has this happened?