Bourgeoisie, State, and Democracy

This book is concerned with two major issues: the role of the economic bourgeoisie in the emergence of democracy, and the nature and role of the new class of businessmen that has emerged in post-Soviet Russia. Through extensive analysis of the emergence and role of a new business class in Britain, France, Germany, and the USA at the time of their respective ‘industrial revolutions’ (with a brief comparative look at the pre-Soviet tsarist bourgeoisie), it explores the assumptions and conclusions of the major theories linking class and democratisation.