ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the implications of unequal rates of exploitation for historical materialism, and the relations between the mode of production and the social formation with special reference to the phenomenon of social oppression. Bourgeoisdom involves among other things two processes: oppression is necessary for the reproduction of exploitation. A homogeneous proletariat would also have more bargaining power than a differentiated proletariat resulting in a decline in the economy wide rate of surplus value. The persistence of some types of social oppression such as caste in India is connected to the coexistence of some pre-capitalist modes of production in a social formation where the capitalist mode of production is dominant. A social formation involves one dominant extended mode of production and one or more subordinate restricted modes of production. It is proposed that the social formation where the capitalist mode of production is dominant may be termed as bourgeoisdom.
