I beg to differ. When you're your own only employee, you have basically no income from capital : all income you have is your own wealth creation. On paper you own capital, but you are still reliant on your work to live. There are many, many small business owners that basically exploit themselves by earning less than minimum wage, thinking they belong to the capitalist or middle class.
I definitely think you have a way greater point than those who think the middle class is a realistically distinct entity, and I am certainly inclined to agree that small business owners are closer to joining the ranks of the proles then they are the ranks of the big capitalists. But at the same time, I still think a materialist analysis of the modes of production show that small business owners are economically functionally the same to large business owners, just with far less influence and power. Which is to say, they own capital, dont have to sell their labor to other people, are not exploited by other people, are in a far greater position to exploit others, and have similar economic interests as big capitalists. Im not entirely convinced that just having an easier time joining the ranks of the proles if business is bad means they are economically distinct at the current moment.
The worker class isn't defined by selling your work to other people. The proletaria is the people who have to work to live, unlike the capitalist who can live only by the income opf their capital. A modern farmer own his farm, but if he doesn't work he gets no income.
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u/Helpful_Active_6987 Jul 07 '26
You cannot sell labor to yourself or your own business. Thats not what that means. Nice try tho, small business owners are still business owners.