Stuff You Should Know - Short Stuff: Bourgeoisie
Amazon One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy aim to simplify healthcare by providing 24/7 virtual care and home delivery of prescriptions, eliminating traditional hassles like waiting in line. This service is designed to make healthcare more accessible and less stressful for users.
The discussion then shifts to the term 'bourgeois,' tracing its origins from a French word meaning 'small town' or 'market' and its evolution over time. Initially, it described the middle class without negative connotations. However, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels redefined it in the Communist Manifesto as exploitative capital owners, contrasting them with the working class. In America, the term further evolved into 'bougie,' often used pejoratively to describe someone perceived as middle-class or pretentious. The term has been popularized in modern culture through music, notably by artists like Gladys Knight and the Pips and Migos, who use it to describe a flashy, new-money lifestyle.
Key Points:
- Amazon One Medical provides 24/7 virtual healthcare access.
- Amazon Pharmacy delivers prescriptions directly to homes.
- 'Bourgeois' originally referred to the middle class in France.
- Karl Marx redefined 'bourgeois' as exploitative capital owners.
- 'Bougie' in modern culture often describes a flashy, new-money lifestyle.
Details:
1. 🚑 Simplifying Healthcare with Amazon's Innovations
- Amazon One Medical offers 24/7 virtual care, providing round-the-clock accessibility which significantly enhances patient convenience and access to healthcare services.
- The service includes a membership model that emphasizes personalized care and seamless integration with in-person visits, improving patient experience and satisfaction.
- Amazon Pharmacy eliminates the need for physical visits to pharmacies by offering home delivery of prescriptions, thus reducing the time and effort spent by patients in obtaining their medications.
- Both services focus on affordability and speed, addressing major pain points in traditional healthcare systems, such as cost and wait times, thereby simplifying the healthcare process for users.
- Amazon's integration of these services showcases a strategic move to revolutionize healthcare delivery by making it more patient-centric and efficient.
2. 📖 Tracing the Journey of 'Bourgeois' in Language
- The term 'bourgeois' originally described middle-class people without any negative connotations. It became pejorative with Marx and Engels' use in the Communist Manifesto in 1848 to describe capital-owning classes exploiting workers.
- In German, 'Bürgerliche Gesellschaft' was used by Marx, translating to bourgeois society, emphasizing the exploitative nature of the bourgeoisie.
- In America, 'bourgeois' is often misunderstood as a put down, associated with being basic or middle class, rather than fancy.
3. 🎵 'Bougie' in Music: From Gladys Knight to Migos
- The term 'bougie' was originally used negatively and was not intended as praise when it first crossed into American culture in the early 20th century.
- The Wobblies, a group divided between communists and anarchists, used 'bougie' as slang for 'bushwa', which stood for BS (bullshit), indicating disdain for the bourgeoisie.
- In black culture, 'bougie' gained prominence through music, notably with Gladys Knight and the Pips' disco hit 'Bougie Bougie' in 1980, signifying a shift in connotation.
- In contemporary music, 'bougie' is often referenced in hip-hop, with artists like Migos using it to describe a lifestyle that is affluent and stylish, demonstrating its evolution to a more positive or aspirational term.