<P> The critical analyses of the bourgeois mentality by the German intellectual Walter Benjamin (1892--1940) indicated that the shop culture of the petite bourgeoisie established the sitting room as the centre of personal and family life; as such, the English bourgeois culture is, he alleges, a sitting - room culture of prestige through conspicuous consumption . The material culture of the bourgeoisie concentrated on mass - produced luxury goods of high quality; between generations, the only variance was the materials with which the goods were manufactured . </P> <P> In the early part of the 19th century, the bourgeois house contained a home that first was stocked and decorated with hand - painted porcelain, machine - printed cotton fabrics, machine - printed wallpaper, and Sheffield steel (crucible and stainless). The utility of these things was inherent to their practical functions . By the latter part of the 19th century, the bourgeois house contained a home that had been remodelled by conspicuous consumption . Here, Benjamin argues, the goods were bought to display wealth (discretionary income), rather than for their practical utility . The bourgeoisie had transposed the wares of the shop window to the sitting room, where the clutter of display signalled bourgeois success . (See: Culture and Anarchy, 1869 .) </P> <P> Two spatial constructs manifest the bourgeois mentality: (i) the shop - window display, and (ii) the sitting room . In English, the term "sitting - room culture" is synonymous for "bourgeois mentality", a "philistine" cultural perspective from the Victorian Era (1837--1901), especially characterised by the repression of emotion and of sexual desire; and by the construction of a regulated social - space where "propriety" is the key personality trait desired in men and women . </P> <P> Nonetheless, from such a psychologically constricted worldview, regarding the rearing of children, contemporary sociologists claim to have identified "progressive" middle - class values, such as respect for non-conformity, self - direction, autonomy, gender equality and the encouragement of innovation; as in the Victorian Era, the transposition to the US of the bourgeois system of social values has been identified as a requisite for employment success in the professions . </P>

Who were the members of the bourgeoisie from the old order in france