Capitalist or Borjuis???

On Saturday last week, a friend of mine sent me a message through BlackBerry Messenger. What started as a one liner message developed into a discussion regarding the "lifestyle" in a restaurant that he visited in Plaza Indonesia. He described it in such a way that I could imagine it clearly in my mind the "crowd" in that particular resto (or lounge, or bar, or whatever... I still can't tell the different). Go to any resto or lounge in Senayan City, Grand Indonesia, or Plaza Indonesia and you will definetely have an idea on what kind of "crowd" my friend was talking about.

I remember one sentence from my friend that made me thinking, "It sure is nice to spend your money around, bloody capitalist!". That last word bothered me the most. It got me thinking, are those people described by my friend are really capitalists? Personally, I don't think so...

My personal idea of a capitalist is someone like Warren Buffet, George Soros, and Bill Gates. Let's have a look at Warren Buffet. Is he rich? No question about it! But, contrary to what people might think, Warren lives a very simple life. He drives his own car, which is a Lincoln (not a Porsche, Ferrari, or Humvee, just a Lincoln) and he doesn't use credit card. He always have his breakfast at home and prefer the local restaurant near his house. Is he a capitalist? I think he fits all the criterias of a capitalist, concerning his wealth and business activities. I would say, and this is merely a personal assumption, that Warren lives a totally different life with the crowd mentioned by my good friend.

A capitalist would look for opportunities and he/she would value the value of money so much because he/she knows how hard it is to earn it. A capitalist doesn't need expensive clothes or branded bags to actualize himself, he/she would be comfortable with his bank account and stock price. A capitalist would not judge other people by his/her looks/appearance, but by his/her bank account and wealth portfolio.

After thinking about that, I said to my friend, are you sure they're capitalists? Because, I don't really think they match (my) personal criterias of a capitalist. I would say they are more inline with the definition of a Borjuis. So, in the end, I said to my friend... No, I don't think they're capitalists. I think they're merely Borjuis.

I, personally, prefer to be a Capitalist.