Reply #4: It really depends on them.

[white_wolf]

The petty bourgeoisie are hard to classify. Marx said they were in constant danger of falling into the ranks of the working class themselves and that over time the "middle class" would get smaller and smaller. They have been a revolutionary class in the past, siding with the communists in the Russian Revolution. On the other hand they also formed an important part of the Fascist party of Italy during the years leading to Mussolini's rise. This is a generalization of course, there are always exceptions. Marx even said that he thought that some full capitalists would side with the workers in the case of revolution just as some nobles sided with the capitalist when they rose up to overthrow feudalism.