bourgeoisie

Definition of Bourgeoisie

(noun) The class that owns the means of production.

Example of Bourgeoisie

• A factory owner.

Bourgeoisie Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: bour·geoi·sie

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˌbʊrʒˌwɑˈzi/
• British English – /ˌbɔːʒwɑːˈziː/

Usage Notes

• Plural: bourgeoisies
• Contrasted to the proletariat, the working class.
• The struggle between the bourgeoisie and proletariat, according to Karl Marx (1818–1883) drives class conflict.
• Also called capitalist class.

Related Videos

Additional Information

• Economic Sociology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “bourgeoisie” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Dahrendorf, Ralf. 1988. The Modern Social Conflict: An Essay on the Politics of Liberty. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
• Giddens, Anthony. 1973. The Class Structure of the Advanced Societies. London: Hutchinson.
• Grusky, David B., ed. 2014. Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective. 4th ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
• Kerbo, Harold Ray. 2012. Social Stratification and Inequality: Class Conflict in Historical, Comparative, and Global Perspective. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. 1848. The Communist Manifesto.
• Massey, Douglas S. 2007. Categorically Unequal: The American Stratification System. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
• Mills, C. Wright. 1956. The Power Elite. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Mosca, Gaetano. [1896] 1939. The Ruling Class. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Sun, Wanning, and Yingjie Guo, eds. 2013. Unequal China: The Political Economy and Cultural Politics of Inequality. London: Routledge.

Related Terms

• capitalism
• class
• communism
• distribution
• division of labor
• Durkheim, Emile
• economic system
• economics
• mode of production
• relations to production
• stratification

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Cite the Definition of Bourgeoisie

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “bourgeoisie.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved December 14, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/bourgeoisie/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

bourgeoisie. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/bourgeoisie/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “bourgeoisie.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/bourgeoisie/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“bourgeoisie.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 14 Dec. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/bourgeoisie/>.