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Sociology vocabulary · Class, Stratification and Inequality

Bourgeoisie

Meaning in sociology, with examples

/ˌbʊəʒwɑːˈziː/nounCommon term

In sociology, bourgeoisie means: In Marxist theory, the capitalist class that owns the means of production, such as factories, land and capital, and lives on the profit made from other people's labour.

In Turkish: burjuvazi

How it is used

Comes from French and is used mainly in Marxist analysis, paired with the proletariat. Marx also wrote about the petty bourgeoisie: small shopkeepers and self-employed people. In everyday speech the adjective bourgeois can also mean conventional or materialistic.

Example sentences

  1. Marx predicted growing conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

  2. The rise of the bourgeoisie in eighteenth-century Europe changed both politics and culture.

Common collocations

  • the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
  • petty bourgeoisie
  • rise of the bourgeoisie
  • bourgeois society
  • proletariatIn Marxist theory, the working class that owns no means of production and must sell its labour for wages in order to live.
  • capitalismAn economic system in which the means of production are mostly privately owned and goods and labour are bought and sold in markets for profit.
  • social classA large group of people who share a similar economic position, such as income, wealth, occupation and education, and often similar life chances.
  • conflict theoryA group of theories that see society as shaped by struggles between groups with unequal power and resources, such as classes, genders or ethnic groups.

More terms: Class, Stratification and Inequality

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