According to Karl Marx' political and economic theory, the bourgeoisie is the leading social class in a society that oppresses the working class, the proletariat, for their own enrichment. The bourgeoisie is primarily characterized by the fact that they own the means of production.
The word is generally used by intellectuals and leftist groups to describe the rich, elitist upper class, usually in a negative way.
French word which means Middle Class. Mostly used during the French Revolution. Was a legal category in society; defined by incone, social setting, also: nouveau riche.
Karl Marx attacked bourgeois political theory. Demonstrated clearly in The Communist Manefesto.
Another word for 'new money'. The real bourgeoisie were more middle class than new money, but the divide that separated the serfs from the bourgeoisie, nobility, clergy and royals was very large.
Example: In pre-revolutionary France, the bourgeoisie were the lawyers and accountants, working for the aristocracy, clergy and monarch.
A class of wealthy Capitalists. Many of those within the bourgeoisie are convinced that they are better than people who differ from them, which is bullshit because no-one is better than anyone else.
Example: If you think you are better than other people just because you have wealth, you do not deserve that wealth whatsoever and I hope you lose it for being so arrogant. You make other people feel bad, and the majority of homeless people actually deserve what you have because they are less horrible than you.