In social and political theory, the social order dominated by the property-owning class.
The term arose in medieval France, where it denoted the inhabitant of a walled town. The concept of the bourgeoisie is most closely associated with proletariat , thereby creating revolutionary tensions. The end result will be a final revolution in which the property of the bourgeoisie is expropriated and class conflict, exploitation, and the state are abolished. Much employed by 19th-century social reformers, the term had nearly disappeared from the vocabulary of political writers and politicians by the mid 20th century. In popular speech, it connotes philistinism, materialism, and a striving concern for "respectability." See also social {{link=class, social">class .