Abstract
This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.
An enigma in the research on the bourgeoisie is the lack of definition. Fieldwork as done by the two authors in Paris provides ample evidence of a specific social group answering to the popular acknowledgement of the word. The non-definition of the bourgeoisie is an intrinsic attribute of its structure, tied to change, and of its ideology, burdened with a derogatory term. The bourgeoisie should not be enclosed by boundaries contrary to its essence. Its existence cannot be denied and it can be reached by appropriate ethnological description and analysis.