For the first time, the concept of "middle strata" about society began to be used by Aristotle. It was he who expressed the idea, which since then has been regularly repeated by many scientists: the more this middle part of society is, the more stable the society itself will be. In the 20th century, the concept of the "middle class" became very widespread, because it was at this time that its sharp increase in numbers was observed. The middle class was analyzed by Max Weber, Norman Elias, L. Warner, D. Goldthorpe and others. Even Marxists, despite the absolutization of the bipolarity of the class structure (proletariat - bourgeoisie), recognized the existence of the middle class, which belongs to intermediate social groups. The most profound and comprehensive problems of the middle class are considered within the framework of the stratification (functional) approach in sociology.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the middle class included small owners and independent entrepreneurs. But with the development of the "mass welfare society" in developed countries, there was an increase in the standard of living of skilled wage earners, who significantly joined the ranks of the middle class. In addition to the representatives of such elite professions as top managers, lawyers, accountants, researchers, etc., the middle class has also reached the level of sales agents, teachers of schools and universities, doctors, clerks, and representatives of many other mass professions who earn a little less.
There is a constant debate among scientists about the criteria for allocating the middle class. Most often, the main objective criteria are the level of education and income, standards of consumption, ownership of material or intellectual property, as well as the ability to perform highly skilled work. In addition to these objective criteria, a person's subjective perception of his or her position - that is, his or her self-identification as a representative of the "social middle" - plays an important role.
There are two approaches to characterizing the structure of the middle layer.
Some scientists consider the middle class as a kind of rather homogeneous education. At the same time, it is emphasized that a representative of the middle class has a higher income and more favourable working conditions than people from the lower class, but he has less favourable positions on the same parameters than people belonging to the upper class.
The second approach is more widespread, with its supporters emphasizing the heterogeneity of the middle class. For example, according to modern British sociologist Anthony Giddens, there are two main categories within it. The first, the "old middle class", includes small entrepreneurs. This category is characterized by the variability of the number, although its share in the population remains quite high. This is a result of the fact that the process of leaving the ruined entrepreneurs is constantly taking place, which is balanced by the influx of new people who want to try their hand at their own business. The second category - the "new middle class" - consists of highly paid employees, usually engaged in intellectual work. The top layer of the "new middle class" includes managers and specialists working in the sphere of big business. These people, as a rule, have higher education and are highly qualified specialists. The lower stratum includes teachers, doctors, office workers, etc. It is a very heterogeneous group of people, similar in many ways to the working class.
There are no clear boundaries between these categories. Moreover, there is an intensive diffusion between them. Thus, the number of the "old middle class" (class of owners) is steadily decreasing, and, conversely, the number of "new middle classes" is increasing. Nowadays, the majority of the middle class is made up of people whose source of income is their labour, professional skills, and not the possession of the private property, as it used to be.
If we present a schematic view of the social structure of developed countries, we will get an "egg": the smallest (poor) and the highest (rich) classes, the largest middle class. At present, the middle class includes about 60-70% of the world's population in the developed world.
As the main social group, the middle class in developed countries performs several very important social functions.
Basic among them is the function of social stabilizer: having achieved a certain place in the social structure of society, the middle class tends to maintain the existing state structure, which allowed them to achieve their position. It should be taken into account that the middle class plays a leading role in the processes of social mobility, and this also strengthens the existing social system, protecting it from social disasters: the dissatisfaction of the lower class with its position is balanced by the quite real opportunities for raising its status in society.
to be continued in the next part
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