DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES OF THE WORLD'S MIDDLE CLASSES

ABSTRACT

The world has been getting contradictory messages about its class structure. According to one authoritative account, it has reached a 'global tipping point' - 'half the world is now middle class or wealthier'. This was based on figures marshalled by Homi Kharas, a former World Bank chief economist now at Brookings. More excitably, the Economist has hailed the 'relentless rise' of a 'burgeoning bourgeoisie' and trumpeted the arrival of a middle-class world. The new middle-class dream in the Global South had, first and foremost, an Asian setting. It was woven and promoted by figures in the World Bank's orbit, seconded by business consultancies and investment bankers. The covid-19 pandemic is currently shattering the middle-class dream in the South and accelerating the inegalitarian tendencies analyzed above. Where this will lead is still an open question.