Middle class

The middle class is a social group positioned in the center of a social hierarchy. This group sits between the wealthiest elite and the poorest members of society. People use many different criteria to define who belongs to this class. Some definitions focus on income levels or specific occupations. Others look at education, social status, or even personal values. Because these definitions change, the size and meaning of the middle class can vary significantly between different countries and eras.

One way to understand the middle class is through income and spending. The OECD defines middle-class households as those earning between 75% and 200% of a nation's median income. Another way to measure this is through discretionary income. This is the money a person has left after paying for basic needs like food and shelter. For example, *The Economist* suggested that being middle class begins when a person has roughly one-third of their income left for discretionary spending. This extra money allows people to buy consumer goods, improve their healthcare, and pay for their children's education.

Sociologists also look at the specific types of people within this group. One category is the professional-managerial class. This group includes salaried mental workers like teachers, nurses, engineers, and managers. These individuals usually have high levels of training and university degrees. While they earn salaries that are often above the national average, they do not own the means of production. This means they do not own the large businesses or factories where they work. Instead, they are employees who help manage the daily operations of a capitalist system.

Another type is the petite bourgeoisie, a term often used in Marxist theory. This group consists of people who own small to medium-sized businesses. Unlike the large elite, their income comes from employing a small number of workers. However, in modern capitalist economies, the term "middle class" has shifted. It now often describes a combination of the "labour aristocracy," professionals, and white-collar workers. Because of economic boom-and-bust cycles, people in this group may sometimes move between being middle class and being working class.

The history of this term shows how society has changed over hundreds of years. The phrase "middle class" was first recorded in a 1745 pamphlet by James Bradshaw. Before this, people in Europe often used the phrase "the middling sort." In the 18th century, thinkers like Friedrich Engels noted a new group of city-dwellers called the bourgeoisie. These were merchants who lived between the nobility and the peasants. In France, this group played a major role in driving the French Revolution. Eventually, they helped transform from a middle group into a new ruling class.

Cultural differences also change how the middle class is viewed. In the United Kingdom, social status has historically been linked to things like manners, accents, or the type of school a person attended. In the United States, the term is used very broadly. By the end of the 20th century, many more Americans identified as middle class compared to other groups. This shows that the way we label ourselves depends heavily on the social rules of our specific country.

In recent decades, the middle class has seen massive global growth. By February 2009, *The Economist* reported that over half of the world's population belonged to the middle class. This change was driven by rapid growth in emerging countries. Interestingly, the number of middle-class people in Asia grew to exceed those in the West around 2007 or 2008. This growth is not always slow and steady; in many places, it has been described as explosive. As more people move into this group, they change the economies and political landscapes of their nations.