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Journal of Shanghai University (Social Science Edition)

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"In Itself" or "For Itself": Middle Class and Class Consciousness

  

  • Online:2010-01-15 Published:2010-01-15

Abstract:

"In Itself" or "For Itself":
Abstract： For the theories of middle class in Western countries, there is a presupposition that middle class, as a stratum or group that takes shape in the development of the Western industrial business and citizen society, has a similar self-assessment, value orientation, life style, psychological characteristic and market capacity, thus playing an important role both in market orientation and in the stabilization and development of society. This essay, instead of repeatedly considering middle class as the "stabilizer", "balance" and "buffer", takes a perspective of class consciousness and class responsibility. The author thinks that, since the transformation of modern society, the differentiation, combination and development of middle class has made itself full of contradiction, heterogeneity and complexity. At that time, it is not the "class-for-itself". But, with the development of modernization, and with the diversification stimulated by market economy of stakeholders, political aspiration and value orientation, middle class begins to change, not only becoming a complex variable for group consciousness and behavior orientation in social reality, but also turning into an important variable for the relation between the stabilization and development of social order. Moreover, with different political and cultural backgrounds of countries, it has different connotations and characteristics. Therefore, middle class can not form a unified class consciousness, nor hardly constitute a class of political maturity. If there is not a positive interaction and mutual configuration of state and society, and not a win-win cooperation of other classes, it is difficult for middle class to become an important function system in the sound operation and coordinated development of modern social order.

Key words: middle class; classforitself; class consciousness; social order

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