The middle class theory holds that when the middle class becomes the majority of a society, the social structure will be in a stable status,and vice versa.Most theorists agree on this logic. There are,however, content...The middle class theory holds that when the middle class becomes the majority of a society, the social structure will be in a stable status,and vice versa.Most theorists agree on this logic. There are,however, contentions on two points about the middle class theory.One is about the social position of the middle class: some consider it to consist of the lower class and some just think the opposite. The other controversy is about whether the middle class is a united and homogeneous group, or a divided and heterogeneous one. In contemporary western societies, the middle class is the majority of the population, thus structurally making social stabilization possible in these countries. This experience is what China should draw on. It is a crucial problem about China's social structure that the middle class is too small and the lower class is too large. By analyzing China's several census data, the author predicts that it would take about 40 to 70 years for the China's middle class to become the majority of the society.展开更多
The emergence of the middle class was closely related to the appearance of industrial society and its consequential constant changes in the social structure. Karl Marx and other theorists in the same camp were among t...The emergence of the middle class was closely related to the appearance of industrial society and its consequential constant changes in the social structure. Karl Marx and other theorists in the same camp were among the earliest scholars who discussed that topic. For a quite long period of time, the debate was mainly focused on the characteristics of the “new middle class.” The middle class, however, has undergone a categorical transformation from the old to the new middle-class, and furthermore, this transformation itself has signified the transition in social patterns from industrial to post-industrial society as well as economic globalization, both of which have contributed to the growth and global expansion of the middle class, having thus fundamentally renovated the middle class.展开更多
文摘The middle class theory holds that when the middle class becomes the majority of a society, the social structure will be in a stable status,and vice versa.Most theorists agree on this logic. There are,however, contentions on two points about the middle class theory.One is about the social position of the middle class: some consider it to consist of the lower class and some just think the opposite. The other controversy is about whether the middle class is a united and homogeneous group, or a divided and heterogeneous one. In contemporary western societies, the middle class is the majority of the population, thus structurally making social stabilization possible in these countries. This experience is what China should draw on. It is a crucial problem about China's social structure that the middle class is too small and the lower class is too large. By analyzing China's several census data, the author predicts that it would take about 40 to 70 years for the China's middle class to become the majority of the society.
文摘The emergence of the middle class was closely related to the appearance of industrial society and its consequential constant changes in the social structure. Karl Marx and other theorists in the same camp were among the earliest scholars who discussed that topic. For a quite long period of time, the debate was mainly focused on the characteristics of the “new middle class.” The middle class, however, has undergone a categorical transformation from the old to the new middle-class, and furthermore, this transformation itself has signified the transition in social patterns from industrial to post-industrial society as well as economic globalization, both of which have contributed to the growth and global expansion of the middle class, having thus fundamentally renovated the middle class.
