Since the release of the 2010 US Census results, the problem of America's shrinking middle class has been raised repeatedly in the mass media and in political messages by the U.S. President and members of Congress. The federal government, economists, and the public have regarded the continual regeneration of the middle class as the very foundation of U.S. social stability and prosperity. Can the "vast middle class," however, in fact be regarded as having seen continual, stable regeneration in the U.S. politico-economic- social system? Or, on the contrary, was it the creation of the extremely specific political, economic, and social conditions of a unique time period between the 1910s and the 1950s or, at the latest, the early 1970s when U.S. economic decline began to be recognized? This study is a chronological examination of domestic and international factors that enabled the re-production of the U.S. middle class, and of the internal and external changes that caused the system to become dysfunctional. Drawing on the extensive research that has been done in U.S. social and cultural history with particular attention to "race-class-gender" analyses, this study examines the historic processes that gave rise to the so-called crisis of the U.S. middle class. Firstly, this paper examines the 1900s-1930s, focusing on the assimilation of immigrants, the emergence of mass consumer culture in the 1920s, and the Great Depression and New Deal. "Abundance" and "consumer culture" are the key terms for understanding the image that developed of the "American way of life" as depicted by renowned illustrator Norman Rockwell and embraced by immigrants of the time. Secondly, this study considers the role of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 -- known as the GI Bill of Rights? in creating a "vast middle class" by financially and educationally supporting the veterans of World War II and thereby producing "social capital" and networks of veterans. Thirdly, the study examines the U.S.'s Cold War-era policy of exporting the "American way of life," centered on the middle class, as a model for the world. Finally, this paper inquires into the influence of internal and external affairs, such as civil rights movements and the Vietnam War, on the shift into an era of "middle class crisis" in the United States.

View full abstract

The theme of this symposium (What Is the Middle Class?) emphasizes the importance of lifestyle and values rather than occupation and income level as the defining components of the middle class. As is well known, the increase in the number of people who regarded themselves as middle class during the period of rapid economic growth after World War II gave birth to the so-called 'all-middle class society' in Japan. It has been shown that their middle-class consciousness derived from a lifestyle and values focused on consumption. This paper therefore focuses on the history of consumption and elucidates the following points. It was in the 1920s-30s that a middle-class model was formed based on consumption levels and patterns rather than on the social prestige or culture associated with occupation and type of employment. Although this model was certainly influenced by that of the USA, its consumption patterns revealed certain Japanese characteristics. For example, Japanese consumers preferred small-scale mom-and-pop retail stores rather than large-scale stores such as GMS. As a result, the commercial sector was able to sustain many self-employed households and to expand business opportunities during rapid growth and thereby to allow the acquisition of sufficient income to meet middle-class consumption levels. Moreover, this model was inextricably linked to the norm of the 'modern family' as a consumption unit. Traditional families changed drastically in these years, for example in the reduced number of children in a household. They willingly accepted birth control and family planning in order to build an affuluent life. At the same time, many married females engaged not only in reproductive activity but in productive activity as well to acquire money sufficient for the middle-class levels of consumption, so that the male-breadwinner family did not in fact become the majority. These women were not entirely happy because they could not take time for housework, child-rearing and leisure. The 'all-middle class society' focused on consumption entailed various conflicts between time and money. From the comparative perspective of this symposium, this type of 'all-middle class society' based on consumption was not formed in contemporary China or India because of differences in historical conditions. Income inequality and family structures give rise to large variations in the consumption levels and patterns in these countries. It is important to take the historical particularity of Japan's 'all-middle class society' into account when considering the Comparison between Developed and Emerging Countries.

View full abstract

This paper investigates several aspects of the creation of the middle class and its characteristics in Russia, with a focus on the relation between the business cycle and socioeconomic stratification. The growth of the middle class has been significant politically in that both the rise of anti-government movements after December, 2011's mass demonstrations, and the decline in the administration' approval ratings, were spearheaded by members of the middle class. This political trend was reversed after Russia's annexation of Crimea in the spring of 2014, the main cause of the sharp rise in support for Putin's policy being the political climate in the middle class. From the vantage point of economics, it is important to note that the creation of a Russian middle class was accompanied by increases and changes in consumption, including the purchase of automobiles, the use of credit cards, and so on. These changes were enabled by the economic development that resulted from rising petroleum prices in the 2000s. Additionally, the Russian economy should be described as consumption-oriented, given the significant contribution of personal consumption to the Russian GDP. In this consumption-oriented economy, the particularly large volume of middle-class consumption offers an avenue for studying the future course of the Russian economy. Meanwhile, class consciousness, as indicated in a mass survey carried out by "Levada Center", Russia's major opinion poll institute, shows a positive correlation between the business cycle and people's assessments of their own households' material situation. Another survey, however, suggests that the business cycle that followed the 2008 crisis did not affect self-identification within the middle class. Lastly, Russia's political climate, especially among people of the middle-class, has changed since the annexation of Crimea, due to the nationalism born of accumulated distrust against Western policies regarding post-communist Central and Eastern Europe, including the multiple enlargements of NATO and the armed support for the independence of Kosovo Autonomous Province from Serbia. Whereas members of the middle class were once anti-government, they have now supporters of Putin's policy. In summary, the Russian middle class is a key factor for analyzing Russian society, in both the political and the economic spheres.

View full abstract

China has played a key role in creating a "middle class" in developing economics. This does not, however, mean domestic demand-led economic growth by an emerging "middle class". Intolerance to income inequality has become a public concern in China because inequality in income, assets and public social services has expanded rapidly. General Secretary Xi Jinping, confronted with the problem of declines in investment efficiency and potential growth, is trying to create a "middle class" and thereby to convert the investment-led economy into a demand-led economy through "new urbanization". Although China has a large "middle class", it is characterized by a particular social consciousness in which few citizens define themselves as "middle class".

View full abstract

Since the inception of economic reforms, India has attracted increasing attention for its excellent economic performance, through the 2000s in particular. The process of economic growth and industrial structural change has led to the expansion of the so-called 'middle class', causing a change in India's image. This study examines who constitutes India's middle class, how that middle class has expanded, and whether its expansion has had any transformative effect on India's social class structure. In India's case, the definition of the term 'middle class' is not explicitly fixed. It includes different criteria such as income, consumption expenditures, jobs, educational qualification, asset holdings, etc. and remains controversial. This paper focuses mainly on the transformation of the labour market with regard to unit-size, occupation and employment status, under the direct influence of changing economic policies and conditions. This will help us understand the existing system and the constraints on further expansion of the middle class. In what sectors or jobs are middle-class workers employed in India? They are mostly found among the white-collar employees of the organized sector. Some blue-collar employees of the organized-sector units, particularly in emerging industries and foreign companies, are also included, along with some who are temporarily and/or indirectly employed in the organized sector, such as contract employees, and certain self-employed workers in the unorganized sector. This was confirmed statistically to the extent possible and was put into a table to reflect the degree of concentration of middle-class status in each group. Furthermore, some of the author's field surveys in India reveal that middle-class workers form a distinctly different group from other labour groups in terms of monthly earnings, asset holdings, personal endowment, and so on. It is also noteworthy that very few of them are from the lower social classes. The increase and spread of 'decent work' is what is primarily required for the further expansion of the middle-class population in India. At the same time, human-resource development through the universalization of compulsory education and vocational training is indispensable in order for more people, including the poor, to move up into the middle class.

View full abstract