Ideologia klasy średniej: od modernizacyjnego projektu do niespełnionej obietnicy
The Middle Class Ideology: From Modernisation Project to Unfulfilled Promise
Author(s): Krzysztof LepczyńskiSubject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: social classes; middle class; ideology; neoliberalism
Summary/Abstract: The article examines the often-overlooked ideological dimension of the middle class. Its purpose is to collect scattered insights on the subject and embed them into a contemporary discussion about the definitions, condition and significance of the middle class. The article presents the criticism of the approach to class analysis present in Polish sociology in the 1990s and early 2000s. It shows the middle class as a demand, an ideal type, and a part of the modernization project of the times of transformation, and thus a promise made to both states and individuals. By pointing to the topicality and supra-local scope of the cited criticism, the author argues that the middle class is a part of the hegemonic, neoliberal ideology. Thus, it defines the middle class as a space of intersubjectivity, a social construct that reproduces itself based on its own vision and the central category of the contemporary socio-economic system.
Journal: Studia Socjologiczne
- Issue Year: 243/2021
- Issue No: 4
- Page Range: 5-31
- Page Count: 27
- Language: Polish