Cultural-specific dimensions of societal re-formation within the German middle class
Kulturowo-specyficzne wymiary społecznej (re-)formacji (przekształcenia) klasy średniej w Niemczech

Summary/Abstract: The article examines ways of re-formation of the (German) middle class caused by the perceptionof social (and individual) crises (in our example over-indebtedness) and associated uncertainty.Which are the strategies that middle-class members develop to cope with those perceived crises andwhich factors contribute to the originating of new civic formations? In that context, we emphasizeon the impact of culture-specific orientation patterns regarding specific societal groups. We referto the work of Douglas and Wildavsky [1982] and Cornia, Dressel and Pfeil [2016] and concentrateon the collective dimension in asking, how does the middle class and parts of it like societal subgroups (in our example over indebted people) perceive and interpret social developments and crises (framing)? Which is the relationship between the middle class and institutional actors and the confidence they have in these actors, especially regarding the dealing with social crises and connected solutions? Who do middle-class members blame for the crises and the risks of social decline (blaming)? This is a central question directly connected with the way of dealing with risks and the assumption of responsibility.

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