MIDDLE   CLASS

The New Middle Class in India and Brazil ; Edited by Dawid Danilo Bartelt and Alex Harneit -Stevens; Published by Academic Foundation ; Pages 279 ; Price Rs 1195/-

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Dawid  Bartelt is an authority on Brazilian and Latin-American history and is the Head of the Heinrich Boll Foundation in Mexico. He has several books to his credit. The second Editor Harneit-Stevens has specialized in African history and is presently the Foundation’s Chief in New Delhi.

The book is published by the Academic Foundation in partnership with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and contains contributions from  researchers and social activists.

 The origin of the book under review is to be traced to the Conference entitled “ Green Perspectives of the Middle Class—A New Reality  in India and Brazil” held in New Delhi in 2015.

Since the turn of the millennium, the rise of the “New Global Middle Class” - N M C -has been one of the most remarkable aspects of the rapid growth of the emerging economies. The discussion is primarily of the validity of the concept of the N M C and the politics around it. The thinking has been different in Brazil and India. The Heinrich Boll Foundation  and the “Development Alternatives” , a leading research organization arranged a workshop with 20 participants from India and Brazil. The book under review documents some of the presentations made at the Conference,

 But what is New Middle Class really like in countries such as India and Brazil? Is it a solid upwardly mobile social group – or rather a fragile class prone to poverty again once the next economic crisis comes? Does the New Middle Class support democracy – or does it rather tend towards aggressive nationalism? And if so much of the world is going to pursue typical middle class lifestyles and patterns of consumption, wouldn’t that have massive environmental impacts – or are there more sustainable options?

With perspectives from India and Brazil, this volume provides new insights into what is likely the most significant social development of our times: the rise of a global middle class, full of aspirations, in a world where safe limits of sustainability are already being transgressed.

 India and Brazil are functioning democracies, providing substantial space for political participation to its citizens. Democratic elections and the competitive party politics are well established in both the counties. The two countries have had State control over the economy or State-led economic development strategies. The nations comprise vast geographic areas and are highly diversified with regard to geo-climatic zones and bio diversity.

Apart from the two Editors there are sixteen contributors. Indian contributors include Paranjoy Guha Thakurta on “Political Preferences of India’s middle class “, Richa Singha on “The Rise of the Aam Aadmi” and Ashok Lahiri on “Green Politics and the middle class.”

In the beginning itself we have an analysis of  the  middle class in India and Brazil. “The growth of a middle class is expected to play a transformative role in modernizing the Indian economy, create new pressure points on the Government to tackle the vestiges of the Licence Raj and enable a more propitious entrepreneurship and job creation”. The ideological tether of the middle class to political parties will remain weak for the foreseeable future. The authors expect a concomitant growth in economic voting.

In Brazil, there is an intermediate stratum between the poor and the middle class whose position is precarious and unstable, without full access to the consumption market and constantly besieged by the  ghosts of social decadence. There has been a shortening of social distances and a new “ struggling class” is emerging, still deprived of the social and economic security that distinguishes the full—fledged middle class. 

Four pillars of green politics, namely social justice, grass roots democracy, non-violence and respect for diversity have become established principles of political parties in India. The integration of the environmental dimension of green politics, consisting of the twin pillars of ecological wisdom and sustainability, is in an evolutionary phase. Parties will get feedback on their environmental policies from the electoral battlegrounds and adapt them suitably. In India, green activism started with civil society organizations protesting against the Sardar Sarovar Project or Narmada Valley Project in general and forcible evictions, inadequate compensation to project affected people or even large hydroelectric dams,

In Brazil ,green politics was a fight against nuclear power plant and environmental degradation through the destruction of the Amazon forest and disruption of life and livelihood of the indigenous people. Brazil with its higher level of prosperity for a longer time has fostered a post-materialist philosophy among the middle class, which is congenial for the growth of a green party .What is required is a green party that addresses failures of governance in resettlement and rehabilitation, without militating against progress, modernity and emancipation from poverty.

The participants in the Conference concluded that the middle class must be analysed thoroughly in the national context in a broad sense, historically, culturally,politically, sociologically and economically. This will help us identify the common features which will enable us to understand the phenomenon both nationally and globally.

The problems posed in this seminal book enable us to comprehend what are the directions taken by the citizens of India and Brazil and also whether there is a chance of the “ New Middle Class”  accepting these sustainable, environmentally growth patterns. The contributors throw a flood of valuable light on the ticklish problems that afflict “Development” and “Growth”.

P.P.Ramachandran.

06/05/2018