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Who are the New Middle Classes and why are they Given so Much Public Attention?

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The New Middle Classes

Abstract

Although still a relatively unexplored group, the new middle classes are enjoying a great deal of public attention. The first section discusses the question of why, then, the new middle classes have become a favored topic in the media and the broader political public. Section 1.2 looks at who the new middle classes are and how they can be examined empirically. Section 1.3 links the issue to the overarching debate on cultural globalization between McDonaldization, modernities and cultural hybrids. The focus of Section 1.4 is on the emergence of “civic environmentalism” between individual concern, social protest and political decision making.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In view of the heterogeneity of the group, we speak here of the new middle classes in the plural.

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  1. Artec Institute, Research Center for Sustainability Studies, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Hellmuth Lange

  2. Institute of Employment Research (IAB), Darmstadt University of Technology, Darmstadt, Germany

    Lars Meier

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  1. Hellmuth Lange
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    Lange, H., Meier, L. (2009). Who are the New Middle Classes and why are they Given so Much Public Attention?. In: Meier, L., Lange, H. (eds) The New Middle Classes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9938-0_1

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