What is "Middle Class"? In Search for an Appropriate Concept Dieter Neubert Milieu Lifestyle Social Structure Socio-Cultural Differentiation Middle Class In the current debate the middle class of the Global South is identified as a new group of consumers and it is seen as the carrier of democratic values and societal progress. But we know that protagonists of a liberal democratic opposition as well as followers of radical religious groups and supporters of the conservative authoritarian regimes are all part of the middle class. Obviously the middle class is not homogenous. Is the concept of middle class useful under these conditions? Are concepts of socio-cultural differentiation such as milieus or lifestyles applicable in the Global South even when cross-cutting elements like religion and ethnic identity play a much more important role than in Europe? Philipps-Universität Marburg Marburg Deutschhausstraße 9, 35037 Marburg 2014 2014-05-16 2018-01-31 Text article urn:nbn:de:hebis:04-0003-2014-37-13303 eng 2714728-9 2 1 https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0003/2014/37/1330/container.zip 10.17192/meta.2014.2.1330 https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0003/2014/37/1330