New Middle Class in India and Brazil

Since the turn of the millennium, the growth of the “new global middle class” in the world’s rapidly emerging economies has received much interest, even excitement. 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.