A New Middle Class? Challenges for Inequality in an Emerging Country

The changes in the contemporary world have been quick and frequent, particularly in countries considered as emerging nations. They have an impact on the living standards and consumption, creating new social groups, resulting from those dynamics. Recently in Brazil, the debate on the emergence of a new class "average" gained relevance and academic crossed the borders, having an enormous impact in the public arena. Some economists define this "new middle class", from their income. While recognizing the importance of this element in the study of inequality, the concept of class demand more complex analyzes that include socio-occupational factors, as well as perceptions, values, expectations and worldviews regarding personal projects and processes of distinction.

As the task of studying multiple and varied dimensions of social life can not be restricted to a specific focus, either theoretical or methodological, we have been working with quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The study we propose to present is based on the fieldwork we carried out in Rio de Janeiro with individuals who fall into the two groups that we are defining "traditional middle class" and "new middle class". Our goal is to understand their trajectories, as well as, their projects for maintaining or improving their live conditions in the future.