Middle class

The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy.

Marxism
The term 'middle class' is used by Marxists -including Marx and Engels themselves- in two different ways:


 * Firstly, in the historical sense, in the sense of the French word bourgeoisie that possessing class which is differentiated from the aristocracy.
 * Secondly, when speaking of modern capitalist society, with the meaning of petty bourgeoisie.

Modern American usage
In contemporary American usage the middle class also includes a privileged section of the "proletariat," for example "high-paying middle class jobs" means well-paid industrial jobs with generous benefits. American politicians of all stripes appeal to the "middle class" for support, although occasionally the formulation "middle and working class" is used. This in a nation where 70% of the population is working class by any fair definition. There are a number of other conventions of political rhetoric which are used in the United States to avoid direct reference to working class interests and organizations in a direct way, notably progressive which, in contemporary usage displaces nearly all specific references to leftist political organizations.

World Bank definition
From a global perspective the World Bank defines middle class as those those who spend $2 to $20 a day. One World Bank researcher speaks of a “developing world’s middle class” and a “Western middle class”.