Middle Class

Here in the world of international NGOs working in Sudan, you hear a lot about the need to strengthen civil society, government capacity, economic opportunities, or basically the entire framework for a nation. One thing that is glaringly missing from these efforts is a middle class, which I’m realizing provides a strong foundation for all of those things. In Sudan, there are a few elites who work for the government and are very well off and then there are the desperately poor, otherwise known as everyone else. The middle class is wafer thin, composed of a few NGO workers and small business owners.

Being in a place without a middle class really drives home for me what an asset this group of people is to any country.

• The middle class provides a large group of people with access to a good education and adequate health services, who form a solid base of productive workers within government, business, and the social sector. To have a whole class of not just doers, but thinkers is an incredible asset!

• They have to work to survive and they have to work hard to do well. That ambition drives the economy.
• Middle classers are not so wealthy as to be complacent. They form the foundation of civil society and, since many of them have similar education and backgrounds to those in power, they can push for change against elites both in business or government.
• However, they are also not so vulnerable as to want total overhaul of the system. Some things are working for them, so they are also a force for stability.
• They have enough resources to take some risks. Unlike a desperately poor farmer in Sudan, a middle class person can take reasoned risks with their business to help it grow, knowing that if their project fails, they will be able to avoid starvation or homelessness.
• They are a safety net within communities. A middle class with disposable income and time can support community projects, improve schools, and help out neighbors who are having hard times.
• Finally, the simple act of having a middle class shows a country’s strength. It proves that the economy and the government can support a majority of citizens being successful and reduces the zero sum, power grab mentality that comes from a culture of scarcity.

Unfortunately, I can't preach too loudly on this topic, because my own home country is not managing the valuable resource it has in its middle class as well as it should, but that’s another blog post…

-Stephanie

Photo: The Cosby Show and Full House were the first two things I thought of when I was thinking of what image would symbolize the middle class, proving that I watched too much TV as a kid.