Social mobility and class in Africa

Titelangaben

Kroeker, Lena:
Social mobility and class in Africa.
In: Suter, Christian ; Madheswaran, S. ; Vani, B. P. (Hrsg.): The Middle Class in World Society : Negotiations, diversities and lived experiences. - Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge , 2020 . - S. 356-370
ISBN 9781003049630
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003049630

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Abstract

This chapter focuses on the social mobility of the middle class as a widely overlooked reality of African middle classes. With that, I would like to draw attention to the dynamics of social rise and fall and argue that middle class status may be short-lived for many. There is indeed visible social rise of this class, but on the flip side there is rapid social descent in the absence or dysfunctionality of governmental social support systems. This aspect needs to be considered when conceptualising the middle class in an African context as a class that is trying to mitigate uncertainties and eager to prevent social downward mobility.