The global middle class

A recent report in The Economist highlighted a startlingly important change in the demographic order of the world. The middle class is growing, but not here in Canada. According to The Economist, this new bourgeois class has grown from "a third of the developing world's population in 1990 to over half today". Greater proportions of developing nations have emerged from extreme destitution and are poised to assert themselves on the world stage. Keeping in tune with Fareed Zakaria's Post-American World, the emerging middle class is seeking a greater slice of the economic pie. The methods used to achieve this goal remain regulated by the current scheme of an American-dominated international economy, and are still inherently peaceful.

Contrary to Western media's hyperbolic and superlative reporting, the potential for large-scale meltdown and financial anarchy is not greatest in the developed world. The social and political fabric bound by democracy remains strong throughout North America and Western Europe. On the contrary, the real agents of socioeconomic change lie in the emerging middle class of the developing world.

This emerging group is completely unwilling to return to financial insolvency and seeks a permanent position in the competitive workforce. Falling demand in the Western world is driving the East into an economic crunch, and the middle class is bearing the brunt of this. As Western firms downsize and streamline their operations, overseas workers face the same uncertainties as domestic workers.

How the new middle class responds to this economic turbulence will be telling. Despite the media circus revolving around this issue, this global crunch is no Great Depression. The prospect of large numbers of the middle class turning towards radical ideologies, like fascism in the 1930s, is weak at best. The image of a wave of violent revolutions throughout the developing world is difficult to fathom. However, it is impossible to tell.

Countries like India may prove to be perfect examples of how pivotal a role the new middle class can play. Already severely strained from a string of terrorist attacks, culminating in the crippling Mumbai attacks, Indians are already bracing themselves for increased hostilities with neighbouring Pakistan. If hardliners within India begin to equate economic concerns with power politics, the consequences could be devastating.

To counter the possible destabilization of the developing world, Western powers must begin to exhaust all their channels. In stark contrast to the hard power of the past eight years, Western leaders should begin to utilize their available soft power.

Rather than try to transplant democracy into these emerging nations, the Western world should encourage the creation of democracy from within. The idea of democracy as some sort of exportable commodity has not been successful. Democracy is the product of societal evolution, and requires time to flourish. By nature, democracy is an internalized process. The conditions for democracy can be provided, but the impetus for it must be local.

The emergence of the new middle class also calls for the strengthening of existing political ties, and increased investment into the intellectual infrastructure of the developing world.

At the heart of the emerging middle class' success is education serving in a important tool in upward mobility. By investing in strong education systems, the survival and success of the new middle class can be ensured.

As the world ushers in this new age, novel players have emerged. To ensure that the transition from a Western world to a global world remains peaceful, adequate investment in the future is required. Whether it be economic aid, intellectual development, or political multilateralism, the emerging world must be accommodated and the emerging middle class must be integrated.