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Inequality, Marketization and the Majority Class

Why Did the European Middle Classes Accept Neo-Liberalism?

  • Book
  • © 2015

Overview

Authors:
  1. Steffen Mau

    1. Humboldt-University of Berlin, Germany

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Part of the book series: Macmillan Master Series (MMS)

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
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  2. Middle Classes and the European Social Model

    • Steffen Mau
    Pages 1-12

  3. Individualization and Tolerance for Inequality

    • Steffen Mau
    Pages 13-24

  4. Middle-Class Investors in Affluent Societies

    • Steffen Mau
    Pages 25-43

  5. Privatized Old-Age Provision, Privatized Future

    • Steffen Mau
    Pages 44-52

  6. Home Ownership and Home Voting

    • Steffen Mau
    Pages 53-64

  7. The New Culture of Indebtedness

    • Steffen Mau
    Pages 65-72

  8. Self-Enhancement: Investing in Education

    • Steffen Mau
    Pages 73-83

  9. Economic Problems and Political Dilemmas

    • Steffen Mau
    Pages 84-97

  10. Light at the End of the Tunnel?

    • Steffen Mau
    Pages 98-103

  11. Back Matter

    Pages 104-123
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Keywords

About this book

Why were the European middle classes ready to acquiesce in neo-liberalism? This book argues that upward mobility, the growth of individual and family assets, the growing significance of private provision, and processes of individualization contributed to a major transformation of the middle classes, making them more prone to embrace inequality and market principles. It shows how the self-interest of large sections of the middle classes undermined social democracy and paved the way for neo-liberal reforms, making their socio-economic positioning ever more precarious and reducing their political power. Central to the debate is the question of how the middle classes can rebalance the relationship between the Market and state intervention, so as to establish a new social equilibrium.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Humboldt-University of Berlin, Germany

    Steffen Mau

About the author

Steffen Mau is Professor of Macrosociology at Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany. Previously he worked as Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Bremen, Germany. His main publications include: The Moral Economy of Welfare States (2003), Social Transnationalism (2010) and European Societies. Mapping Structure and Change (with Roland Verwiebe 2010).

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