New entrants in India's middle class: Drivers, carpenters, pani puri vendors

[Skull and Bones]

Engineers will be downgraded to lower middle class, or below poverty level.

 

[Śakra]

Engineers

Ahh, engineers a job for the Indians who couldn't become doctors or lawyers.

 

[livingdead]

Depends on which Western country's criteria do you us, something like America which is fixed income bracket $40,000 until $120,000 for upper middle class or the British definition? British middle class is working professionals like doctors and lawyers. The British definition is imho it best definition as when we talk about the middle class we always mention two attributes of the group: power and innovation. While there is exceptions, non-professionals by and large are not innovative, they do not create wealth in the scale and scope that professionals do nor do they create tool that increase quality of life. In regards to power, only the classes above the middle class have comparable power due to their concentration of wealth, the non-wealthy non-professionals have no power.

The American definition is much too broad and contains groups with no power (those with salaries in the 40k-80k range) and fractures the more influential middle class workers such as doctors who's salary is quite high by placing them into the upper class. This takes away power from the middle class as a balance to the upper class and is one of the reasons America has such a large GINI inequality.

I dont know what definition of british middle class is but most people call them posh.. they got different accent.. their kids study in expensive private schools, and they get to rule the country and head other institutions.. bulk of brits consider themselves working class I think.