Tensions between the Middle Classes and the “New Middle Class” in Brazil: An Accidental Biographical Ethnography

Abstract

AbstractThis article constructs an understanding of the Brazilian middle classes using economic, sociological, and cultural factors. It argues that the so-called new middle class is actually an expanded vulnerable class, and that the middle classes are simultaneously conscious and in denial of injustice toward the lower classes. The argument is based on an accidental biographical ethnography: reinterpretation of a field journal and the use of one person to understand broader trends. The resulting textual product juxtaposes biographical passages with theoretical analysis, deviating from traditional article structures to share the voice of the biographical participant while also critically examining the implications of this voice.