End of Middle-Classes? Social Inequalities in Digital Age

Dieter Bögenhold and Muhammad Yorga Permana

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: The paper is about a socioeconomics and sociology of middle classes in a theoretical discussion and empirically focussing at “middle class” segments of different European societies for the time period between 2003 and 2014. The argumentation is strongly embedded to Schumpeterian thought of evolutionary economics but it is tried to link discussion about “creative destruction” to digitalization and the evolution of stratified societies in Europe on international comparison. The paper attempts to question assumptions of growing inequality theoretically and empirically by referring to Collins’ thesis of an increased de-middledization. We argue that the ability of ICT innovations (i.e. digitalization) to perform specialized, routine, and predicted tasks better than human allows them to supress middle skilled labor, affect to the polarization of jobs, and finally lead to de-middledization.

Keywords: society; digital age; middle-class; European societies; creative destruction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J11 O1 O10 O35 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-06-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-ict and nep-pay
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in IfS Discussion Papers 04.2018(2018): pp. 1-21

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:87202

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