ABSTRACT
Global institutions have increasingly come to identify the rise of middle classes in the Global South as a key indicator of ‘development’. Two propositions follow. First, as the middle classes in the Global North come under increasing strain, the growth of the global economy becomes increasingly reliant on continued rising consumption by middle classes in the Global South. Second, because middle classes are widely identified as politically progressive, their growth in the Global South will boost the prospects for democracy. This article takes issue with this ‘middle classing of development’ by referring to the historical trajectories taken by middle classes in Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa. In all four countries, the fate of the middle classes has become heavily defined by their dependent relationships with ruling liberation movements. It is only to the extent that they are able to establish their political autonomy that these countries’ middle classes will prove able to play a major role in promoting democracy.
