ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of the middle class in making possible a societal system that not only functions but grows and expands. The middle class also functions as an institute, preparing and training potential leaders. As the middle class does not deliberately create the arts in the nation, it can hardly claim credit for the contribution which the arts make either to the nation or to civilization. Placed between the set routine of the people and the dynamic effort of the leadership class, the middle class operates on a principle of practical utilization rather than a law of nature. As history indicates, the middle class may be expected to oppose stubbornly greater government power and control if its members feel they interfere with what they consider their rightful interests and opportunities. The function of the middle class is so deeply ingrained in the societal system that no future development is likely to change the principles by which it operates.
