ABSTRACT
The growth of middle-income groups worldwide has instigated debates in the social sciences on the emergence of a global middle class over the last two decades. Hopes for democratization and increasing prosperity are pinned on the growth of this specific socio-structural group. Shared interests, values, and attitudes of the middle class across the globe are often assumed. Yet, there is hardly any empirical evidence of its actual existence. To legitimately speak of a global middle class, sociologists should be able to define and identify shared interests, values, and attitudes among its members. This chapter addresses this research gap by investigating biographies of middle-class members and their spatial experiences in Nairobi (Kenya) and Berlin (Germany). If commonalities in terms of lifestyle, attitudes, and ways of living can be identified in both groups within this most-different case design, it would be a strong argument for the existence of a global middle class. First, we ask whether middle-class members display common patterns of orientation and lifestyle in both cities. Second, we investigate to what degree middle-class members identify with the global. Only if a “global mindset” can be identified would it make sense to speak of a globalized middle class.
