A nova classe média brasileira: necessidades, anseios e valores: um estudo da mobilidade social, a partir dos universitários da UERJ.

Abstract

Public policies aimed at promoting development and income distribution carried out during the first decade of the current century changed the income levels of the poorest segment of the population, a phenomenon that could explain the rise of what became known as the new Brazilian middle class. Therefore, the reduction of social inequalities could be linked to a process of social mobility. This study addresses this issue. It starts with an analysis of social policies implemented since 2003 in the economic and educational spheres. Next, social concepts of class and social mobility are discussed in light of Pierre Bourdieu s cultural capital concept, which allows defining higher education as the peculiarity of the middle class. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the emergence of this trait among college students from lower classes who were undergoing a process of social mobility. A qualitative survey conducted with 35 students from 16 different courses at the Rio de Janeiro State University showed that students maintained their original working class profile, although the benefits of a higher education were unequivocal in terms of self-fulfillment and future prospects for both the students and their social class. Thus, results of this study suggest changes in the working class profile, and not to the emergence of a new middle class.