Social stratification is a major area of thought in theoretical social analysis. Although much has since been said in this area, the theories of social stratification put forward by Karl Marx remain fundamental. The necessity for a social class to possess class consciousness is basic to Marx’ theories. A middle social stratum has been rapidly growing in Brazil since the Second World War. This expansion is due to the growth of industry, urban centers, government bureaucracy, and other factors. Yet, this middle group seems to lack both an awareness of themselves as a group and a unique set of values. To some extent, the middle stratum identifies with the upper class. Clearly, the middle stratum lacks class consciousness. For this reason I refer to this group as the middle sector. The problem is: why does Brazil's middle sector lack class consciousness? The hypothesis I propose in solution to this problem is as follows: Brazil's middle sector is, in a sense, a misfit in the stream of Brazilian history. In more than four centuries of European settlement of Brazil, the society has been characterized by factors contributing to a bi-polar tendency in social stratification. In testing this hypothesis, I will examine three of the areas of factors in terms of the roles they have played in social stratification. Although the list of areas contributing to a bi-polar tendency is long, I have limited myself to the economic factor, the kinship factor, and the racial factor. These three factors will be examined throughout the course of Brazilian history. The economic structure has been largely characterized by large-scale agriculture, feudalism, and slavery. These institutions involve the control of the many by the few. Two contemporary phenomena which polarize Brazilian society have come out of this heritage: paternalistic treatment of employees, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a relatively few. The kinship system has strengthened the bi-polar tendency in several ways. The aristocratic patriarchal family, which dominated Brazil for centuries, served to maintain the position of the upper class, and establish a dependency of the poor on the rich. The upper-class family continues today as a maintainer of the status quo. The institutions of patronship and godparenthood continue today to foster a dependency of poor on rich. Perhaps the most obvious contribution to the bi-polar tendency is seen in the historical role of the racial factor. Slavery existed from the founding of the colony until abolition in 1888. Masters were white and slaves were non-white. The non-white population continues to largely occupy the lower class, and this situation is maintained by often-subtle racial prejudice. To gain an understanding of the growth of the middle sector, a fourth factor must be noted: demographic changes. Recent phenomena are extensive European immigration, and the development of urban centers. The recent nature of these phenomena is linked to the recent growth of the middle sector. Although Brazilian society continues, in many ways, to be bi-polar, the existence of a relatively large middle sector prohibits a perfect bi-polarity in social stratification. The existence of the middle sector may be a misfit in Brazilian history in one sense, but this sector's values do not run counter to the historical flow. However, the middle sector is yet in an early stage of development. A later stage of development may include the formation of a class consciousness. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Orientador: Armando Boito Junior / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-20T12:28:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Correa_AnaElisaCruz_M.pdf: 811376 bytes, checksum: cc2cef50f566157581c7341228bab11f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Nesta dissertação temos o objetivo de realizar uma análise do Movimento Altermundialista que surge no fim da década de 1990 como uma forma de resistência ao capitalismo neoliberal, considerado por muitos intelectuais e ativistas como o protagonista contemporâneo da "nova esquerda" internacional. Analisamos especificamente os Fóruns Sociais Mundiais realizados no Brasil desde 2001, uma importante expressão do altermundialismo na busca de alternativas para a construção de um "outro mundo possível". Nos fundamos na teoria marxista e a novidade e verdadeiro desafio de nossa pesquisa foi analisar o Fórum a partir de sua composição de classe. Identificamos a presença de setores precarizados das classes médias nos Fóruns e notamos uma importante relação entre essa composição de classe e as reivindicações e formas organizativas do evento. A partir desse estudo exploratório desenvolvemos por fim o que consideramos ser uma caracterização contemporânea da expressão política liberal de um reformismo característico de setores das classes médias brasileiras / Abstract: This thesis aims to carry out an analysis of the "alterglobalization movement" that arises in the late 1990s as a form of resistance to neoliberal capitalism, considered by many intellectuals and activists as the protagonist of the contemporary "new left" internationally. We focused at the World Social Foruns held in Brazil since 2001, an important expression of alterglobalisation in search for alternatives for building "another world possible". We founded on Marxist theory and the novelty and challenge of our research was to analyze the Forum throught its class composition. We identified the presence of precarious sectors of the middle classes in the forums and we noticed a significant relationship between this class and the composition of the claims and forms of organization of the event. From this exploratory study we eventually developed what we consider to be a characterization of contemporary political liberal expression of a reformism characteristic of the Brazilian middle classes / Mestrado / Ciencia Politica / Mestre em Ciência Política