So essentially, there's a ruling class,a middle

[Cheung Mo]

I'm just curious as to the validity of the argument that -- in its current arrangement -- the bourgeois political and socicoeconomic order consists of 3 classes: The ruling class (those who own and control the means of production and who are capable of investing and reinvesting capital), the middle class (those who benefit from the largesse of the ruling class and who because of it are ignorant of, indifferent to, or even complicit in the misery and suffering of the superexploited class...This middle class includes much of the petty-bourgeois, proletariat, and lumpen classes in the developed world as well as some of the petty-bourgeoisie and a small minority of the proletariat in the developping world), and the superexploited (labourers and peasants of the underdeveloped and developing world on whose backs the current socioeconomic order is built). The ruling class is able to maintain this system by ensuring that the middle class is offered two privileges: One, sufficient material and social comforts for the purpose of either numb them to the system's deficiencies or make them afraid to fight them. And two, the possiblity that a minute proportion of the middle class (and often not on material merit) will be able to advance to the ranks of the ruling class. And as for the superexploited, the possibilities of advancing to even the middle class is about as likely as a spontaneous revolution on the streets of Salt Lake City.

[Kwisatz Haderach]

That theory does have some merit. Although there is no objective "middle class" (you either own the means of production or you don't), I can certainly see how a large section of the proletariat in developed countries has been inoculated against revolution by being given something to lose.

Remember the old saying, "you have nothing to lose but your chains"? The bourgeoisie has discovered that people are unlikely to revolt as long as they have something to lose. So it has created consumerism and the modern "middle class".

But the middle class, as always, is unstable and unsustainable in the long run. It grew massively after World War II, but today it is shrinking.

[Janus]

The obvious problem with the middle class and the "superexploited" is that you are going to have to define them with money and "degree of exploitation" as your bases which makes it a bit more difficult and confusing in terms of classification.