The Middle Class

As in most other places, I interact mostly with the middle class on a daily basis, in work and personal life. While the definition of middle class may be changing, there is still a distinct culture that defines those who are not born with a golden key, who obtain a good education, and who take it for granted that the future will be better than the past.

What I have realised eventually is that while it is the middle class and the elites who drive the economy and make decisions on behalf of everyone, they do not necessarily understand the lives of those who they rule over. Just because someone is Chinese, it doesn’t mean that they understand how all Chinese people live. Nor do they fully understand what is “Chinese culture,” especially the day-to-day life of the poor. It’s exactly the same in Tanzania.

I have come in contact with many projects and people who assume that if they have consulted the opinions of “Tanzanians” they have done the work of adjusting activities to fit local conditions. Or if they had held a few workshops around the country, they would have had checked the “participation” box. The truth is, those who are being consulted don’t necessarily know how the other half of the population lives. There are just as many false assumptions and stereotypes about “the poor” in urban, middle class Tanzania as any where else in the world.

Dare I venture to say that someone born with priviledge in Tanzania (or any where else) would know less about how a poor subsistence farmer lives than a good anthropologist who has spent a year living in a village? Some friends I have met have never even set foot in a village, let alone stay for any extended period of time. This applies to many “expat” managers as well.

So food for thought next time when I hear: “this is what (insert certain segment of the population) needs.”