The author is not a proponent of class theories, even if they don’t subscribe to Marx. Not a proponent—this is because they, as a rule, only confuse things. I will venture to suggest that if we are already talking about classes, then the concept is functional, not static. That is, a class is a large group of people who, under certain conditions, play a certain social role. In our case, these functions are bounded by political and economic considerations. If the conditions change, then the functions will also disappear, as happened with the Soviet proletariat.
The middle class is a concept of Western political science. That is, it exists within those specific political, economic, and legal conditions in which the West operates today. The middle class there, as is well known, consists of highly paid specialists and small and medium business owners. This position gives these people independence from both poverty and wealth, but at the same time, endows them with responsibility for maintaining in order the institutions that ensure their position. In the case of the West—these are the institutions of “democracy and the rule of law.” For this, they have the time, desire, and opportunities that are ensured by their material position. If the situation changes—and it seems to be changing even without any crises—then the functions of this group of people may also change, or they may cease to exist as a group altogether.
The Marxists also recognized the existence of some intermediate group, which for them was not as revolutionary as the proletariat, and, at the same time, was not the ruling class like the bourgeoisie. This was called the “petty bourgeoisie,” and we all remember that this public was not treated very well.
Finally, the country of victorious Marxism—the USSR—with bitterness acknowledged the existence of an “intermediate stratum” within its borders, though now not between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, but between the proletariat and the “toiling peasantry.” This “stratum” was called the intelligentsia and, in essence, it was the middle class—sufficiently materially provided for and having free time for kitchen-table discussions.