The Erosion of the Middle Class and Its Exclusion from Bangladesh’s Politics

Bangladesh is undergoing a profound realignment of its class structure, and it has passed largely without notice. The middle class aspires to honest leadership, sound institutions and decent public conduct. Yet since the early 2000s, national politics has fallen increasingly under the influence of a narrow class: those who have plundered banks and capital markets, run monopolies, trafficked drugs, hoarded essential goods, or amassed vast fortunes through corruption and commission-taking. That dominance is now virtually complete.
The consequence is structural. Nomination fees, campaign expenses, public outreach and rallies now demand resources beyond the reach of the middle class, which is thus effectively excluded from the electoral arena.
Part of the lower class, in turn, has been absorbed into the service of this wealthy elite. Some are hired, for payment, to march with clubs and weapons. Some intellectuals and civil society figures lend their minds in the same way. Their shared motive is private interest; public safety, justice, development, education, health and the equitable management of resources are secondary.
The middle class has historically played a different role. Across the world, it has resisted exploitation and discrimination and championed language, culture, democracy, good governance and the rule of law. It has also mediated between the upper and lower classes, preserving the stability on which development and civilization depend.
Illicit wealth is indifferent to these contributions. Having captured print, electronic and social media, it has entrenched its control over both politics and the economy. The middle class, though still active in student politics and public debate, has become structurally irrelevant in parliamentary elections. Isolated cases of survival through alliances do not indicate durability.
It is remarkable that no economist has undertaken rigorous, evidence-based research into this erosion, one that, like a river consuming its banks, is steadily washing away the middle class. Such research, with practical recommendations, is urgently needed. Absent it, the country faces mounting social unrest, political instability and a deteriorating law-and-order situation.
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The writer is a former judge of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh