The "Emergency" Middle Class in Palestine

The middle class, in various modern societies, has always formed the backbone of political, social, and economic stability. It is the class that produces professional and cultural elites, upholds the values of education, work, and competence, and defends law and institutions, while also playing a pivotal role in protecting society from extremism and collapse. However, discussing the middle class in Palestine today raises a fundamental question: Does this class still play its natural historical role, or has it transformed into an emergency and artificial class, whose existence is reduced solely to income level and consumption?In natural experiences, the middle class is not created by a political or administrative decision, nor is it measured only by salary size or consumption capacity. Instead, it is historically built through a productive economy, quality education, social stability, equal opportunities, and relative independence from authority. This is why the traditional middle class has always been associated with values of public responsibility, conscious political participation, advocacy for reform, and the ability to produce a societal elite that believes in the idea of the state and law.However, the Palestinian case appears to be quite different. Due to the nature of the distorted economy, widespread reliance on external funding, the inflation of the bureaucratic sector, and the weakness of productive sectors, a broad segment has emerged that is socially classified as middle class, yet lacks the historical, ethical, and political characteristics that distinguished the traditional middle class. It is an emergency or artificial class; it appears to be a middle class in terms of income level or consumption patterns, but in essence, it is incapable of performing the social function that makes the middle class a pillar for building and protecting society.The fundamental difference between the traditional middle class and the emergency middle class lies not only in the source of income but also in the nature of their relationship with society, politics, and the state. The traditional middle class views itself as a partner in a long-term national and social project, and therefore tends to defend public institutions, demand reform, and engage in active and constructive political participation. By its nature, it is a critical class that is not afraid to hold authority accountable and seeks to achieve stability through justice and the rule of law.As for the emergency middle class, its political participation is often limited to social prestige, the pursuit of influence, or engaging in political and media "flattery" with the aim of protecting acquired privileges. The relationship here is not one of citizenship and rights, but a clientelistic relationship based on loyalty in exchange for gains. Therefore, politics, for this segment, transforms from a means of serving society into a tool for maintaining personal and social status.What exacerbates the danger of this phenomenon is that the emergency middle class realizes the fragility of its position. It did not achieve its status through productive economic accumulation or long-term professional stability, but through temporary political or bureaucratic circumstances or networks of interests. Therefore, it lives with the constant fear of falling and losing privileges. Unlike the traditional middle class, which can reproduce itself through education, work, and production, the emergency segment lacks this ability because it is not based on a solid economic or knowledge base. Hence, corruption, for some of these segments, becomes a means of self-defense rather than merely an ethical deviation. Nepotism, abuse of influence, exchange of interests, and semi-public corruption become tools to protect newly acquired social status. The greater the feeling of instability, the greater the need to employ power and personal connections to maintain privileges.The greatest danger arises when this emergency segment becomes the dominant segment within the so-called "middle class." In this case, the value system within society itself changes. The value of competence, work, and production declines in favor of values of display, consumption, and personal loyalty. Public office also transforms from a national responsibility into a source of privileges, and belief in the idea of the public good declines in favor of individualism and opportunism.Most dangerously, the rise of this emergency class often comes at the expense of the true traditional middle class; that is, segments of teachers, doctors, engineers, academics, small business owners, and intellectuals, who historically represented the social bearers of enlightenment and reform values. These segments today suffer from economic and social erosion, while new segments expand, relying more on influence and connections than on competence and production.The crisis of the middle class in Palestine is not merely an economic crisis related to declining income or rising living costs; rather, it is a structural crisis that affects the very nature of society. A society that loses its true middle class gradually loses its balance and stability, because the alternative is either a parasitic wealthy class linked to centers of influence, or broad marginalized and poor classes that have lost hope and confidence in the future.Therefore, rebuilding a true Palestinian middle class cannot be achieved merely by increasing salaries or expanding consumption, but by building a real productive economy, enhancing quality education, establishing the rule of law, and creating a political environment based on participation and accountability, not on "clientelism" and personal loyalty. The middle class is built through work, production, and independence, and cannot be manufactured by temporary decisions or fleeting privileges.Finally, I do not know if the term "emergency middle class" has been used before, but the emergence of this emergency segment within the middle class has resulted either from the absence of policies that prevent such a phenomenon, or from deliberate policies to produce that segment for use in political agendas that cannot be national, and the current Palestinian situation is proof of that. Therefore, the battle to restore the true middle class in Palestine is not just an economic issue, but a national and social issue related to the future of the Palestinian people and their cause. And because the true middle class is built and not manufactured, as we mentioned earlier, I regret to say that restoring that class and its role is not feasible or realistic in the foreseeable future. However, to attempt to begin reforming decades of destructive policies, and before it is too late, there is an urgent and crucial need to pressure the de facto authority to make credible, immediate, and comprehensive reform decisions and adopt policies.