Infraclasses and Social Mobility in Technological Societies

Emergence of Social Conscience

For now, the emergence of a social conscience that reflects the new realities is being affected by several factors that hinder conflict resolution and prevent a clear understanding and definition of diverse social conditions. This is evident, for example, among migrants from other regions or poorer countries who, by changing geographic location, may temporarily experience social improvement in their new context, which can create expectations of greater opportunities for their descendants.

On the other hand, some social groups are experiencing downward mobility: children of unemployed or intermittently employed parents in precarious middle-class families are becoming aware of their changed status as a result of the social inertia of their home situations, where the family acts for a time as an economic shield and as a nuanced, distorting screen of new social definitions.

Currently, certain sectors of the Infraclasses have been displaced; even some of the less pleasant tasks and opportunities for social mobility have shifted to better-paid, more stable jobs and tend to become congested. This narrows mobility horizons for many people, leaving them facing an impasse that increasingly resists explanation as a temporary or limited accident.

Possible Future Scenarios

Regarding the trajectory of the Infraclasses, their potential to emerge and act as a distinct class or sector can vary greatly depending on the strategic directions taken by major social groups and the positions they occupy. Two principal scenarios can be distinguished:

• Coalitions and Upward Alliances: Organizations representing the working classes could form pacts and coalitions with international civil society and media sectors. Some prosperous working-class nuclei may feel more identified with such alliances, particularly as elements of the Infraclasses position themselves in ways that facilitate the spread of mesocratic sentiments.
• Strategic Conjunction with Declining Middle Classes: Traditional working classes might align strategically with declining sectors of the middle class—especially those whose children face unemployment or underemployment—to formulate a renewed solidarity project capable of confronting the dualized course of economic and social dynamics.

Implications for Social Stratification

Overall, the evolution of social stratification systems in technological societies requires a thorough review of many assumptions and conceptions that were based on the realities of social classes in the historical cycle of industrial society. In the case of the Infraclasses, we observe difficulties in speaking of a fully crystallized class position in terms of specific social awareness and concrete political alignments.

Conclusion: The formation of class consciousness and coherent political alignments among Infraclasses remains uneven and contingent on multiple structural and cultural factors, including migration patterns, changing labor markets, family dynamics, and the strategic choices of established social groups.