Social Dynamics and the Evolution of Infraclasses

Identity and Collective Action in Social Groups

In any case, it is reasonable to assume that any homogeneous social group that suffers from structural situations of dependency, subordination, or social infra-position—stemming from the experience of economic, political, and social work and similar—will eventually develop some degree of identity consistent with the nature of their interests and needs. This will eventually lead, sooner or later, to collective actions designed to defend and assert those interests and needs.

The Challenge of Social Dispersion

The problem is that infraclasses are formed by social groups that have a significant degree of heterogeneity and, due to their condition essentially peripheral to the established production system, are scattered. This social dispersion leads to the infraclasses not having an unbounded field for the deployment of collective action directly connected to the defense of their interests and the collective expression of their demands.

In industrial society, workers could develop their immediate action in the field of the workplace through appropriate organizational tools for this purpose, such as unions, and eventually by stopping or blocking the production process through procedures such as the strike action. Instead, what can infraclasses stop? What instruments and mechanisms of pressure may they have to assert their interests?

Emerging Forms of Conflict

There may be new forms of conflict, other than those so far known, with a higher potential for disintegration. Until such time, if it is ever to happen, it is most likely that the dispersed and heterogeneous nature of these social sectors, and the lack of accurate political binders, will result in more diffuse and fragmented forms of conflict. These may manifest as:

• Riots and urban violence
• Squatting
• Youth riots
• Intermittent bursts of ethnic and racial conflict
• Anti-systemic movements with limited and/or diffuse political claims

The Future of the Infraclass Concept

The future dynamics of this whole complex of situations regarding infraclasses are difficult to predict. It is even hard to anticipate what the future of this concept itself may be; we do not know if it will continue to be used in a few years, or if those implicated will adopt it themselves. The expression "infraclasses" in itself is possibly unattractive. It is more of a construct that is defined and understood in a negative sense—an analytical construct developed from the outside that offers no special motivation for internal attachments or identifications.

We must therefore understand that all the sectors currently qualified as infraclasses may, in the future, refer to themselves as they desire, as specific social evolution dictates, and not as some sociologists have believed appropriate. While the facts are settled, today, the notion of infraclasses should be understood primarily as an analytical reference, perhaps temporary, to understand what is happening in certain areas of our societies.