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Zaire ZAIRIAN SOCIAL CLASSES
In the years since independence in 1960, Zaire has
become an
increasingly stratified and polarized society. One way of
understanding how this process has occurred and what the
social
profile of the country has become is by distinguishing
among the
various classes that have evolved. Zaire specialist
Michael G.
Schatzberg's notion of class is a useful tool in
conceptualizing
these changes. He argues against a rigid conception of
class that
identifies any single individual as a member of an
exclusive
category such as the proletariat or the bourgeoisie. He
argues
instead that class identity is situationally based; an
individual
may be a member of one class in one interactional
situation and a
member of another in a different situation. Crawford Young
and
Thomas Turner, adopting this more fluid concept of class,
and
building on previous models of Zairian stratification
elaborated by
Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Jean Rymenam, and others, have
distinguished the following social classes.
Data as of December 1993
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