Middle class in Uzbekistan: evolution and problems

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46

is not whether to inform the parents about the problems the child knows
about the psychologist, but how to do it without harming the child. In this
case, it is very important for the psychologist to maintain the confidence of
the child, not to break the benevolent relationship with him.

References
1. Abramova G.S. Age Psychology: Textbook for High Schools .- M .:

Academic Project, 2010.-623s.

2. Alferov A.D. Psychology of the development of students: a textbook

for universities. - Rostov-on-Don, 2010.-384 p.

3. Age and pedagogical psychology: anthology. - M.: Academy, 2010 .--

367 p.

4. Age psychology: childhood, adolescence, youth: anthology: Textbook

for ped. universities. - M.: Academy, 2011.-624 p.

5. Craig G. Development Psychology (Transl. From English) - St.

Petersburg, 2010, 987 p.

6. Kulagina I.Yu., Kolyutsky V.N. Age Psychology: Human Development

from Birth to Late Maturity: A Textbook for High Schools.-M.: Yurayt, 2011.-
464 p.

Khasanboy Okyulov , Teacher at the department “Social Sciences” of

Tashkent Financial Institute, Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan

MIDDLE CLASS IN UZBEKISTAN: EVOLUTION AND PROBLEMS

Khasanboy. O

Abstract: In this article have been analyzed problems and evolution

middle class in Uzbekistan by the helping philosophical- scientific
literatures and other types of sources as well.

Keywords: philosophy, views, middle class, evolution, issues,

Uzbekistan, society.

INTRODUCTION
For centuries, the middle class has operated among the social strata of

society. This class now unites people between the poor and the “new
Uzbeks” in society. The professional composition of the middle class consists
of representatives of most professional groups. This social unit was often
referred to as the “middle class”.

In ancient times, philosophers defined classification based on three

main layers (upper, middle and lower). It focuses on popularity, position in
power, and wealth. According to Aristotle, each state can be divided into

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three components: “free (independent), extremely poor, and the third -
those who stand between them” [1].

METHODS
Max Weber’s contribution to the development of theories of social

stratification and the middle class is enormous. By the middle class, he
meant a social stratum that “managed all forms of property, or, through
certain training, could compete in the labor market” [2]. According to Weber,
entrepreneurs (industrial and agricultural), traders, bankers, financiers can
be cited as representatives of the middle class. At the same time, it consists
of so-called “affluent middle class” workers who appear to be “free”
professionals, well-educated and well-trained, as well as those who occupy
the labor market because of the unique skills they have acquired without
material support.

When Arnold Toynbee writes about modern civilization in his book

Understanding History, he calls it middle-class civilization. According to
him, the formation and development of the middle class is a manifestation
of modernity, the main task of the state is to support the middle class [3].

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The nature of the middle class was revealed by the well-known scientist

M. Halbvaks during his study of French society. He pointed out that the
middle class included the following groups: artisans, officials, servants,
small business owners, health workers [4]. During this period, it became
customary to take into account the following features of the middle class on
the basis of socio-professional criteria: labor activity; level of education; the
special place in the social structure of society and the relation of the subject
to his own class point of view.

At present, the following approaches to defining the middle class in the

social sciences have been formed: objective (approaches to the level of
material well-being and resources); subjective (people’s self-involvement in
the middle class) and their mutual generalization. The approach to the level
of material well-being is related to the perceptions of the middle class as a
mass social subject and is characterized by relatively high living standards
and consumption levels [5]. The main criteria of the approach to the level of
material well-being are formed on the following indicators:

- Per capita income;
- Possession of certain valuable property (car, residence);
- Access to paid social services (education, medicine) [6].
The approach to the level of resources is based on the work of the

English sociologist Anthony Giddens. According to him, this class is divided
into "old middle class" and “new middle class”. “The old “middle class”
consists of small entrepreneurs the “new middle class” consists of
intellectually engaged, high- and middle-paid employees”. The “new middle

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class” includes managers and highly qualified professionals. The lower and
lower classes. and teachers, doctors, and office workers. The number of
social strata belonging to the “old middle class” decreased, and the ranks of
the “new middle class” grew.

The subjective approach was based on the identification-psychological

characteristics of the individual, ie the person belonging to the middle class.
In this case, the middle class is distinguished on the basis of the
identification of people, or through the perception of people that they belong
to the middle class [7].

In European countries, the concept of “middle class” is reflected in the

World Bank’s 2007 World Economic Outlook. It defines the world level of
the middle class as follows: groups of the population with access to high-
quality imported goods and machinery, access to international services and
higher education [9]. Of course, these perceptions of the middle class were
based on a proprietary approach.

According to the Global Wealth Report 2015 of the Swiss bank Credit

Suisse, in 2015, 664 mln. there are middle-class people, representing 14%
of the world's adult population, whose total assets are estimated at 32% of
the world's wealth (for comparison - more than half of the world's wealth is
concentrated in the hands of 1% of the population). The middle class is 66
percent in Australia, more than 55 percent in Italy, the United Kingdom, and
Japan, 38 percent in the United States, 11 percent in China, 4.1 percent in
Russia, and 3 percent in Africa and India [10].

According to well-known scholars, the middle class ensures the

economic development of any country, creates the socio-economic
conditions for the development of civil society. In general, the functions of
the middle class are as follows:

1. The middle class is the main generator of domestic consumption, and

stable domestic demand has a positive impact on the level of investment and
employment in the economy.

2. The middle class has a positive impact on the development and use of

human capital because they have the opportunity to invest in their
education and health. In turn, the high level of inequality in a country affects
the quality of human capital and reduces the country’s competitiveness in
the long run.

3. The middle class affects the number of entrepreneurs in the country,

i.e. the middle class has the education needed to start and run a business and
the capital needed to start a new business. As the main feature of
entrepreneurs is the mastery and introduction of new technologies, they are
the social stratum that uses human capital the most.

4. The middle class is strengthening its demands on the political and

economic institutions that affect the investment climate and economic

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development of the country. Examples of such institutions are the protection
of private property, the expansion of the reproduction of social wealth, and
the increase in the transparency of the judiciary and the authorities [11].

From an economic point of view, civil society is a civilized market

relations, labor is free in a market economy: every citizen has the right to
independently manage their abilities and capabilities in relation to labor, he
chooses his own type of activity and profession. The economic aspects of
civil society are freedom of enterprise and engaging in economic activity not
prohibited by law. It combines freedom, entrepreneurship, economics and
democracy simultaneously and harmoniously in a civil society setting [12].

The level of development of civil society reflects the prevalence of

democracy. This is reflected in the various institutions, relationships, and
cultures on which civil society is based. In the participation of citizens in
socio-economic and political processes, the interests of all social strata are
represented, they are taken into account in political decision-making,
citizens are involved in the development of political, socio-economic and
cultural programs and projects [13]. That is why the middle class is
inextricably linked with all aspects of civil society and its institutions, the
middle class is the socio-economic foundation of civil society. In addition,
the middle class will emerge as the initiator of reforms to build and develop
civil society.

It is clear from the works of classical economists that civil society is a

community of free individuals. If we pay attention to the fact that each
individual is the owner of private property, he tends to possess the means
and means necessary for subsistence, he has the right to choose his
profession, forms of ownership, types of work. In this case, property is
manifested not only as a basic condition of the individual, but also of society.
In other words, private property is the foundation of civil society.

An important condition for the existence of civil society is the institution

of private property. The development of private property creates the
conditions for the constant expansion of involvement and freedom in
relation to the outside world. Property represents the open activity of the
outside world as a material entity, which reflects the behavior of civil society
and its members [15].

In general, private property creates conditions for the formation and

development of civil society in the following areas:

-Private property is an individual way of existence that belongs to the

natural instinct, independence and initiative of man;

- Private property is a factor that opens the way to economic activity and

personal initiative, thereby allowing a person to devote his energy to work;

-Private property affects the formation of trust in its owner, a sense of

trust in others;

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-Private property teaches a person to love the land and labor,

strengthens family ties;

-Private property develops human legal consciousness, teaches the legal

order of citizenship;

-Private property creates in people a sense of economic solidarity,

develops the habit of working on a competitive basis without interfering
with mutual freedoms.

Private property in Uzbekistan was completely destroyed by the Soviet

state in the early 1930s. It reappeared almost 60 years later, after
Uzbekistan gained independence. Of course, in the first decades of
independence, collective farms survived, but from the second decade, farms
and small businesses were formed. At the same time, a middle class began
to form.

The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On protection of private

property and guarantees of the rights of owners”, which came into force on
September 24, 2012, played an important role in the formation of the middle
class. This law was manifested in the country as the legal basis for the state
protection of the social stratum of property owners. In particular, Article 4
states: “An owner shall own, use and dispose of his property at his own will
and in his own interests. The owner has the right to take any action that is
not against the law in relation to his property. He may use his property to
carry out economic activities and other activities not prohibited by law, to
transfer it to other persons for possession and (or) use free of charge or for
a fee. The use of property must not violate the rights and legally protected
interests of citizens, legal entities and the state, and must not harm the
environment ”[16].

The legal basis of the class of owners in Uzbekistan by the state, the

creation of sufficient conditions for their activities began in September 2016
after the appointment of Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev as President of
the Republic. On June 19, 2017, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
issued a decree “On measures to radically improve the system of state
protection of legitimate interests of business and further development of
entrepreneurship”, and on July 27, 2018 – “On measures to further improve
the system of protection of rights and legitimate interests of business
entities” decrees “On measures” were adopted. These decrees have created
economic and financial conditions for small business and the middle class to
do business in the country. Democratic reforms in Uzbekistan have been
recognized by the United States, Japan, South Korea, China and Europe as a
result of reforms carried out by President Mirziyoyev and the adaptation of
society and government agencies to the needs of civil society. Developed
countries have become more interested in reforms in Uzbekistan: large-
scale investments have begun to flow into the country, and the number of

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foreign tourists has increased several times. All types of inspections of
business enterprises and firms by government agencies have been
abolished, procedures for issuing permits for a number of licensed business
activities in this area have been reduced, and the process has been
simplified. The resolution of all problematic and controversial issues in this
area has been transferred to the jurisdiction of the judiciary.

In 2017-2019, as a result of reforms related to the formation of the

ownership layer in the country, their number has increased. For example, as
of April 1, 2018, the number of small businesses operating in the country
(excluding farmers) amounted to 238.5 thousand. In particular, 8.2% of
them were small enterprises and the remaining 91.8% were micro-firms. If
these indicators are analyzed by sectors, the following situation can be
observed: 9.1% of small businesses in agriculture, 20.9% in industry, 11%
in construction, 34% in trade and catering, 5.2% in transportation, 19.7%
and others. operated in the fields.

In the regions, the share of small businesses in industry was 71.3% in

Tashkent, 68.4% in Namangan, 61.3% in Jizzakh and 55.5% in Samarkand.
The same figure was 29.6% in Tashkent region, 23.1% in Kashkadarya
region, 18.8% in Navoi region and 18% in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
As a result of measures taken over the past 5 years until 2019, Uzbekistan
rose from 146th to 76th place among 190 countries in the World Bank and
International Finance Corporation’s Doing Business ranking [17].

However, in assessing the place of the middle class in society in

countries, it is important to compare the level of wealth of the society.
Uzbekistan is approaching India in terms of social wealth. However, in terms
of the number of middle-class people, our country lags far behind the world
average. These figures in Uzbekistan are 2 times lower than the world
average, and 10 times lower than the world average in terms of the level of
high-level people in society [18].

At present, the comparison of the average income level in the countries

has been adopted as a criterion for determining the level of the middle class.
To facilitate its calculation, the following division of annual income is
defined:

The lower class - earns less than $ 10,000 a year;
Middle class - earns from 10 thousand to 100 thousand dollars a year;
Higher society (class) - 100 thousand dollars and above [19].

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The following table gives the average wealth level per person in

different countries:

Countries

Average

wealth

per

capita (in US dollars)

Wealth

of

countries (in US
dollars)

USA

388 585

93,56 trillion

Switzerland

537 599

3,63 trillion

Japan

225 057

23,68 trillion

China

26 872

29.00 trillion

Russia

16 773

1,89 trillion

Uzbekistan

6 637

134 billion

CONCLUSION
The analysis shows that during the period of independence in

Uzbekistan, especially in the last three years, the development of the middle
class has risen to the level of public policy. The state will take measures to
protect the middle class in a short period of time, to create conditions for
doing business, to apply tax benefits to them, to protect them in various
inspections, to increase investment in firms of this class. began to yield
results. The middle class began to form the majority of the members of
society.

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Источник:

CREDIT

SUISSE

GLOBAL

WEALTH

DATABOOK,2017.Статья

подготовлена

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