Recent studies assume that the middle class’s commitment to the welfare state has gradually eroded through the implementation of neoliberal policies. This article takes a more nuanced view by addressing the increasing heterogeneity within the middle class. It first shows that large segments of the middle class hold composite attitudes toward public spending. Small business owners combine moderate support for social spending with strong support for spending cuts. Likewise, technicians combine average support for social spending with average support for spending cuts. They differ from socio-cultural professionals who strongly support social spending and at the same time strongly oppose cuts in public spending. Results also indicate that support for spending cuts decreases in countries where public spending is deemed efficient, most notably among socio-cultural and technical professionals. Thus, it is argued that the middle class’s mixed loyalties can best be interpreted as evidence of a demand for government efficacy rather than as a sign of increasing conservatism.

中文翻译：

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混合忠诚。中产阶级、福利紧缩时期对公共支出和政府效率的支持

最近的研究假设，通过实施新自由主义政策，中产阶级对福利国家的承诺已经逐渐削弱。本文通过解决中产阶级日益增长的异质性，采取了更细致入微的观点。它首先表明，大部分中产阶级对公共支出持有复合态度。小企业主将对社会支出的适度支持与对削减支出的强烈支持相结合。同样，技术人员将对社会支出的平均支持与对削减支出的平均支持结合起来。他们不同于强烈支持社会支出同时强烈反对削减公共支出的社会文化专业人士。结果还表明，在公共支出被认为有效率的国家，对削减支出的支持减少，尤其是在社会文化和技术专业人士中。因此，有人认为，中产阶级的混合忠诚最好被解释为对政府效率的需求的证据，而不是保守主义增加的迹象。