This research aims to analyze the class identity and political-ideological orientations of salaried professionals and managers in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires. These positions are understood, from diverse theoretical perspectives, as part of the middle class. Specifically, the intermediate positions of salaried professionals and managers occupy contradictory class positions within capitalist relations of production. These positions can be understood through the dimensions of authority and qualification, characteristics that give this population simultaneous interests in both the capitalist class and the working class.

Due to this structural indeterminacy, complexities arise when considering them in terms of class formation, as there are less determined probabilities of collective organizing and identification. Hence, individuals in these positions could potentially align with different classes. Consequently, with their place in the class struggle objectively indeterminate, they are particularly sensitive to changing political and ideological forces.

To capture these subjective aspects, it is necessary to shift attention from the objectivity of the structure to the subjects and understand the articulation between both levels, taking into account the processes that constitute them. In this research, the focus is on exploring aspects related to class consciousness from a subjective micro-social approach through the social representations of the interviewees.

To achieve this, a qualitative methodology is employed as it allows a suitable approach to the subjectivities linked to their experiences, facilitating an in-depth exploration of the study topic. The research involved conducting 20 semi-structured interviews with salaried professionals and managers in the AMBA, taking place between 2018 and 2019. The cases were selected based on the database of a survey of a probabilistic sample of residents in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires conducted during 2015 and 2016 (PI-Clases Survey, 2015). Once the cases were selected for interviews, semi-structured interviews were conducted, combining a biographical approach with a thematic focus on relevant research topics. Data analysis was carried out using thematic analysis with the qualitative analysis software ATLAS.ti. The theoretical and methodological aspects mentioned are developed in Chapter 1.

Regarding the results, dimensions were formed through the analysis that provides insight into the class consciousness of individuals in the studied positions. The first dimension is Class Identity, presented in Chapter 2. This dimension explores the interviewees’ self-perception of class, the characteristics they believe the middle class possesses, and how they perceive themselves in relation to other social classes. Additionally, their conception of the class structure is discussed.

The second dimension is related to Political-Ideological Orientations, formed from sub-dimensions. The first sub-dimension, presented in Chapter 3, pertains to representations of social inequality. This chapter discusses representations of unequal social structures, the wealthiest and the poorest, as well as justifications and criticisms of inequality emerging from interviews, based on the principles of equal opportunities and the existence of unequal conditions, respectively.

In Chapter 4, sub-dimensions are presented concerning desirable accumulation models, political identities and preferences in a political bipolar framework, and the immediate interests of salaried professionals and managers in the political, economic, and social context in which the fieldwork was conducted.

Finally, Chapter 5 presents the conclusions of the research.