Question

why are some social classes referred as middle class

Answer 1

Middle class

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The middle class is a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy. In Weberiansocio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class. The common measures of what constitutes middle class vary significantly among cultures. One of the narrowest definitions limits it to those in the middle fifth of the nation's income ladder. A wider characterization includes everyone but the poorest 20% and the wealthiest 20%.[1]

In modern American vernacular usage, the term “middle class” is most often used as a self-description by those persons who academics would otherwise identify as the working class which are below both the upper class and the true middle class, but above those in poverty. This leads to considerable ambiguity over the meaning of the term “middle class” in American usage. Sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert and Joseph Kahl see this American self-described “middle class” (i.e. working class) as the most populous class in the United States.