The Lottery and the Middle Class

Abstract

I focus on middle-class engagement with lotteries and numerical games of chance, to understand the symbolic boundary-making processes in the Turkish context. Based on 18 months of ethnographic research (2021–2022) with people who regularly participate in state-regulated games of chance in Istanbul, I argue that the middle class(es) have diversified subjectivities with elusive moral boundary-making and differentiated views on risk-taking that transcend the classic distinction between the old middle class and the new middle class. The uncertain socioeconomic situation has rendered my participants precariat and made them move beyond the illusionary boundaries of a perceived stability or ‘in-betweenness’ of the middle class. To mitigate future uncertainty, they engage in speculative ventures, such as games of chance and entrepreneurial pursuits and act beyond what has been considered safe, rational, or secure economic activities.