A home of one's own, secure jobs, a decent education for one's children - and the promise that they would have the same. Middle- class life, particularly in the developed world, once offered all these.

But, in 2006, the Financial Times has been reporting on the souring of the middle-class dream. For the middle class, jobs and pensions are no longer secure, and anxiety about their children's future is growing. Compared with much of the world, the middle classes are still fortunate - as the four families that we profile here appreciate.