Bangladesh has come a long way from being perceived as what Henry Kissinger infamously called a “basket case” in the 70s. The past decade has seen stunning economic growth rates of around 5 percent—this in spite of continuous political instability and economic disruptions because of it.

Accompanied by this growth has been an expansion of the urban middle class. The Bangladeshi middle class accounts for about 9 percent of the country’s population, still low compared to Pakistan’s 18 percent and India’s 30 percent, but growing.

Anyone who has recently been to Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, has come back raving about the new restaurants, coffee shops, malls and new ways to spend moolah.

About five years ago, a brand new theme park opened. “Fantasy Kingdom” answered the prayers of urban kids with an urge to ride roller coasters and bumper cars superior to those found at “Shishu Park” where I have several baby pictures with my cousins. Some criticized the idea of a shiny new theme park when so many problems still plague a country where so many children still beg on the streets.

Yes, inequality in Bangladesh is still stark and most people still earn a bit less per day than the entry fee at Fantasy Kingdom. But the steady growth of the middle class can be a boon for Bangladesh if managed in the right way. This is if (with a capital “I” and capital “F”) governance improves, greater investment in the economy is allowed, taxes are actually collected, and the money is actually used to make smart investments to lift the poor.

But, regardless of this exhaustive list of things that the government could be doing with the golden economic egg, the chicken has already hatched. The question is which way the chicken will bolt.

Some trends have led us to hope. The growing middle class has already led to greater civil society participation. Impressively, the middle has shown itself to be increasingly vocal about political matters and brazen about challenging the government.

For the Club of the Optimistic (of which I am a member) these happenings could mean greater evolution and effectiveness of Bangladesh’s political institutions and in turn its economic institutions. A large enough middle class could also eventually mean more checks on the abuse of political power by the affluent, as well as more support for public investment in education, health and roads.

But I remind myself that in order for any of this to happen, the middle has to play fair. First, it has to continue to stay socially and politically aware and active. Second it has put an end to inveterate practices that still continue and serve to shut out the many at the expense of a few: e.g. bribing everyone from politicians to school headmasters to healthcare institutions to company officials.

I sincerely hope that the growing middle will rise to the occasion.