First, the term "middle class", as used by Lenin is not the same as we think of that term in the U.S. today. It does not mean middle income but, rather, those who own the means of production, as opposed to the landed aristocracy of earlier periods. Within Lenin's use of the term, one who works for somone else is not middle-class - no matter how big her/his paycheck is. Second, Lenin, as do all Marxists, saw the struggle between classes as a war. What sane leader in any war would not have his side fully armed with the best weapons and the other side without the means to fight. One of the conditions for victory in any war is the disarming of the vanquished. Finally, do not confuse liberal Democrats with class-conscious workers. No class-conscious worker wants their fellow workers disarmed - quite the contrary. Arm the masses!