More than 30 years have passed since my essay in the early eighties sketched out Egypt’s sociological profile at the time. On looking at the Egyptian scene now one is struck by the transformational changes, especially in the political sphere, that witnessed armed insurgency and the economic crises of the 1990s and, with almost no predictions, the eruption of mass popular uprisings in which two presidents were toppled in 2011 and 2013. The Egypt of 2015, with its bursting population of nearly 90 million, has shown that it can surprise the world; today’s political and social dynamics give promise of fundamental new directions, and some worrying continuities. Many of the basic problematic features of the social structure which prevailed in the 1980s have indeed intensified; rapid demographic growth slowed for a decade but has now returned to a worrying 2.6 percent annually. The resulting pressure on services has severely strained the economy, leaving little for state investment in development. The infrastructure in which Hosni Mubarak invested heavily over 30 years has deteriorated due to lack of maintenance and renovation. Inflation since 2011 has risen steeply to over 15 percent, and a violent war of attrition is being waged by some Muslim Brothers (MB) and militant Islamist allies based in the Northern Sinai. The rate of terrorist attacks in Egypt’s cities is increasing with a devastating impact on tourism, one of the pillars of the country’s economy. The high rate of unemployment, which troubled the later years of the Mubarak regime, has also intensified (reaching almost 25 percent), particularly among youth. A bureaucracy already bloated in the 1980s has now developed into a giant body of 7 million underpaid employees, fostering a culture of bribes and inefficiency which constitutes a major impediment to economic development. In short, the quality of life has deteriorated for most Egyptians, and little of the zeal and optimism that suffused the spirit of Egyptians following Mubarak’s downfall can now be detected (although the opening of the new Suez Canal extension in summer of 2015 has renewed pride and patriotism). After four years of upheaval and Since the original article was written, the author has served in many capacities, as Secretary General of the Arab Thought Forum, and founder of the Arab Human Rights Organization, as well as Egypt’s leading prisoner of conscience during the Mubarak regime. He is currently Chairman of the Ibn Khaldun Center