Social class division

Another fundamental area to be discussed within this lecture is the matter ofsocial class. Britain is often described as being class-conscious but this does not mean that society is more divided than, for example, in France. In part the sense of division probably comes from the love of hierarchy and sense of deference. Not only the Royal Family, but also the surviving titled families and old land-owning families are

treated with greater deference than might be expected in a democracy. There can be no doubt that they enjoy special status.

But such people are a small minority of the population. Most people are classified according to their work occupations, falling into two broad groups, as in other industrialised societies, the middle class (or white-collar workers) and the working class (or blue-collar workers). The kind of work done not only indicates education and how much is earned, but also the kind of social contact that is usual. Most people generally mix socially with the same kind of people as those with whom they work. Manual workers tend to mix with each other, as do professionals (doctors, lawyers and senior civil servants) and managers.

This description looks like a static picture, but in fact there is major movement between classes. Many people move from one category to another or increase their level of responsibility during their working lives. More importantly, theworking class is rapidly declining. Since the 1950s there has been a massive growth of the middle class. But there has also been the emergence of a sizeable ‘underclass’, as Residual Category is commonly known.

The middle class embraces a range of people from senior professionals, for example judges, senior medical specialists and senior civil servants, through to clerical workers - in other words, almost all people who earn their living in a non-manual way. To this extent, the middle class embodies much variety and cannot claim a single identity. The sense of social class or group is affected by social circle, education and comparative wealth; although these do not necessarily work together. A relatively poor but highly educated family may find itself associating with wealthier but similarly highly educated friends. An extremely rich but less highly educated family will probably associate with others of similar educational level.

The middle class is the engine room of the economy. Unlike the working class, the middle class has great fluidity and mobility. During the twenty years 1971-91 approximately two million jobs were created in the professional and managerial fields alone, and the whole middle class is constantly expanding. Over half of today's middle class started life in the working class.

Beyond the middle class lies a small but powerfulupper class, which survives from one generation to another. Although the upper class seems to be merely an extension of the middle class, it is actually separated by three things: property, networks and power. For example, the top 1% of wealth holders owns about one quarter of the nation's wealth. Members of the upper class share a very specific identity. The sons all go to public schools, usually the more famous ones.

Those who think that Britain is a class society usually think of the contrast between this small group of its great wealth, property and privileged education, and the shrinking unskilled manual working class, which has been characterised by significantly higher unemployment. But these two extremes are where there is the least social mobility. Almost half those born into the upper class remain in it, while 40% of sons of unskilled manual workers themselves remain in that class. But among the intermediate categories of people, skilled manual workers, clerical workers, supervisors, managers and professionals, there is a high degree of social mobility.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 927