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View Poll Results: How would you assess your social class (read explanations below)

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  • Upper-class

    0 0%
  • Upper-middle class

    13 35.14%
  • Middle class

    8 21.62%
  • Working class

    5 13.51%
  • No idea !

    1 2.70%
  • Don't care

    10 27.03%
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Thread: Do you care about social classes ?

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  1. #1
    Twirling dragon Maciamo's Avatar
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    Post Do you care about social classes ?

    It is a fact that any modern society is composed of people of more or less financal means, more or less educated, more or less cultivated, all sharing a variety of different interests, doing different jobs and dressing differently.

    Contrarily to the belief of people who come from non-class-conscious societies (like Japan or maybe also the US), classes exist everywhere and are not defined only by money. I'd say that for British (or even French) people, classes are determined more by one's education (in the broad sense of the term, including manners, culture, etc.), hobbies, interests and way of dressing or speaking than by money. The main reason is that one;s financial situation can evolve with time (and usually does), while the way of thinking doesn't.

    To simplify the task, I will briefly explain who is usually associated with each of the 4 main social classes : upper, upper-middle, middle and lower.

    Many European countries still have a nobility system (even republics like France, Italy or Germany), so that nobility alone can increase one's social class just from birth. Let's say that most nobles do care to give their children an education suitable to their social class, otherwise it would be very possible for a noble to be considered lower class (many people of lower nobility are indeed middle or upper-middle class).

    Some occupation are also often asscoiated with the upper-classes, such as president, minister, ambassador, governor, big company CEO, or to some extend also university professor. Prestige, be it by the (nobility) title or function usually qualifies for upper-class when combined with fortune and decent manners.

    The upper-middle classes are sometimes called the "professional class", as most doctors, lawyers, bankers, accountants or managers belong to this class. Some call them the "chattering classes", because they are mostly intellectuals and like discussing anything from the latest cultural events to politics or the economy. Another word is "bourgeois", although often seen as negative and associated with materialsitic values (interestingly, in Japanese bourgeois as a positive connotation, but so does naive ).

    The middle classes are most people with an ordinary job - usually not career ones, or with little chance of reaching high managerial positions. The largest part of the people are probably to be found here, from secretaries and office clerks to police officers, shop attendants or company staff.

    The lower classes, more commonly known as "working classes", are most of the people with manual jobs, especially factory workers and builders.

    Some people are difficult to classify. A priest/pastor would probably be (upper-)middle class because of their good education. A plumber or carpenter would be lower or middle class as non-intellectual, regardless how much money they make.

    But it's important to remember that education, behaviour and interests are the most decisive factors, and that a doctor who swears, dresses like a homeless and is more interested in watching football at the local pub with a few beers and loud laughs, will be considered as lower-class, no matter how intelligent, educated or rich he may be.

    More often it is one's personality and one's parent's socio-economic background that defines a person's way of thinking and class. It is easy to differentiate social classes even among 6-year old children. And it rarely changes considerably after that. As a result, it sometimes (often?) happens that even first cousins are in different social classes. That also occurs from parents to children. Add to that the many cases where the parents are not from the same social background (but often, there isn't a world of difference, as they would probably not come to like each others).

    Let me give a few example of very rich and famous people and their social class, just to show how unrelated class is to money.

    David & Victoria Beckham => working class
    The Beatles => working class
    Hugh Grant, Colin Firth... => upper-class or upper-middle class

    In the US, it is sometimes difficult to asssess, as some people that should be classified as upper-class sometimes behave like lower or middle class. The best example is G.W. Bush. In contrast John Kerry would be upper-class, and John Edwards would be upper-middle class even coming from a working class family.

    Jennifer Lopez => working class
    Julia Roberts => middle class
    Gwyneth Paltrow => upper-middle or upper class

    So what do you think is your social class ?
    Last edited by Maciamo; Mar 20, 2005 at 11:41.

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