Study Skills Social Class

Contentiously, Britain is argued to be a class-ridden society ; therefore, to understand Britain and British culture, you should understand something about the British Class Structure . This is a huge topic, which demands further reading , but it is important to understand the basics.
British society has changed a great deal since the Industrial Revolution began in the mid-1700s, not least with tw o World Wars , the introduction of mass education and a Welfare State to augment change, but social class has always been at the forefront of British society. The British social commentator George Orwell (1903–1950) provides us with the intellectual overview of how class structures and class struggle in societies work:
1984 - “There have always been three kinds of
people in the world, the High , the Middle , and the Low . They have been grouped in many ways, they have been given different names, and their relative numbers, as well as their attitude towards one another, have varied from age to age: but the essential structure of society has never really altered. Even after enormous social and political upheavals and seemingly irrevocable changes, the same pattern has always reasserted itself.
The aims of these three groups are entirely irreconcilable. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the Middle is to change places with the High. The aim of the Low, when they have an aim -- for it is an abiding characteristic of the Low that they are too much crushed by drudgery to be more than intermittently conscious of anything outside their daily lives -- is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal.
The High are secure in power, but sooner or later there always comes a moment when they lose either their belief in themselves or their capacity to govern
efficiently. They are then overthrown by the Middle, who enlists the Low on their side by pretending to them that they are fighting for such things as liberty and justice. As soon as they have reached their objective, the Middle thrust the Low back into their old position of servitude, and them selves become the High. Presently a new Middle group splits off from one of the other groups, or from both of them, and the struggle begins over again. Of the three groups, only the Low is never even temporarily successful in achieving their aims. It would be an exaggeration to say that throughout history there has been no progress of a material kind.
Even today, the average human being is physically better off than he was a few centuries ago. But no advance in wealth, no softening of manners, no reform or revolution has ever brought human equality a millimetre nearer. From the point of view of the Low, no historic change has ever meant much more than a change in the name of their masters.” - Written in
1948
To understand class better, let us start at the beginning: Karl Marx (1818-1883) argues that people in all kinds of societies organise them selves to produce the things that they need: food, shelter, clothing . This organisation produces class relations , as one class, that is, one group of people, will come to dominate how things are organised. For example, the subject class (serfs, peasants, workers) produce things for the ruling class (feudal lords, capitalists). The ruling class own the things that are produced. Marx argues that a modern capitalist society produces two social classes: bourgeoisie and the proletariat .
George Orwell
Karl Marx
As we can see, Marx argues a person’s relationship to class depends on thei r
relationship to how things are produced in society.
In actual fact, Marx argued that there were more classes. For example:
Landlords- i.e. the Royal Family
Petit bourgeoisie- small manufacturer / shop keeper
Lumpenproletariat- beggars, thieves, vagabonds, priests, artists
Peasantry / farmers- disorganised and dispersed
Marx argued that given time, these classes would be absorbed into either the bourgeoisie or the proletariat - this did not happen.
Therefore, has Marx been a little too simple in his view, as British society grew to be
somew hat more complicated?In order to understand class better, we need to look at the situation in more detail. Marx lived most of his life in London, England, so was very
keen to observe how the bourgeoisie and proletariat behaved towards each other. However, as time progressed occupation / education as well as money and therefore
social status became important in deciding what class a person belongs to. For
example, what notion people have of “good and evil, pleasant and unpleasant of funny
and unfunny, beautiful and ugly, w hat books to read, what clothes to buy; things such as
speech, accent, table manners, turns of speech, even how people move their bodies and how people smoke or w hat hobbies they have can decide a person’s class.” - Orwell
We can begin to see now that when we look at the bourgeoisie and proletariat a little
more closely overtime, that British society actually began to be divided up into essentially three main classes: Upper Class, Middle Class and Working Class. Therefore, to understand the British class system fully, when one looks at money,
occupation / education and social status, these classes themselves can be divided up again into:
again this structure provides a basi c understand ing of B ritain’s class structure.
Upper Class
Upper Middle Class
social status
Middle – Middle Class
Low er Middle Class
Working Class
However, w ho or what kind of people would occupy these classes? The Upper Class is the Royal Family and their relatives, the landed gentry and titled people all of whom enjoy tremendous social status. The people who belong in this class have what is known as traditional money, that is, the family’s wealth has been in the family for generations. Their wealth is normally inherited from generation to generation, so education (and work) does not necessarily play a big part in their lives.
People in the Upper Middle Class are highly educated professionals, such as leaders of a leading university, barristers, surgeons, captains of industry, stockbrokers and professional investors etc. These people have what is known as new money, as they make their wealth by working. An excellent, expensive private education is thought to be necessary for the people in this class.
The Middle Middle Class is made up of university-educated professionals, such as university lecturers, HE teachers, solicitors and doctors etc. These people are paid highly and are fairly well educated, sometimes privately.
The Lower Middle Class is made up of lower paid teachers, junior managers, hospital administrators, lower paid government workers and librarians etc. A high standard of education usually at university level is necessary for this class.
The Working Class consists of manual workers, skilled, semi-skilled or non-skilled. Jobs such as factory worker, plumber, bus driver, electrician, bricklayer, shop assistant and the like, or simply unemployed are to be found in this particular class. However, workers who are highly skilled often think of them selves higher than semi or non-skilled workers, as they may have had a better education or advanced training with recognisable skills and qualifications.
Wealth
From this model we can see that the Working Class has the highest membership, while the Upper Class has the least, but most of the wealth. Marx theorised that the Working Class (proletariat) would use its class power to defeat all the other classes, thereby bring about a communist society. However, let us delve further into the concept of class, as Marx’s predicted worker’s revolution didn’t materialize in Britain.
There have been three things that have changed the concept of class in 19th/20th century
Britain, whic h prevented a worker’s revolution: overall increase in wealth; education; two world wars.
1. Capitalism has brought in its wake an increase in wealth for most people
including the working class. There has been a certain levelling out of the class system, as the poorest in society have gotten richer, while the Upper Class in size and wealth has decreased slightly. Workers began to see themselves as having a stake in the capitalist system, not merely as the victims of it.
2. The Elementary Education Act of 1870, the 1944 Education Act working in
conjunction with the Welfare State in general have provided educational opportunities for the working class to raise them selves in society, thereby, increasing social mobility for many Working Class people.
3. The First World War and the Second World War were ‘total wars’, that is,
economies not just armies were fighting each other. For the war to be won, it required the efforts of the whole of society. To have a combined effort to win the war, socialism in a limited form had to be introduced, and this meant that class barriers had to be broken down.
These three factors have had a striking impact on Britain’s class structure, at the beginning of the 21st Century in Britain might indeed look something more like this:
As you can see from the chart, the Upper Class hasn’t changed a great deal; the Middle Class has expanded; the Working Class is in decline.
Although, Eric Hobsbawm, a Marxist historian, argues, If the working class were defined simply as manual w orkers, then there as been a decline in this class from 75% in 1911 to 70% in 1931 and a further reduction to 64% in 1961. However, if the working class is defined in a more Marxist sense, that is people, including their ‘dependants’, who sell their labour power in the market place, then the working class as a class has grown.
However, many social commentators now argue that there is a new class of people: the Under-class, which is essentially people who are being left behind, in term of skills, opportunities, education and jobs, in a technological advancing society.
However, in understanding class there
is one point to take into person can be ascribed to a class, that is, sociological thinkers decide who belongs to which
class, which we have discussed above; but a person can also feel that they belong to a particular class. A bank manager may feel he is w orking class and equally a builder may feel that he is middle class. What has happened in the last 40 years is that incomes for many middle class and working class jobs have levelled out; leaving only such things as family background, taste, dwelling and such like to become the deciding factor, in which less influence is placed upon. What class a person feels they belong to is an important factor when a person votes for a particular political party for example.
Glossary
Contentious:
Causing or likely to cause disagreement or controversy. Given to provoking argument.
The concept of class has been discussed and argued over for a very long time. Marx’s concept of class was criticised most effectively by Max Weber (1864-1920).
Class (economic group):
A group of people in society who have the same economic and social position.
Industrial Revolution:
The period of time during which work began to be done more by machines in factories than by hand at home.
Class struggle:
In Marxism, a continuing fight between the capitalist class and the working class for political and economic power.
Welfare State:
A system of taxation which allows the government of a country to provide social services such as health care, unemployment pay, etc to people who need them.
George Orwell:
Born into a lower upper middle class family in Britain. He won a scholarship to go to Eton. He became an imperial policeman in Burma for the British. Developed life-long beliefs in Socialism. Became a writer of some note. His books include: 1984, The Road to Wigan Pier, The Lion and the Unicorn, Coming Up For Air. Also wrote many essays and articles.
Karl Marx:
Karl was born into a wealthy middle class family in Germany. At university became very interested in history and politics. After leaving university he became a radical journalist. Went to live in London. During his life he set about to understand and how to explain the economic system of capitalism. His greatest works are considered to be Capital and The Communist Manifesto.
Augment:
Make greater by additions, increase.
Ruling class (ruling classes):
The most powerful people in the country.
Bourgeois:
Belonging to or typical of the middle class (a social group between the rich and poor), especially in supporting established customs and values, or having a strong interest in money and possessions.
Bourgeoisie:
(in Marxism) the part of society, including employers and people who run large companies, which has most of the wealth and takes advantage of ordinary workers.
Proletariat:
The class of people who do unskilled jobs in industry and own little or no property.
Landlords:
A person or organisation that owns a building or an area of land and is paid by other people for the use of it.
Petit bourgeoisie:
Belonging to the lower middle social class, or having the characteristics that are connected with this class, such as valuing money and possessions too much and not trusting new or different ideas.
Lumpenproletariat:
(in Marxism) the apolitical lower orders of society uninterested in revolutionary advancement.
Occupation:
A person’s job.
Status (respect):
The amount of respect, admiration or importance given to a person, organisation or object.
Status (official position):
An official position, especially in a social group.
Upper Class:
The social group with the highest status, especially the aristocracy.
Middle Class:
A social group that consists of well educated people, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, who have good jobs and who are neither very rich or very poor.
Working Class:
A social group of people who earn little money, often being paid only for the hours or days that they work, and who usually do physical work.
Underclass:
A group of people with a lower social and economic position than any of the other classes of society.
Nouveau riche:
Describes a person from a low social class who has recently become very rich and like to show his wealth publicly by spending a lot of money.
Public school (Expensive school):
In England, an expensive type of private school, that is, paid for by parents not by the government.
Skilled:
People who have been trained for a job.
Semi-skilled:
Having or needing only a small amount of training.
Capitalism:
An economic, political and social system based on private ownership, business and industry, and directed towards making the greatest possible profit for successful organisations and people.
Elementary Education Act of 1870:
After the passing of the 1867 Reform Act, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Robert Lowe, remarked that the government would now "have to educate our masters." As a result of this view, the government passed the 1870 Education Act. The act, drafted by William Forster stated:
(a) the country would be divided into about 2500 school districts;
(b) School Boards were to be elected by ratepayers in each district;
(c) the School Boards were to examine the provision of elementary education in their district, provided then by Voluntary Societies, and if there were not enough school places, they could build and maintain schools out of the rates;
(d) the school Boards could make their own by-laws which would allow them to charge fees or, if they wanted, to let children in free.
The 1870 Education Act allowed women to vote for the School Boards. Women were also granted the right to be candidates to serve on the School Boards. Several feminists saw this as an opportunity to show they were capable of public administration. In 1870, four women, Flora Stevenson, Lydia Becker, Emily Davies and Elizabeth Garrett were elected to local School Boards. Elizabeth Garrett, a popular local doctor, obtained more votes Marylebone than any other candidate in the country.
1944 Education Act:
Rab Butler was the Minister of Education in the coalition government formed by Winston Churchill in 1940. Butler's 1944 Education Act was an attempt to create the structure for the post-war British education system. The act raised the school-leaving age to 15 and provided universal free schooling in three different types of schools; grammar, secondary modern and technical. Butler hoped that these schools would cater for the different academic levels and other aptitudes of children. Entry to these schools was based on the 11+ examination.
First World War (the Great War):
The war from 1914 to 1918 in which Britain, France, Russia, the United States and Italy fought Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.
Second World War (World War Two):
The war from 1939 to 1945 in which Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States and France fought Germany, Italy and Japan
Ascribed (quality):
To believe that someone or something has a particular quality.
Sociology:
The study of the relationships between people living in groups, especially in industrial society.
White-collar worker:
Relating to people who work in officers, doing work that needs mental rather than physical effort.
Blue-collar worker:
Describes people who do physical or unskilled work in a factory rather than office work.
Suggested Further Reading Here is a suggested model for China for 2005:
How would you compare and contrast this model with Britain’s?
Ragged Trousered Philanthropist - Robert Tressell
The Road to Wigan Pier – George Orwell
The Lion and the Unicorn – George Orwell
The Classic Slum – Robert Roberts
A Ragged Schooling: Growing Up In the Classic Slum – Roberts Roberts
Transformation of British Life: 1950 – 2000 – Andrew Rosen
Britain Since 1945: The Peoples’ Peace – Kenneth O’Morgan
The Pendulum Years: Britain in the Sixties – Bernard Levin
British Working Class Enthusiasm for the War – David Silbey
Working Class Cultures in Britain: 1890 – 1960 – Joanna Bourke
Leisure, Gender and Poverty: Working Class Culture in Salford and Manchester 1900 – 1939 – A. Davies The Making of the English Working Class – E. P. Tompson
The Condition of the Working Class in England – F. Engels
A Social History of the Social Working Classes: 1815 – 1945 – E. Hopkins
British Society Since 1945 – Arthur Marwick
Britain on the Breadline – Keith Laybourn
The Working Class in Britain: 1850 – 1939 – John Benson
Capital – Karl Marx
The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes – J. Rose
Mind the Gap: Class in Britain Now – Ferdinand Mount
Sixties Britain: Culture, Society and Politics – Mark Donnelly
Nazism, Fascism and the Working Class – Timothy W. Mason
The Ideologies of Class: Social Relations in Britain 1880 – 1950 – Ross McKibbin
Political Ideology and Class Formation: A Study of the Middle Class – Carolyn Howe
To Struggle is to Live: Working Class Autobiography – Ernie Benson
I realise that it may be hard to obtain a copy of these books in China and it may also be difficult read these books online. However, the website offers a chance to read some selected pages from some of their books. This is better than nothing, and from reading a few selected pages it may allow you to focus on w hat you can obtain over the Internet. Reading a few selected pages can also spark an interest in a specific topic, which you can then develop. Google also have put many books to read on-line, which is an excellent way to access books.。