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social classsocial class in the UKMaybe when you hear the word “class,” you might immediately think of school, but you’ll have to wait until the next chapter for this meaning of the word. If you think of the upper or working classworking class, maybe a posh English accent, maybe titles like sir or baroness or maybe earlearl, then you’re on the right track for this topic: social classsocial class.

upper classupper class: aristocratsLet’s start at the top with the top of the upper classupper class, namely with those aristocrats who have titles like dukeduke, earlearl, or baronbaron. This old upper class, the aristocracyaristocracy, derives its powerpower and influence from as early as the Norman ConquestNorman Conquest ( 2). Both the power and the number of aristocrats with titles were increased especially during the 17^th century under the StuartStuart monarchs ( 2). You can divide the peerages historically into the names of the countries: EnglandEngland, ScotlandScotland, IrelandIreland, Great BritainGreat Britain, which all finally became the United KingdomUnited Kingdom. Examples of English peerage include the Duke of CornwallDuke of Cornwall – the eldest son on the monarch, currently Charles – and the Earl of SandwichEarl of Sandwich, whom we’ll be hearing about in an entirely different context later. Another important aristocrat is the Duke of EdinburghDuke of Edinburgh, also known as Prince PhilipPhilip, Prince, the Queen’s husband.

life peerslife peers, superclasssuperclassYou’ll be hearing about two other people with titles and very exotic-sounding names later: Baron AhmedBaron Ahmed and Lord AlliLord AlliAlli, Lord Waheed ( 8). These people are different in other ways too. While hereditary peershereditary peers inherit their titles from their parents and pass them on to their children, all other peers are life peerslife peers only and thus are a bit lower in the upper classupper class. What almost all peers used to have in common was the right to sit in the House of LordsHouse of Lords – the only unelected chamber in Europe ( 5). But now big names in industry and business and law have also become part of the new upper class or the “superclasssuperclass” as it’s sometimes called. These people not only have money but more importantly the family background [83]and contacts provided by their public school and later OxbridgeOxbridge education ( 4).

middle classmiddle class and upper middle classThe upper classupper classes make up only a very small percentage of Britain’s entire population. The majority of Brits belong to the middle classmiddle classes where professions, education, and a degree of wealth are more important than family background. Characteristics of what’s sometimes called the upper middle class are a university education and a highly qualified job with a good salary: architects, business executives, or doctors are typical upper middle class professions. Salaried professionals, white-collar workerswhite-collar workers like shop assistants and office clerks, and the self-employed are also considered part of the middle class but don’t have as much social prestige as members of the upper middle class do.

working classworking classThe traditional working classworking class in Britain is going through dramatic changes. The old image of the typical working-class man as white and trade union member who lived in government-subsidized housing and whose wife stayed at home is no longer accurate. More working-class members are buying their own homes, many members of ethnic minorities who began immigrating to Britain in the 1950s ( 7) are now members of the working class, the connection to trade unions has been weakened due to Thatcherism in the 80s ( 6), and the old-fashioned division of labor with the husband doing manual labor and the wife staying at home is disappearing with women making up a substantial percentage of the workforce. The shift of working-class votes from LabourLabour to Conservative was also a major factor in the Conservative partyConservative party’s success from the late 70s through the early 90s ( 5).

underclassunderclassAnother effect of the economic politics during the ThatcherThatcher, MargaretThatcher, Margaret see also Iron Lady era was the growth of what is sometimes called the underclassunderclass or the poor and includes elderly people living on limited pensions, single-parent households, members of ethnic minority groups with low-paid work, people living off government benefits, the homeless.

class markersWhile we’ve been looking at class mainly using the criterion of family background, education, profession or job, we need to also glance at other markers of class in Britain like accent, housing, and use of mass mediamass media. The upper classupper classes tend to use a kind of English that used to sound like BBCBBC broadcasters and is still the way the Queen speaks ( 10). Nowadays, though, the BBC tends to use regional accents. And what was only a working-class [84]accent in the past is being adopted by young people with a middle-class background. Members of the upper classes usually live in larger estates as you might indeed expect; members of the working classworking class have become able to buy their own council houses provided by the government. While the distinction between quality and popular press used to be an indication of class differences, the blurring of the sharp distinctions between the kinds of newspapersnewspapers also reflects to some degree a blurring of class differences; although, as you might expect, more of the upper and middle classmiddle classes read the Times and the GuardianGuardian and more of the working class the Sun ( 10).

we’re all middle classmiddle class now (?)Other areas distinguishing class in Britain involve manners and taste. There’s evidence of some breaking down of the class system in Britain – John Prescott, the LabourLabour politician, famously declared: “We’re all middle classmiddle class now.” The use of “U” to indicate the dress, behavior, and speech of the upper classupper classes and “non-U” to indicate non-upper-class characteristics has humorous overtones. But as long as institutions like the House of LordsHouse of Lords and public schoolspublic schools exist and until the ethnic minorities gain full powerpower and representation, the issue of class will remain a fascinating part of trying to describe British life. As you can see from our overview of classes in Britain, family background and history still play a very important role and help to prevent the sort of social mobility that’s possible in many other Western countries like …

class in the US?You might be surprised to find the United States in this item. Many Americans also think that their country doesn’t have a class system and perhaps point to the American dreamAmerican dream open to all immigrantsimmigrants starting with those who were fleeing the restrictions of class a couple of hundred years ago. Or maybe you would just point to a very simple class system with the rich, a huge middle classmiddle class, and the poor? Most researchers think that the US does indeed have a class system although somewhat different from that found in the UK. As in the UK, the most common class characteristics in the US are based on money, job, and education but also include factors such as racerace and even obesityobesity. Unlike in the UK, aristocracyaristocracy has not played a role in the US although some famous political families like the Kennedys or the Bushes or the Clintons are sometimes regarded as AmericaAmerica’s unofficial nobility. It isn’t aristocracy but another kind of -cracy that is often used to describe America’s social classsocial class system: meritocracymeritocracy, the belief [85]that individual achievement is important. An expression often used in GermanGerman to signify the possibility of economic and professional advancement, the chance that someone who washes dishes can later become a millionaire or go “from rags to riches” (the idiomatic English translation of the German phrase) is part of the American dream. Prosperity was considered a sign of God’s blessings within the PuritanPuritan work ethicPuritan work ethic, which has had such an important effect on American life ( 8).

lower classBut the other side of the meritocracymeritocracy coin is the stark evidence of those who don’t make it: the working poor or those dependent on government aid or the homeless. Members of this lower class can make up as much as 15 to 20 % of the entire American population (depending on which statistics you currently want to trust) and can be seen in urban ghettos or even on downtown streets. Race and ethnicityethnicity, a defining aspect of American social classsocial class from the very founding of the country, plays a very important role in these lower classes with a disproportionate number of African AmericansAfrican Americans and HispanicsHispanics. Due to problems establishing a nationwide health insurancehealth insurance or job security, members of the middle classmiddle classes have experienced social mobility in a downward direction, making possible a nationwide discussion on the role of the state in the lives of Americans, a role that in times of prosperity for the majority has been limited as we’ll see later in this chapter.