Different Class Cultures

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Upper Class, Middle Class and Working ClassCultures / Identities

Activity:

1. What does the table below tell us about the spread ofwealth in the UK?2. Is there a correlation between pay and hours worked?3. What does the table below tell us about the

relationship between work and class?

Activity: Look at the table below. Is it fair to say that all of thehighest paid jobs are upper class jobs and all of the lowest paidjobs are working class jobs?

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Here we will look at how the identities and cultures of social classes differfrom each other.

The Upper Class

Previously, we looked at the Office for National Statistics classification ofsocial classes by occupation. The upper class is not listed separately inthis classification. This is partly because it is very small; Kenneth Roberts(2001) estimates that it makes up less than 1% of the population.However, the main reason for its non-inclusion is that the upper classesare defined in terms of their enormous wealth rather than theiroccupations.

The upper class is not a single, homogeneous group; there are different

types of upper class person...

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Question: How do these itemsillustrate the different types ofupper class person? How do youthink their lifestyles, attitudes andvalues might differ?


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Upper class culture, identity and valuesIt is often claimed that the upper class has a strong sense of collectiveidentity because it is closed i.e. not open to entry from below. Upperclass people tend to be the children of upper class parents; in this way,the upper classes are often said to be self-recruiting. This process, whereaccess to a particular social class is restricted or closed off is known associal closure. According to John Scott (1982), upper class people maintaintheir class position, and gain a sense of collective upper class identitythrough such things as education, inter-marriage, and social / leisureactivities.

Question (discuss in pairs / threes): How do you think the upperclasses maintain their position and collective identity through:

Education (what sorts of schools and universities do they go to, and

how does this maintain social closure? see the extract below) Inter-marriage (who do they marry?)

Social and leisure activities (what sorts of events do they go to;what sorts of sports do they involve themselves in?)

ChrisRojek

(2000) argues that upper class values focus on:

Tradition (a desire to maintain historical traditions and customs ofBritish society; can you think of any such traditions that arecurrently in the news?

Authority(a belief that society works best when it is organised intoranks, with a few powerful people at the top and everyone elsebelow. Also, people should show proper respect to those in positions

of authority). Breeding and Background (a belief that a good background is

important to having correct attitudes, manners and values.

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These values are promoted through several agents of socialisation, butmainly through the family and the education system.

Question: How do you think upper class values are promoted through thefamily and the education system?

The Super RichThe Super Rich are viewed as a subgroup of the upper class. Unlike thetradiotional upper class, who have inherited wealth (aristocracy), thesuper rich have earned their own wealth through hard work and merit.

They are major consumers and spend lavishly on yachts, designer clothesand fast cars. The Beckhams or Jay Z are a good example of the superrich.

The Middle Classes

Questions (discuss in pairs / threes):

Why do you think that sociologists use the term middle class esrather than middle class?

List three values, beliefs or attitudes that you believe characterisethe middle classes.

The middle classes contain much more diversitythan the upper classes. Interms of the Office for National Statistics classification than we looked atpreviously, the term middle classes refers mainly to classes 1 and 2, andcan be extended to classes 3 and 4 because they are also non-manualoccupations.

Question: What is meant by the term non-manual? Give three examplesof manual and non-manual occupations.

ManualNon-manual

Savage (1995) argued that there are 4 types of middle class identity,all based upon occupation:

Professionals

Managers

Self-employed owners of small businesses (petit bourgeoisie)

White-collar workers

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Professionals

Doctors and lawyers.

Value cultural assets such as knowledge and qualifications.

Bourdieu (1997) expanded this to talk about cultural capital.

They try to pass these on to their children.

Such cultural capital is crucial in the future success of children.

Managers

These people are less secure about their jobs, so encourage

their children to make the most of education.

This is in order for the children to have a better chance of stable

(professional) careers.

Thats me and my sister, that is.

Self-employed owners

Tend to be quite individualistic.

Often less well-off than the previous two categories. Within this group are also entrepreneurs, who:

Work in city or in the media.

Have an identity that revolves around a mixture of high and

popular culture.

e.g. Go to the opera one night and a Premiership match the next

day.

White-collar/Clerical workers

Professions such as secretaries and office clerks.

With the introduction of computers, this group has become less

important with reduced status. However, studies have shown that they still consider themselves

middle class.

This is due to their leisure and social activities.

It can be very difficult to make general statements about the culture andidentity of the middle classes. This is because they have grown so muchover the last 50 years; it is estimated that the middle classes made up just30% of the UK population in 1951, compared to 60% in 2000. More peopleare rising from the working classes to join the middle classes (which,

unlike the upper classes, are not closed). This movement of people fromone class to another is known as social mobility, and it has meant thatthe social backgrounds of the middle classes are very mixed, as the newmiddle classes (e.g. entrepreneurial small businessmen) mix with the old(lawyers, doctors etc.). As a result, it can be difficult to identify middleclass values, because the middle classes contain such different people.

However, some sociologists believe that certain middle class values canbe identified

Questions:

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What middle class values are highlighted in the items below?

How does the family play a role in the socialisation of people intomiddle class identities?

Questions: How strong is your class identity? How important is it to who you

are?

Technically speaking, most students at The Emmbrook are frommiddle class backgrounds. How strong is your class identity likely tobe if most of those around you are from the same classbackground?

As indicated on the previous page, sociologists have attempted to identifymiddle class values. As McDonough (1997) observes, these values include

placing a great emphasis on educational success, on forging arespectable, professional carer, and a belief that society should be a

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meritocratic (i.e. that those who work the hardest and who are the mostable should be the most successful).

Home Ownership is also seen as a crucial element of the middle classidentity:

Sociologists see home ownership as central to understanding the

middle class.

During the 20th Century, home ownership was dominated by the

middle classes.

This led to the development of a suburban lifestyle. Central to thissuburban lifestyle was the family.

The Family

Sociologists view child-centredness as central to middle class

families.

Education is key on passing on attitudes and opportunities. Thisis because middle class parents believe in meritocracy (thebest rise to the top and it is worth working hard to get there).

Some sociologists view middle class socialization as superior to

working class socialization.

What do you think? Is middle class socialization superior?

Pierre Bourdieu (1986) and capital Bourdieu was a neo-Marxist

Used the concept ofcapital (meaning resources) to illustrate class

differences

Some capital was ascribed at birth and others achieved in various

ways. There are three types of capital:

Economic Capital

This includes wealth, income and financial inheritance. It can beascribed or achieved. It tends to be those with the best jobs or thosewho have a lot of inherited wealth.

Cultural capital The most important oneIncludes cultural attributes, often associated with education. Aknowledge of classical music, classical literature and art are allexamples of cultural capital. It can be passed down from generation togeneration, and is therefore difficult to buy or achieve. It is oftenassociated with the top private schools.

Children from middle and upper class families have been socialized into

the dominant culture. Bourdieu believes that school merely builds uponthe education (of values and practices) that has been started through

primary socialization. Children from the upper and middle classes

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(dominant classes, as Bourdieu calls them) have been taught the skillsand knowledge to unlockthe messages transmitted in the classroom they, in Bourdieus words, possess the code of the message. A goodreal life example of this is middle class students possessing the style inthe way they present their work and present themselves. Bourdieu

considers this more important than actual academic knowledge. Thissystem penalises working class children for not sharing this style.

The educational attainment of social groups is directly related to theamount of cultural capital they possess.

Social CapitalIncludes connections and networks associated with group membership.It is possessed by all groups in different ways. In traditional working-class communities people look out for one another in terms of jobs andfavours for one another. In higher social classes it is often associatedwith educational institutions (Oxford and Cambridge) and old boy/girl

networks.

Savage et al (1992) identified three different types of middle classlifestyle:

Postmodern: Likely to experiment with a wide range of new and

innovative lifestyles. These people used to be known as yuppiesand favour fast cars, expensive wine and exotic holidays. They alsoput great importance in personal fitness and healthy eating.

Ascetic: People who are, using Bourdieus terms, high in culturalcapital but low in economic capital. They wont engage in theextravagant tastes associated with the postmodern lifestyle, but will

enage in cultural activities, such as the theatre, hill walking andclassical music.

Undistinctive: Probably the most traditional of the middle classlifestyles. Associated with managers and administrators. Favourgolf, fishing and visiting country houses.

The Working Class

The working class is essentially composed ofmanual workers (classes 5, 6

and 7 in the Office for National Statistics classification). In 1951 thisaccounted for about 70% of the workforce, but over the years it hasshrunk to under half.

But what characterises the working class identity, and has this changedover the years? Some sociologists draw a distinction between thetraditional working class and the new working class.

For example, the traditional working class (working in heavy industrye.g. mining) places great value on the male role as breadwinner, on thefemale role as housewife, on family values and community spirit, and on astrong sense of class consciousness (expressed through such things as

trade union membership, reading tabloid newspapers and left-wingpolitical beliefs). For the traditional working class, doing such physical,

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masculine jobs as steelworker or miner creates a very strong sense ofclass identity.

In contrast, the new working class work in more hi-tech industries(though still in manual jobs); they are less concerned with community andmore concerned with themselves. A decline in manual jobs, a feminizationof the economy and the expansion of education all contribute to creatingthis new working class identity. They do not necessarily believe in thestereotypical male and female roles, are more materialistic, seek to moveup the social ladder, and adopt more middle class tastes in sport, leisure,lifestyle and fashion. Their class consciousness and class identity aremuch weaker. Saunders (1990) argues that how we make our money isless important than how we spend it. This sums up the new working classculture/identity.

However, Abercrombie et al (1980) argue that both notions of theworking class are wrong, as you cannot talk of one coherent ideology for

the working class. An example of this is the working class supporting thewelfare state whilst also believing in economic freedom for the individual.

They argue that multiple ideologies exist for social groups, in which peoplepromote the ideology that advances their own position the best. In short,they believe it is too simplistic to say the working class follow onedominant ideology, as everyone is looking out for themselves.

Activity (in pairs / threes): Examine the item below. Which picturerepresents the new working class identity and culture, and which the oldworking class identity and culture? Why? List the differences betweenthem.Whose values are closest to middle class values (see above)?

The UnderclassThe underclass are essentially the long-term unemployed (class 8 in theOffice for National Statistics classification). Its members are so poor and

disadvantaged that they are under the normal class structure. Theysuffer poverty, unemployment, bad housing, ill health and poor

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educational opportunities. Some sociologists see the underclass as beingtrapped in their unfortunate position.

The underclass have only themselves to blame Do you agree?

Some sociologists claim that the underclass are poor because of theirvalues; they are often seen as lazy workshy scroungers. Charles Murray,for example, calls them the new rabble; a group who prefer to live offcrime or welfare benefits rather than work. He accuses many singlemothers of having children simply so that they can claim more housingallowance, and believes that families in which parents are unemployed willproduce children who also grow up to be unemployed. Thus, he blamesthe underclass for their own predicament, and identifies several valueswhich, he claims, characterise the underclass outlook

Laziness

Unwillingness to work in school or to get a job

Welfare dependency Irresponsible attitude towards parenting.

Does the table below support Murrays view of the underclass?

Questions (discuss in pairs / threes): Read the extract below

Are the underclass the villains or the victims ? Are they poor andunemployed because of their values, or do they hold these valuesbecause they are poor and unemployed?

Are the values of the underclass really different to those of otherclasses?

How strong do you think the underclass identity is?

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Underclass questions:

1. Would a broader, more inclusive definition of the workingclass be better for describing people who are long-termunemployed and dependent on benefits than the term

underclass?2. Why dont politicians use the term underclass?

Socialisation: Learning Class Identity

Questions:

List the ways in which the family, the peer group and the educationsystem socialise upper class people into their class identity.

1) The Family

2) The Peer Group

3) The Education System

How might these agents of socialisation work differently for otherclasses (e.g. what role might the education system play in thedevelopment of working class identities)?

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Which social class do you think has the strongest sense of classidentity? Why?

Which agent of socialisation do you think has the most impact onour class identity? Is this the same for all classes?

Agents of socialization in the creation of classidentities

The family:

We have already spoken about how the child-centredness ofmiddle class families may form their class identity. Boudieusideas about cultural capital are also relevant here.

The tendency for the upper class to marry one another can

also be seen as relevant.

Education:

Schools play a massive role in shaping the norms and valuesof different social classes.

Top private schools often promote the values of conservatism,nationalism and acceptance of a hierarchy. Roker added thatpublic (private) school students view themselves as superiorto state school students.

Working class students can be seen to shaped by subculturesthat exist in schools. Paul Willis (1977) found that working

class lads did not view education as important, because theydid not need the skills taught in school. Instead, they adaptedan anti-school subculture centred around having a laugh.

Peer group:

The old boy network, in which the privately educated and

Oxbridge graduates use the people theyve met to gainadvantage, is a clear facet of upper class identity.

Subcultures within all schools are based along class lines.

The media: The media portray social class in a particular way, which

reinforces individuals perception of their own class.

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Coronation Street, for example, is focused on the workingclass experience, whereas coverage of Royal Ascot or the boatrace focuses on upper class culture.

Newspapers are also based loosely along class lines. E.g. TheSun is aimed towards the working class, The Daily Mail

towards the middle class and The Telegraph towards theupper class.

The workplace:

An individuals position in the workplace has always been seenas major source of class identity, as we have seen throughoutthis handout.

The working class in particular, with their links to trade unionsand manual work, have a strong sense of class identity fromtheir workplace.

Exam Questions Define the concept of social-class identity. (8 marks)

Explain and briefly evaluate the variety of middle class

cultural identities that exist in the UK. (24 marks)

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Different Class Cultures