We're all middle class now, aren't we?
Does Vicky Pollard sum up the working class?
According to a survey of social attitudes, 57% of adults in the UK claim to be working class. But what is that in today's society?
We're all middle class now, aren't we? Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott thinks so, but he appears to be in the minority.
A staggering 57% of us consider ourselves to be working class, according to the annual British Social Attitudes survey from the National Centre for Social Research. Even the centre thinks this is "remarkable".
There was once a time when class was clearly defined, but in recent years politicians have been banging on that the UK is now classless and a meritocracy. So what is working class nowadays?
The conventional measurement of class has been the social group classification system, where people are judged on their job. Up until recently Groups A and B were considered professional and middle class, while at the other end of the scale E was used to describe those "at the lowest level of subsistence".
source & more: bbc.co.uk
there has been quite a bit of talk about this on the radio over the past week or so, and the mentioning of the nssec - i'm a 3 on that one, likely a "lower-middle class".
saying that, 'if you have to work, you are working class' - certainly makes sense, right?
what you reckon?
from teh wiki
However, casual usage differs widely; in extreme cases, well-paid university-educated professionals in the United Kingdom may self-identify as working class based on family background, while many semi-skilled and skilled laborers in the United States are characterised as middle-class. It is usually contrasted with the upper class and middle class in terms of access to economic resources, education and cultural interests. Its usage as a description can be pejorative, but many people self-identify as working class and experience a sense of pride analogous to an ethnic or national identity. Working classes are mainly found in industrialised economies and in urban areas of non-industrialised economies.
Comments
To me, middle class is $50 - 60 000 / year income. Way out of my league.
What do you concider middle class? Own home (I don't have one)? Two cars (I don't have one)?
We keep our heads just above the waterline. We own a house through a housing association, and we don't drive. We are in debt. Does that make me working class? Or just poor.
merc, i reckon that chavs are now what the underclass were before, rather than working class. nothing wrong with working class... but the work is a lot easier these days - as are gcse's and a-levels
Well, lesse - I don't own a house, a car, any furniture...I do own a computer. I don't make enough money to actually pay income tax. I'm educated though - viaing bartending and student loans. What does that make me? =\
oops. think i said i'd just watch. oh well.
pish posh!
i'm officially lower middle class.
i have aspirations, though.
x
~Backs away from the chavs in this thread