C+I - class identity

• Upper class:

  • 'Super rich' achieved status through hard work (e.g., Alan Sugar) or talent (e.g., Beyonce, Ronaldo)
  • Traditional upper class has inherited/ascribed status gained through generational wealth, no work or labor is required for a salary (e.g., the royal family, the Sainsburys family)
• The super rich/upper class/the 1% use a tool of invisibility known as social closure, separating their education, leisure time, and daily lives from the rest of society
• Middle class:

  • Defined by work in non-manual sectors
  • Includes a wide category of private sector (lawyers, accountants) and public sectors (nurses, teachers)
  • Middle class families can save a percentage of their income for non-essential expenses like holidays or a new car
• All classes are defined by their levels of consumption and ability to consume; middle class is a large label with differences in lifestyle and occupation (public vs. private sector)
• Cultural Capital:

  • Middle class holds cultural capital, providing a social advantage in employment and social acceptability
  • Working class lacks this cultural capital
• Social Capital:

  • Middle class has more opportunities to network and connect with higher positions of power, benefiting them in employment
  • Attending a grammar school and having peers in high positions can increase job opportunities due to social capital
• Working class:

  • Professions include skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled manual work
  • Immediate gratification due to incomes not allowing for saving or spending on pleasure
• Working class often presents characteristics of a tight-knit loyal community with traditional gender roles of the expressive mother and instrumental father
• Underclass:

  • Marginalized at the bottom of society with severe lack of education, resources, health, and income
  • Offensive term denoting reliance on the welfare state and involvement in deviant behavior
• Charles Murray's theory of 'dependency culture' suggests the underclass are anti-education, anti-authority, and revel in unemployment due to the welfare state's support