Social class
Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in
The factors that determine class vary widely from one society to another. Even within a society, different people or groups may have very different ideas about what makes one "higher" or "lower" in the
The theoretical debate over the definition of class remains an important one today. Sociologist Dennis Wrong defines class in two ways - realist and nominalist. The realist definition relies on clear class boundaries to which people adhere in order to create social groupings. They identify themselves with a particular class and interact mainly with people in this class. The nominalist definition of class focuses on the characteristics that people share in a given class - education, occupation, etc. Class is therefore determined not by the group in which you place yourself or the people you interact with, but rather by these common characteristics. [Cite book | author=Kerbo, Harold R. | authorlink= | coauthors= | title=Social stratification and inequality: class conflict in historical and comparative perspective | date=1996 | publisher=McGraw-Hill | location=New York | isbn=0-07-034258-X | pages=142 ] .
The most basic class distinction between the two groups is between the powerful and the powerless [Roberts, R. (1975)"Class Structure", "The Classic Slum", London: Penguin. 13 - 31] [Turner, G. (1990). "Ethnographies, Histories and Sociologies". "British Cultural Studies: An Introduction". Sydney: Allen & Unwin. 169 - 196] . People in social classes with greater power attempt to cement their own positions in society and maintain their ranking above the lower social classes in the
Determinants of class
In so-called non-stratified societies or acephalous societies, there is no concept of social class, power, or hierarchy beyond temporary or limited
In societies where classes exist, one's class is determined largely by:
* personal or household per capita
* occupation
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* family background
Those who can attain a position of power in a society will often adopt distinctive lifestyles to emphasize their
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* political standing vis-à-vis the church, government, and/or social clubs, as well as the use of honorary
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Defining
People who are born into families with wealth, for example, are considered to have a socially
The middle class
In about the 1770s, when the term "social class" first entered the English lexicon, the concept of a "middle class" within that structure was also becoming important. The
Today, concepts of social class assume three general categories: an upper class of proprietors and senior managers, a middle class of people who may not exert power over others, but may earn a significant proportion of their income through commerce, land ownership, or professional employment and a class of people who rely on lower wages for their livelihood.
It is important, however, to highlight the distinction of such a class model from that of the British concept of class in which the terms upper, middle and working-class have different definitions. The chief difference relates to the association of inherited wealth and landed property as a defining characteristic of the upper class. This distinguishes its members from those of the middle class whose membership is more fluid and more reliant upon employment status and its income. This is a broad generalization as there are classes within the middle class, such as the upper middle class whose interest in culture, and whose manners and mores distinguish them from other ranks in the middle strata, but is nonetheless a useful marker by which to distinguish the British concept of class from that of the new world.
In the United States, the term "middle class" is applied very broadly and includes people who would elsewhere be considered Class structure in various societies Although class can be discerned in any society, some cultures have published specific guidelines to rank. In some cases, the ideologies presented in these rankings may not concur with the mainstream power dialectic of social class as it is understood in modern English use. Aztec The second class were the "mācehualtin" (people), originally Slaves or "tlacotin" also constituted an important class. Aztecs could become slaves because of debts, as a criminal punishment or as war captives. A slave could have possessions and even own other slaves. Traveling British The It was also in 19th century Britain that the term It remains important in any analysis of social class in the UK to allow for regional variations. What may be true of England may be untrue or at least less true of Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales. Attempts to assume a 'British' class system rarely produce useful or reliable results. Scotland's population's inter-class relations are (from an English point of view) confused by the vestiges of the clan system. Wales had most of its nobility killed off in a series of conflicts between different families and different centres of power, and of course with England. The upshot of this, according to historian Gwyn Alf Williams in his book "When Was Wales," has been a country which thinks of itself as being of a single class, like Due to the integrated nature of modern British society, in which high earning jobs and positions can be attained by people traditionally considered of lower social standing, an individual's social class is now largely governed by mannerisms, education and the status of one's parents. People are often perceived as being upper class if they were educated by a public school, use Received Pronunciation and own a large number of inherited items such as antique furniture, even if they hold a job that has a lower rate of pay or is regarded as socially inferior. Similarly, many high earners can be perceived as belonging to a lower class by dint of having attended state schools or having jobs that society deems lower class, even though they pay relatively well. If viewed as a hierarchy from the ground up a current model would be as such (below is only a basic model, other factors such as home, attitude, clothing, speech, mannerisms, and family ties etc also affect social standing, although the main factors are wealth and perceived wealth.) *Upper class: Generally holders of titles of nobility and their relatives, some with very high levels of inherited wealth. They will often have attended the most famous of Britain's schools, such as Eton and Winchester Chinese In pre-Confucian China, the feudal system divided the population into 6 classes. 4 noble classes with the king (王) at the top, followed by the dukes (諸侯), then the great men (大夫) and finally the scholars (士). Below the noble classes were commoners (庶民) and slaves (奴隸). Confucian doctrine later minimized the importance of the nobles (except the emperor), abolished great men and scholars as noble classes, and further divided commoner workers based on the perceived usefulness of their work. French France was an Inca Indian Traditionally, the Iranian Under the Japanese The Japanese class structure, while influenced by the Chinese, was based on a much more Korean The Korean ruling class, or Korean power elite, is the relatively small number of Korean people who through similar schools, education, family clans, upbringing, or corporate chaebol wealth and urban power control decision making and policy within either of the partitioned Koreas. This group is placed within the historical tradition of Confucianism and yangban scholars whose creation can be dated towards the end of the Goryeo dynasty; and that continues through the republican post-1945 and contemporary period; and which is represented by a controlling benevolent stewardship of the politics and economy of Korea by seniors or the older urban-dwelling elements of the population which crosses class, religious, party, and political lines. Latin American In * Theoretical models Marxist It was in Victorian Britain that Karl Marx defined class in terms of the extent to which an Marx himself argued that it was the goal of the proletariat itself to displace the capitalist system with Proletarianisation The most important transformation of society for Marxists has been the massive and rapid growth of the proletariat in the world population during the last two hundred and fifty years. Starting with agricultural and domestic textile labourers in England and Flanders, more and more occupations only provide a living through wages or salaries.Fact|date=January 2007 Private enterprise or self-employment in a variety of occupations is no longer as viable as it once was, and so many people who once controlled their own labour-time are converted into proletarians.Fact|date=January 2007 Today groups which in the past subsisted on stipends or private wealth -- like doctors, academics or lawyers -- are now increasingly working as wage labourers.Fact|date=January 2007 Marxists call this process proletarianisation, and point to it as the major factor in the proletariat being the largest class in current societies in the rich countries of the "first world." However, only in the strongly social-democratic societies such as The increasing dissolution of the peasant-lord relationship (see Dialectics, or historical materialism, in Marxist class Marx saw class categories as defined by continuing historical processes. Classes, in Marxism, are not static entities, but are regenerated daily through the productive process. Marxism views classes as human social relationships which change over time, with historical commonality created through shared productive processes. A 17th century farm labourer who worked for day wages shares a similar relationship to production as an average office worker of the 21st century. In this example, it is the shared structure of wage labour that makes both of these individuals "working class." Objective and subjective factors in class in Marxism Marxism has a rather heavily defined dialectic between Max Weber The seminal sociological interpretation of class was advanced by The relevance of social class today There have been fierce debates in the area of sociology about whether or not social class has become relevant in terms of shaping identity. The arguments suggesting that it is no longer relevant are brought forward by supporters of Arguments against relevance of class today *Mode of consumption is much more important than actually earning the means of income (Clarke and Saunders, 1991). Arguments for relevance of class today Major areas of social science still rely on class based explanations of personal identity, for instance, the Academic models Schools of The traditional `pigeon-holing' mainstay of much of the advertising industry used to be that of social class. Recently, however, as affluence has become more widespread, the process has become much less clear. It is now argued that the new `opinion leaders' come from within the same social class. The class groupings that were traditionally used by advertising agencies (for example in the US models William Lloyd Warner An early example of a stratum class model was developed by the sociologist Based on To Warner, American social class was based more on attitudes than on the actual amount of money an individual made. For example, the richest people in America would belong to the "lower-upper class" since many of them created their own fortunes; one can only be born into the highest class. Nonetheless, members of the wealthy upper-upper class tend to be more powerful, as a simple survey of U.S. presidents may demonstrate (i.e., the Another observation: members of the upper-lower class might make more money than members of the lower-middle class (i.e., a well-salaried factory worker vs. a secretarial worker), but the class difference is based on the type of work they perform. In his research findings, Warner observed that American social class was largely based on these shared attitudes. For example, he noted that the lower-middle class tended to be the most conservative group of all, since very little separated them from the working class. The upper-middle class, while a relatively small section of the population, usually "set the standard" for proper American behavior, as reflected in the Professionals with salaries and educational attainment higher than those found near the middle of the income strata (e.g. bottom rung professors, managerial office workers, architects) may also be considered as being true middle class. Coleman and Rainwater In 1978 sociologists Coleman and Rainwater conceived the "Metropolitan Class Structure" consisting of three social classes, each with a number sub-classes. *Upper Americans Thompson & Hickey In their 2005 sociology textbook, "Society in Focus", sociologists William Thompson and Joseph Hickey present a five class model in which the middle class is divided into two sections and the term working class is applied to clerical and pink collar workers. Their class system goes as follows: Gilbert & Kahl In "The American Class Structure, 6th edition" (Wadsworth 2002) as well the preceding 5th edition, Dennis Gilbert lays out an even more precise breakdown of American social classes. Dennis Gilbert stresses that "there is really no way to establish that a particular model is 'true' and another 'false.'" He furthermore states that his "model emphasizes "sources of income" and that household income, being very dependent on the number of income earners, varies greatly within each social class. The class descriptions in quotes below are lifted from the 5th edition, pages 284 and 285. Chinese model In the Structure and Evolution of Chinese Social Stratification [University Press of America ISBN 0-7618-3331-5 / 978-0-7618-3331-4 [http://www.univpress.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0761833315] ] , sociologist Li Yi lays out a detailed model of Chinese social stratification after 1949. In China today, there is a peasant class, a working class (urban state worker and urban collective worker, urban non-state worker, and peasant worker), a capitalist class (about 15 million), and a class of cadre (about 40 million) and quasi-cadre (about 27 million). Iranian model Farhad Nomani and Sohrab Behdad in their book "Class and Labor in Iran; Did the Revolution Matter?" (Syracuse University Press, 2006) define and quantify social classes in Iran and examine the changes in the configuration of social classes in the post-revolutionary Iran. Nomani and Behdad base their analysis (à la Erik Olin Wright 1 ) on three dimensions of (1) property ownership, (2) possession of scarce skills/credentials, and (3) organizational assets/authority. They recognize four distinct class categories and the ambiguous category of political functionaries of the state: 1-Capitalists: Owners of physical and financial means of economic activities, who employ workers. Capitalists are divided into modern and traditional occupational categories. 2-Petty bourgeoisie: Self-employed persons who do not hire any paid worker but may rely on unpaid family labor. They, too, consist of modern and traditional categories. 3-The middle class: Employees of the state or the private sector, in administrative-managerial and professional-technical positions. They exercise some authority and enjoy relative autonomy. In this category are those who are employed in economic activities and social services of the state. Those employed in the administrative or managerial position in the political apparatus of the state are not included here. 4-The working class: Workers who do not own the means of economic activity and do not benefit from the authority and autonomy of those in the middle class. They are employees of the state or the private sector, excluding those in the lower ranks of the political apparatus of the state. Those employed in the political apparatus of the state, engaged in political administration, national defense and domestic surveillance, constitute the ambiguous class category of political functionaries. This category includes higher rank of state administrators, managers, and military and para-military officers, the rank file of the political apparatus, and the lower rank members of the coercive forces (including the military draftees). The post 1979 revolutionary turmoil had notable impacts on the class reconfiguration of Iran (see table below). The disruption of the accumulation process in the first revolutionary decade (Khomeini period) retarded the capitalist relations of production (structural involution ). This condition gave rise to deproletarianization of labor and peasantization of agriculture, and a general expansion in petty-commodity activities and a rise of the petty bourgeoisie, alongside a huge expansion of state activities. In the post-Khomeini period, the effort toward reconstitution of capitalist relations of production via an economic liberalization policy (deinvolutionary process) reversed some of the previous trends. In the second post-revolutionary period an increase in proletarianization of labor and de-peasantization of agriculture is observed. The first (involutionary ²) period promoted traditional capitalists and the petty bourgeoisie, whereas in the second (deinvolutionary) period the number of modern capitalists, modern petty bourgeoisie, and the middle class (especially those employed by the private sector) increased significantly. In a comparison of the class structure in 1996 with that in 1976 one can observe that in spite of some peculiar differences, there are striking similarities between the two periods. If the changes between 1986 and 1996 may be regarded as a trend, there is a pattern toward reconstruction of the 1976 class configuration of Iran in the years ahead. 1- Wright, Erik Olin (1997)" Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2- Nomani and Behdad (2006). "Class and Labor in Iran; Did the Revolution Matter?" Syracuse University Press, Chapter 3. Consequences of Class Income inequality is one of the most important consequences of social class. Although class status is not a causal factor for income, there is consistent data that show those in higher classes have higher incomes than those in lower classes. This inequality still persists when controlling for occupation. The conditions at work vary greatly depending on class. Those in the upper-middle class and middle-class enjoy greater freedoms in their occupations. They generally are more respected, enjoy more diversity, and are able to exhibit some authority. Those in lower classes tend to feel more alienated and have lower work satisfaction overall. The physical conditions of the workplace differ greatly between classes. While middle-class workers may “suffer alienating conditions” or “lack of job satisfaction”, blue-collar workers are the ones who have to worry about health hazards, injury, and even death. [ cite book | last = Kerbo | first = Herald | title = Social Stratification and Inequality | publisher = The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. | date = 1996 | location = New York | pages = 231-233 | isbn =0-07-034258-X ] In the more social sphere, class has direct consequences on lifestyle. Lifestyle includes tastes, preferences, and a general style of living. These lifestyles could quite possibly effect educational attainment, and therefore status attainment. Class lifestyle also affects how one raises his or her children. For example, a working-class person is more likely to raise their child to be working class and middle-class children are more likely to be raised to be middle-class. This perpetuates the idea of class for future generations. This same idea is seen in an extreme, but highly possible (if class systems survive for too long within a society) way in the way the Eloi and Morlocks are presented in H.G.Wells' "The Time Machine". Each show a relationship with each other and mainly represent a class themselves [cite book | last = Kerbo | first = Herald | title = Social Stratification and Inequality | publisher = The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. | date = 1996 | location = New York | pages = 233-235 | isbn =0-07-034258-X ] See also *1984 Further reading * Archer, Louise et al. "Higher Education and Social Class: Issues of Exclusion and Inclusion" (RoutledgeFalmer, 2003) (ISBN 0-4152-7644-6) External links * [http://www.classism.org "Class Action":] References
*Upper middle class: Generally professionals with advanced university degrees and usually with a public school education. A significant proportion of their wealth is often from inheritance.
*Middle class: Similar to the upper middle class but usually from a less establishment-based background and education. Generally professionals with a university degree. Will typically own their own home and earn well above the national average.
*Lower middle class: May not hold a university degree but works in a white collar job and will earn just above the national average.
*Upper working class: Generally does not hold a university degree and works in skilled or well experienced role such as
*Working class: Generally has low educational attainment and works in a
*Lower working class: Generally works in low/minimum wage occupations, such as cleaner, shop assistant, bar worker. Often empoyed in the personal service industry.
*Underclass: Reliant on state benefits for income, described by Marx as the
* the permanent hereditary class of Qajar princes
* an upper class of "nobles and notables"
* religious leaders and students of theology
* merchants (note the difference from east Asian models)
* agricultural landowners
* master artisans and shopkeepersAs in many official class structures, the laborers who made up the majority of the population but owned no land and relied on wages were not even considered part of the structure at all. [http://www.iranian.com/Dec96/Iranica/Qajar/Qajar.html/]
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* Amerindian
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* cite book "> last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus
publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA | id = 0-205-41365-X] cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p20-550.pdf|title=US Census Bureau report on educational attainment in the United States, 2003|accessdate=2006-07-31] The social structure of the United States is a vaguely defined concept which includes several commonly used terms that use educational attainment, income and occupational prestige as the main determinants of class. While it is possible to create dozens of social classes within the confines of American society, most Americans employ a six or five class system. The most commonly applied class concepts used in regards to contemporary American society are:
*Upper class; Those with great influence, wealth and prestige. Members of this group tend to act as the grand-conceptualizers and have tremendous influence of the nation's institutions. This class makes up about 1% of the population and owns about a third of private wealth. cite web |url=http://student.britannica.com/comptons/article-208190/social-class |title= Encyclopedia Britannica |accessdate= 2008-04-07
*Upper middle class; The upper middle class consists of white collar professionals with advanced post-secondary educational degrees and comfortable personal incomes. Upper middle class professionals have large amounts of autonomy in the workplace and therefore enjoy high job satisfaction. In terms of income and considering the 15% figure used by Thompson, Hickey and Gilber, upper middle class professionals earn roughly $62,500 (€41,000 or £31,500) or more and tend to reside in households with six figure incomes.cite book | last = Ehrenreich | first = Barbara | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1989 | title = Fear of Falling, The Inner Life of the Middle Class
publisher = Harper Collins | location = New York, NY | id = 0-06-0973331] cite book | last = Eichar | first = Douglas | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1989 | title = Occupation and Class Consciousness in America | publisher = Greenwood Press | location = Westport, Connecticut | id = 0-313-26111-3]
*(Lower) middle class; Semi-professionals, non-retail salespeople and craftsmen who have some college education. Out-sourcing tends to be a prominent problem among those in this class who often suffer from a lack of job security. Households in this class may need two income earners to make ends meet and therefore may have household incomes rivaling the personal incomes of upper middle class professionals such as attorneys.cite web|url=http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/10.30/19-bankruptcy.html|title=Middle income can't buy Middle class lifestyle|accessdate=2006-12-28]
*Working class; According to some experts such as Michael Zweig, this class may constitute the majority of Americans and include those otherwise referred to as lower middle.cite book | last = Vanneman | first = Reeve | authorlink = | coauthors = Lynn Weber Cannon | year = 1988 | title = The American Perception of Class
publisher = Temple University Press | location = New York, NY | id = 0877225931 ] It includes blue as well as white collar workers who have relatively low personal incomes and lack college degrees with many being among the 45% of Americans who have never attended college.
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*French sociologist
*Jordan suggested that those in poverty had the same attitudes on work and family as those in other classes, this being backed up with surveys expressing that the poor/working class/lower class feel almost shame about their position in society.
*MacIntosh and Mooney noted that there was still an upper-class which seems to isolate itself from other classes. It is almost impossible to get into the upper-class. They (upper-class) kept their activities (marriage, education, peer groups) as a closed system.
*Marshall et al noted that many manual class workers are still aware of many class issues. They believed in a possible conflict of interest, and saw themselves as working class. This counters the postmodern claims that it is consumption which defines an individual.
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*Chapman noted there was still an existence of a self-recruiting upper-class identity.
*Dennis Gilbert argues that class is bound to exist in any complex society as not all occupations are equal and that households do form pattern of interaction that give rise to social classes.
* Upper-upper class. "Old money." People who have been born into and raised with wealth; mostly consists of old "noble" or prestigious families (e.g.,
* Lower-upper class. "New money." Individuals who have become rich within their own lifetimes (e.g., entrepreneurs, movie stars, top athletes, as well as some prominent professionals).
* Upper-middle class. Professionals with a college education, and more often with postgraduate degrees like MBA's, Ph.D.'s, MD's, JD's, MS's, etc. (e.g., doctors, dentists, lawyers, bankers, corporate executives, university professors, scientists, pharmacists, airline pilots, ship captains, high level civil servants, politicians, and military officers, architects, artists, writers, poets, and musicians).
* Lower-middle class. Lower-paid white collar workers, but not manual laborers. Often hold Associates or Bachelor degrees. (e.g., police officers, fire fighters, primary and high school school-teachers, engineers, accountants, nurses, municipal office workers and low to mid-level civil servants, sales representatives, non-management office workers, clergy, technicians, small business owners).
* Upper-lower class. Blue-collar workers and manual labourers. Also known as the "working class."
* Lower-lower class. The homeless and permanently unemployed, as well as the "working poor."
**Upper-upper class; (ca. 1%) Old money stemming from inherited wealth. Persons in this class typically have an "Ivy league college degree." Their household income in 1978 was over $60,000 ($183,000 in 2005 dollars)
**Lower-upper class; (ca. 1%) This is the "Success elite" consisting of "Top professionals [and] senior corporate executives." People in this class have degrees from "Good colleges." Their household income was also commonly in excess of $60,000 ($183,000 in 2005 dollars).
**Upper-middle class; (ca. 19%) Also called the "Professional and Managerial" class, it consists of "Middle professionals and managers" with a college and often graduate degrees. Household incomes for this group lay between $20,000 ($60,000 in 2005 dollars) and $60,000 ($183,000 in 2005 dollars)
*Middle Americans
**Middle-class; (ca. 31%) This class consists of "Lower-level managers; small-business owners; lower-status professionals (accountants, teachers); sales and clerical" workers. Middle class persons had a high school and some college education. Their household incomes commonly ranged between $10,000 and $20,000 ($30,000 - $60,000 in 2005 dollars)
**Working class; (ca. 35%) This class consists of "Higher blue collar (craftsman, truck drivers); lowest-paid sales and clerical" workers. Younger individuals in 1978 who were members of this class had a high school education. Their household income lay in between $7,500 and $15,000 ($23,000 - $45,000 in 2005 dollars)
*Lower Americans (ca. 13%)
**Semipoor; This class had a partial high school education and consisted of "Unskilled labor and service" workers with household incomes ranging from $4,500 to $6,000 ($14,000 - $18,000 in 2005 dollars)
**The bottom; Those who are "Often unemployed" or rely on welfare payments. These individuals typically lack a high school education and had household incomes of less than $4,500 ($14,000 in 2005 dollars)
*Upper class, (ca. 1%-5%) individuals with considerable power over the nation's economic and political institutions. This group owns a disproportionate share of the nation's resources. The top 1% had incomes exceeding $250,000 with the top 5% having household incomes exceeding $140,000. This group features strong group solidarity and is largely constituted by the heirs to multi-generational fortunes. Prominent government officials, CEOs and successful entrepreneurs are among the upper class even if not of elite background.
*Upper middle class, (ca. 15%) white collar professionals with advanced post-secondary education such as physicians, professors, lawyers, corporate executives, and other management. While households commonly have
*Lower middle class, (ca. 33%) individuals who worked their way through college and commonly have a Bachelor's degree or some college education. School teachers, sales-employees and lower to mid level supervisors rank among those in this particular group. Household income is generally in the range of $30,000 to $75,000. Workers in this group are mostly white collar but have less autonomy in their work than do upper middle class professionals. Members of this class often attempt to emulate those in the two higher classes and have recently become overly indebted by their desire to have a comfortable lifestyle.
*Working class, (ca. 30%) individuals who occupy both blue and white collar occupations. Pink collar workers in predominantly female clerical positions are common in this class. Job security tends to be low for this group and unemployment as well as losing health insurance remain potent economic threats. Household incomes typically range from $16,000 to $30,000.
*Lower class, repeated cycles of unemployment, working multiple low-level part-time jobs are common among this group. Many families fall below the poverty line from time to time when employment opportunities are scarce.cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus | publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA| id = 0-205-41365-X]
*Capitalist class; (ca. 1%) "Subdivided into nationals and locals, whose income is derived largely from return on assets." Yet is should be noted that the top 1.5% of households made $250,000 or more with only 146,000, 0.01% of households having incomes of $1,600,000 or more.
*Upper middle class; (ca. 14%) "...college trained professionals and managers (a few of whom ascend to such heights of bureaucratic dominance or accumulated wealth that they become part of the capitalist class)." Educational attainment is the main feature of this class. They enjoy great job autonomy and economic security. Household incomes vary greatly depending of the number of income earners." Considering US Census Bureau According to the 2005 Economic Survey, the top 15% of income earners made $62,500 or more with the top 15% of households having
*Middle class; (ca. 30%) "...members have significant skills and perform varied tasks at work, under loose supervision. They earn enough to afford a comfortable, mainstream lifestyle. Most wear white collars, but some wear blue." In 2005 incomes for this group would have ranged from $50,000 to $90,000 for households and $27,500 to $52,500 for individuals.
*Working class; (ca. 30%) "People who are less skilled than members of the middle class and work at highly routinized, closely supervised manual and clerical jobs. Their work provides them with a relatively stable income sufficient to maintain a living standard just below the mainstream." Incomes in 2005 would have ranged from $10,000 to $27,500 for individuals and $20,000 to $50,000 for households.cite web|url=http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_001.htm|title=US Census Bureau, personal income distribution, age 25+, 2006|accessdate=2006-12-28]
*Working poor; (ca. 13%) "...people employed in low-skill jobs, often at marginal firms. The members of this class are typically laborers, service workers, or low-paid operators. Their incomes leave them well below mainstream living standards. Moreover, they cannot depend on steady employment."cite book | last = Gilbert | first = Dennis | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1998 | title = The American Class Structure | publisher = Wadsworth Publishing | location = New York | id = 0-534-50520-1] In 2004 the bottom 12.2% of households made less than $12,500.cite web|url=http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/hhinc/new06_000.htm|title=US Census Bureau, overall household income distribution, 2006|accessdate=2006-12-28]
*Underclass (ca. 12%) "...members have limited participation in the labor force and do not have wealth to fall back on. Many depend on government transfers." The average household income is $12,000 a year, and the class makes up 12% of the population.
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*cite book | first = Richard | last = Barbrook | | year = 2006 | title = The Class of the New | edition = paperback | publisher = OpenMute | location = London | id = 0-9550664-7-6 | url = http://www.theclassofthenew.net
* Bertaux, Daniel & Thomson, Paul; "Pathways to Social Class: A Qualitative Approach to Social Mobility" (Clarendon Press, 1997)
* Bisson, Thomas N.; "Cultures of Power: Lordship, Status, and Process in Twelfth-Century Europe" (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995)
* Blau, Peter & Duncan Otis D.; "The American Occupational Structure" (1967) classic study of structure and mobility
* Brady, David "Rethinking the Sociological Measurement of Poverty" "
* Broom, Leonard & Jones, F. Lancaster; "Opportunity and Attainment in Australia" (1977)
* Cohen, Lizabeth; "Consumer's Republic", (Knopf, 2003) (ISBN 0-375-40750-2). (Historical analysis of the working out of class in the United States).
* Croix, Geoffrey de Ste.; [http://www.newleftreview.org/?page=article&view=1359 "Class in Marx's Conception of History, Ancient and Modern"] ,
* Dargin, Justin http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/IL06Ag01.html "The Birth of Russia's Energy Class" [Asia Times] (2007) (good study of contemporary class formation in Russia, post communism)
* Day, Gary; "Class", (Routledge, 2001) (ISBN 0-415-18222-0)
* Eichar, Douglas M.; "Occupation and Class Consciousness in America" (Greenwood Press, 1989)
* Fantasia, Rick; Levine, Rhonda F.; McNall, Scott G., eds.; "Bringing Class Back in Contemporary and Historical Perspectives" (Westview Press, 1991)
* Featherman, David L. & Hauser Robert M.; "Opportunity and Change" (1978).
* Fotopoulos, Takis, [http://www.inclusivedemocracy.org/dn/vol6/takis_class.htm Class Divisions Today: The Inclusive Democracy approach] , "
* Fussell, Paul; "Class (a painfully accurate guide through the American status system)", (1983) (ISBN 0-345-31816-1)
* Giddens, Anthony; "The Class Structure of the Advanced Societies", (London: Hutchinson, 1981).
* Giddens, Anthony & Mackenzie, Gavin (Eds.), "Social Class and the Division of Labour. Essays in Honour of Ilya Neustadt" (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982).
* Goldthorne, John & Erikson Robert; "The Constant Flux: A Study of Class Mobility in Industrial Society" (1992)
* Grusky, David B. ed.; "Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective" (2001) scholarly articles
* Hazelrigg, Lawrence E. & Lopreato, Joseph; "Class, Conflict, and Mobility: Theories and Studies of Class Structure" (1972).
* Hymowitz, Kay; "Marriage and Caste in America: Separate and Unequal Families in a Post-Marital Age" (2006) ISBN 1566637090
* Kaeble, Helmut; "Social Mobility in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: Europe and America in Comparative Perspective" (1985)
* Mahalingam, Ramaswami; "Essentialism, Culture, and Power: Representations of Social Class" "Journal of Social Issues," Vol. 59, (2003), pp. 733+ on India
* Mahony, Pat & Zmroczek, Christine; "Class Matters: 'Working-Class' Women's Perspectives on Social Class" (Taylor & Francis, 1997)
* Manza, Jeff & Brooks, Clem; "Social Cleavages and Political Change: Voter Alignments and U.S. Party Coalitions" (Oxford University Press, 1999).
* Manza, Jeff; "Political Sociological Models of the U.S. New Deal" "Annual Review of Sociology", (2000) pp. 297+
* Manza, Jeff; Hout, Michael & Brooks Clem; "Class Voting in Capitalist Democracies since World War II: Dealignment, Realignment, or Trendless Fluctuation?" "Annual Review of Sociology", Vol. 21, (1995)
* Marmot, Michael; "The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity" (2004)
* Marx, Karl & Engels, Frederick; "The Communist Manifesto", (1848). (The key statement of class conflict as the driver of historical change).
* Merriman, John M.; "Consciousness and Class Experience in Nineteenth-Century Europe" (Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1979)
* Ostrander, Susan A.; "Women of the Upper Class" (Temple University Press, 1984).
* Owensby, Brian P.; "Intimate Ironies: Modernity and the Making of Middle-Class Lives in Brazil" (Stanford University, 1999).
* Pakulski, Jan & Waters, Malcolm; "The Death of Class" (Sage, 1996). (rejection of the relevance of class for modern societies)
* Payne, Geoff; "The Social Mobility of Women: Beyond Male Mobility Models" (1990)
*Raico, Ralph; [http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/1_3/1_3_2.pdf "Classical Liberal Exploitation Theory: A Comment on Professor Liggio's Paper"] , "
* Savage, Mike; "Class Analysis and Social Transformation" (London: Open University Press, 2000).
* Sennett, Richard & Cobb, Jonathan; "The Hidden Injuries of Class", (Vintage, 1972) (classic study of the subjective experience of class).
* Siegelbaum, Lewis H. & Suny, Ronald; eds.; "Making Workers Soviet: Power, Class, and Identity." (Cornell University Press, 1994). Russia 1870-1940
* Sorokin, Pitrim; "Social Mobility" (New York, 1927)
* Warner, W. Lloyd et al. "Social Class in America: A Manual of Procedure for the Measurement of Social Status" (1949).
* Wlkowitz, Daniel J.; "Working with Class: Social Workers and the Politics of Middle-Class Identity" (University of North Carolina Press, 1999).
* "Class, Status and Party", Max Weber, in e.g. Gerth, Hans and C. Wright Mills, "From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology", (Oxford University Press, 1958). (Weber's key statement of the multiple nature of stratification).
*Weinburg, Mark; [http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/2_1/2_1_4.pdf "The Social Analysis of Three Early 19th century French liberals: Say, Comte, and Dunoyer"] , "
* Wood, Ellen Meiksins; "The Retreat from Class: A New 'True' Socialism," (Schocken Books, 1986) (ISBN 0-8052-7280-1) and (Verso Classics, January 1999) reprint with new introduction (ISBN 1-8598-4270-4).
* Wood, Ellen Meiksins; [http://www.monthlyreview.org/797wood.htm "Labor, the State, and Class Struggle"] , "
* Wouters, Cas.; "The Integration of Social Classes." "Journal of Social History". Volume 29, Issue 1, (1995). pp 107+. (on social manners)
* Wright, Erik Olin; "The Debate on Classes" (Verso, 1990). (neo-Marxist)
* Wright, Erik Olin; "Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis" (Cambridge University Press, 1997)
* Wright, Erik Olin ed. "Approaches to Class Analysis" (2005). (scholarly articles)
* Zmroczek, Christine & Mahony, Pat (Eds.), "Women and Social Class: International Feminist Perspectives." (London: UCL Press 1999)
* http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/IL06Ag01.html Dargin, Justin, The Birth of Russia's New Energy Class. The Asia Times (Dec. 6, 2007)
* [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-54 "Dictionary of the history of ideas":] Class
* [http://homepage.mac.com/dmhart/ComteDunoyer/Ch4.html "Charles Dunoyer And The Theory Of Industrialism"] and [http://homepage.mac.com/dmhart/ComteDunoyer/Ch7.html "Comte And Dunoyer After The 1830 Revolution: The Impact Of Their Ideas"] in [http://homepage.mac.com/dmhart/ComteDunoyer/index.html "The Radical Liberalism Of Charles Comte And Charles Dunoyer"] by
* [http://mises.org/journals/jls/9_2/9_2_5.pdf "Marxist and Austrian Class Analysis"] (PDF) by
* [http://www.mises.org/story/2217 "Classical Liberal Roots of the Marxist Doctrine of Classes"] (PDF document), [http://mm.mises.org/mp3/marxism/Raico.mp3 "Classical Liberal Roots of Marxist Class Analysis"] (MP3 audio file), lecture by Ralph Raico.
* [http://poverty.worldbank.org/library/view/6242/ Rethinking Cultural and Economic Capital] - Jan Rupp
Look at other dictionaries:
- social class — 1> _полит-эк. общественный класс, класс общества 2> _социол. слой общества (выделяемый по экономическому, политическому и культурному признакам)… (Новый большой англо-русский словарь)
- social class — общественный класс(политэкономия) общественный класс, класс общества (социология) слой общества (выделяемый по экономическому, политическому и культурному признакам)… (Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь)