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Social Classes:
Members of a society can be divided into groups according to various characteristics, but the
traditional and best-known social classification is the division into social classes
The most common division uses three categories:
● upper,
● middle and
● working or lower class.
An individual’s class may be determined by a number of factors:
● family origin and upbringing,
● income and wealth,
● job,
● education,
● lifestyle, manners, appearance and
● (especially in Britain) dialect and accent
Traditionally:
● differences in wealth and social status
● Working class: 70%
Nowadays:
● Compulsory general education: decrease in working class -> middle class majority
● traditional aristocracy has lost some of its prestige and most of its political privileges
with the gradual development of mass democracy ->
● The overwhelming majority of the population is classified according to occupation:
○ the middle class (or white-collar workers), which is often subdivided into lower,
middle and upper sections;
○ and the working class (or blue-collar workers), within which skilled and
unskilled workers form two large subgroups.
Middle class division:
● The lower-middle class includes people who work in offices (often called ‘clerical
workers’ in Britain) or run a small shop, but typically do not have a university degree.
● The upper-middle class people are professionals with a well-paid job and a prestigious
social position (e.g. judges, lawyers, doctors and senior civil servants).
● By the late 20th century, sociologists introduced an intermediate category as well, the
so-called middle-middle class, implying people with professional qualifications whose
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jobs are less well-paid and their social standing is lower (such as schoolteachers and
lower-level company managers)
Five main groups in the British class system
○ Lower class
This is a controversial term to describe the long term unemployed, homeless etc.
○ Working class
Basic low level unskilled or semi-skilled workers, such as those with no university or college
education. This includes occupations such as factory workers and labourers.
○ Middle class
The vast majority of British people fall into this category, such as shop owners, white-collar
professionals (literally those who wear a white collar like businessmen and office workers),
teachers, journalists, nurses and the list goes on.
○ Upper class
Someone with a good job such as being a barrister can be considered upper-class but if their
parents were working class they may be considered to have “new money” by those that come
from families were they have “old money” which means they have been rich for a long time.
○ Aristocrats
The royal family and those with titles, such as lords or barons, fall into this group. They are often
referred to as “blue blooded,” a phrase that originated in France. The term originally referred to
people who were so rich that they didn’t have to work and rarely went out into the sun. This kept
their skin very pale – so pale, in fact, that their veins (which appeared blue) were visible under
their skin.
Migration:
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3 steps:
1st step: before 1945
● Indians:
○ Late 17th century - ships of the East India Company.
○ By the late 19th century, an estimated 70,000 people of Indian origin
○ seamen and household servants, but also wealthy businessmen, students,
soldiers and diplomats
● Jewish:
○ In the late 19th century
○ persecution in the Russian Empire -> at least 100,00
○ distinct communities in North London before and during World War II
○ German and European Jews fled from Nazi persecution (some of Hungarian
origin)
● Irish:
○ 18th and 19th century
○ For labour purposes: build canals, railways
○ targets of social discrimination due to their Catholicism
○ integrated into British society relatively easily - > spoke English
○ a million people living in Britain have Irish origin
2nd step: from the Commonwealth after 1945
● British Empire began to break up after the war
● earliest immigrants: black immigrants from the West Indies or the Caribbean islands
(Jamaica, Trinidad)
● transport and manual trades
● little or no education or qualifications therefore they could get only low-paid jobs and
cheap housing
● in London and Southern England
● By the early 1960s, more than 100,000 immigrants each year
○ the Immigration Acts of 1968 and 1971 -> restrictions (classified as aliens, and
only those were allowed to immigrate who had a work permit or if they or one of their
parents or grandparents were born in Britain.)
3rd step: Modern day migrants
● Still a problem (even though it’s far less than in Germany or France)
● Eastern European immigrants: 2004, when several Eastern European countries joined
the European Union
● By 2010’s reduced
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Non-white people:
About 13% of Britain’s population (Asians)
The largest group is the Muslims, mostly coming from Pakistan and Bangladesh
Asian culture: Indian restaurant and the corner shop (chicken tikka masala - declared more
popular than fish and chips)
Ethnic tensions: racist attitudes of the authorities