Wednesday 3 April 2013

Different Class

A 'major new study' has made a laudable attempt to revive something of the lost richness of the English class system. Once among the glories of our national life, this endlessly complex and subtle system (or rather organism) gave us all our best comedies and most of our best fiction, while also proving a remarkably effective engine - and index - of social mobility, both upward and downward. ('Was he born,' inquires Lady Bracknell of Jack Worthing's father, 'into what the radical papers call the purple of commerce, or did he rise through the ranks of the aristocracy?'). It also gave us something other than the weather to talk - and even think - about.
In recent times, the 'system' has been grossly oversimplified into Upper, Lower and Middle - though in fact the only class distinctions that retain much vitality are those between the various levels of the middle class (the upper and lower classes - both hedonistically inclined, fond of animals, booze and fags - are distinguishable only by their outward trappings). The new 'major study' adds four more classifications, but alas they're no fun at all - and, what's more, they don't work. Or at least the related Class Calculator doesn't. I answered the questions honestly and was told that I belonged to the Technical Middle Class, that I work in research, science and technical fields, and enjoy going to the gym and using social media, e.g. FaceBook and Twitter. Not one word of which is true. Try it yourself and see how you get on...

8 comments:

  1. Joey Joe Joe Jr.3 April 2013 at 21:07

    Oh dear, I seem to be a member of the 'precariat'. Precariat, I assume, is one step lower than the proletariat, whose numbers I can only aspire to join one day.

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  2. i'm a "precariat" too, and a proud one!

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  3. Joey Joe Joe Jr.3 April 2013 at 22:12

    The 'upper-lower-middle-class' with which Homer identifies in The Simpsons has a good ring to it.

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  4. seems "precariat" is the lowest you can go, but i'm working on that...

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  5. I've decided to move to England, where I'll apparently be a member of the 'elite' class, while in the U.S. I'm just part of the struggling middle class. Or maybe I did the pounds to dollars conversion incorrectly...

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  6. I'm Established Middle Class because I own a house and like art galleries.

    Interesting that it doesn't have any questions like "What did your parents do?" "What sort of school did you go to?", "What kind of house/area did you grow up in?" - which are the things people would normally consider when defining their own class. I suppose it's trying to define class objectively rather than subjectively.

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  7. Tried it a couple of times but couldn't get it any lower than Established Middle Class - but until I left home and got married I was very definitely a precariat and sinking. If I have, so to speak, risen through the ranks from 7 to 2, does it also mean that, barring a catastrophe, I will end my days as an aristo'?

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  8. Mid-middle class. tried to move down but could not address a chap "mate" with any conviction. up?...i can't lick arse ditto...so here i stay! guess my distant ancesters were mid-middle class cavemen...

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