New model gives UK class system a shake-up

Updated

The traditional British class system has received a shake-up, with a new model concluding there are now seven social classes operating in the UK.

Britain is famous for its class system and it used to be so simple; there was the working, middle and upper class.

But a major survey of 160,000 people, conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE), has replaced that rigid structure with a seven-tiered system that considers house values, cultural activities and jobs of friends.

And the new names are not exactly catchy.

If he were alive today, working class hero John Lennon would have to sing about the precarious proletariat, the new class at the bottom of the ladder.

Seven social classes The new classes are based on an individual's income and home value (economic capital), their cultural interests (cultural capital) and the number and status of people they know (social capital).

Elite

The most privileged class, with high levels of economic, social and cultural capital



Established middle class

A culturally engaged class with strong levels of all three capitals



Technical middle class

A class of people with high economic capital but who seem less culturally engaged, and have fewer social contacts



New affluent workers

A young and active group with medium levels of economic capital and higher levels of social and cultural capital



Emergent service workers

A class with low economic capital but rising cultural capital and high social capital. This class tends to be young people in urban areas.



Traditional working class

This class tends to be older and scores low on all forms of the three capitals, though they are not the poorest group.



Precariat

The most deprived class of all, with low levels of economic, cultural and social capital.



Via BBC The new classes are based on an individual's income and home value (economic capital), their cultural interests (cultural capital) and the number and status of people they know (social capital).The most privileged class, with high levels of economic, social and cultural capitalA culturally engaged class with strong levels of all three capitalsA class of people with high economic capital but who seem less culturally engaged, and have fewer social contactsA young and active group with medium levels of economic capital and higher levels of social and cultural capitalA class with low economic capital but rising cultural capital and high social capital. This class tends to be young people in urban areas.This class tends to be older and scores low on all forms of the three capitals, though they are not the poorest group.The most deprived class of all, with low levels of economic, cultural and social capital.

Other classes include the new affluent workers, the technical middle-class and the elite.

LSE professor of sociology Mike Savage carried out the survey, which was commissioned by the BBC.

"There's been a lot of debate in Britain about what’s happening with the financial crash and with the rise of the banking sector," he said.

"One of the most interesting findings is the existence of quite a small elite at the top.

"Only 4 per cent, extremely wealthy, 100,000 pounds income after taxes.

"If you set that against the precarious, the 15 per cent at the bottom who have poorer income, don't own their own homes, have poor savings, have few social networks, I think there's quite a striking tale there about social divisions in modern Britain."

News of the new classifications is already causing issues for some.

"Well, me and my partner fell out cause I said we're middle working class and he says we're working class," one woman said.

"I think we’re slightly higher than the working class but perhaps not quite middle class.

"[He says we're not] because his parents were working class and we've got to be working class."

Frank McShane, a vending machine repair man, says he is working class because he has worked all his life.

But he says he has no biases against people at the top of the ladder.

"Look at Princess Anne and Katie, you know, they’re not snobs are they and William, they’re not snobs," he said.

"They put a bit of work in, don't they. You know what I mean."

The public is being invited to take part in an online test to see where they are on the new scale.

It is called the Great British class calculator, a reminder perhaps of the good old days when everyone knew exactly where they belonged.

Topics: community-and-society, social-capital, united-kingdom

First posted