i've come across quite a few threads bout class and politics (on another board mainly) recently and this has led me to ponder a bit. people who hold certain political beliefs yet have a certain background seem to be quite a target of fun and derision on those threads and while i can see why this is in many cases (the word 'lifestyler' seems to spring to everyone's minds at this point, along with stuff about living in squats and sneering at people who work for a living), i've got a few questions about people's politics and their class (in the british sense of the word, not the simple marxist 'workers/bosses' sense) and what clashes that can present.
1) does class (in the british sense) matter within politics (i mean in terms of being working class/middle class - even i can see that being upper class/a boss is a biiiiiiit of a problem if you hold certain beliefs )?
2) is your class defined by your family background/upbringing, or by your personal circumstances (once you're an adult/not reliant upon parents/guardians)? if your family background (eg. parents' jobs) is seen by some to compromise your political beliefs should you take action to distance yourself from your background/your family? if you've been to a public school does that limit how seriously can take your political beliefs?
3) can someone who's middle class be accepted as an anarchist? if so, what would they have to say/do in order to be accepted as such? what would stop them from being accepted as such?
4) if someone who was middle class wanted to do something worthwhile in political terms, what's the best thing they could do? (ie. should middle-class "@s" just hand over their money to @ groups and then bog off and leave them to get on with it?!)
sorry if these are stupid questions or if they seem a bit provocative, they're not meant to be.
interested to hear people's answers.
and yes i'm middle class in case you hadn't guessed lol!
class is a subject that bothers me a lot. usually because there are an awful lot of middle class people who believe there are no distinctions any more. i think the differences have become more blurred, and very confusing. here are the definitions that i give, you may or may not agree.
upper class - the sort of people who speak posh, go to private schools, and whose families have held money/land/titles for generations.
upper middle class - people who earn a lot of money (say, over £50000 a year) and are attempting to emulate the upper class. they copy their habits, (private schools etc) but the wealth has only been around for the last generation or so. all the kids from their families go to university, regardless of talent, intelligence or even wanting to go. the kids will probably be able to move into their own property when they leave home. everyone drives from age 17 and most will have new cars.
lower middle class - these people earn over the median level of income (around £21000) but not the large sums that the upper middle do. They are more likely to think of themselves as working class, as the parents probably were, but the kids almost all go to university ('thats what everyone does') and most of them will have funding from their parents to have a nice gap year abroad. the kids will live with their parents (barring their uni time) until they can afford to buy their own place (usually with their parents help). everyone drives from age 17 and most will have a car (second hand for the kids, new for the parents).
working class - these families earn under the median level of income. their family has never bought a new car, even on credit. most of them have never even had driving lessons. the kids will either live at home but help pay the rent/mortgage (sometimes the family will buy a house by pooling their resources), or they will be renting from private landlords. the kids from these families will rarely even do a-levels, let alone go to university.
underclass - these people live in poverty (a recent guardian article reckons that 22% of the UK population lives in poverty). They do not drive and can rarely budget for public transport. They rent from council or private landlords, who rip them off. They hardly buy anything new, including clothes and furniture. Some may be working, some may not. They are unlikely to have a-levels.
I think that what bracket you fall into depends both on your background and your current situation. it's definitely very complicated. my biggest issue with the middle classes is their (general) inability to realise there is a problem. there is an assumption that if you're poor then its your fault for being lazy or useless. they take university for granted and moan about the possibility of paying fees, meanwhile almost 60% of the UK population feels lucky to get through a levels. they moan about universitys taking in less wealthy pupils with poorer results, without even trying to take into account all the privilidges they have that make those results easier to get (peace and quiet, books, computers, parental support, teacher support, transport, not having to do a part time job as well, extra tuition at home, revision packs, not having to babysit or look after older members of the family.... an endless list). they go out at least a couple of times a week and drive everywhere, when you and your mates cant even afford the bus fare to the pub, then wonder why you're so stressed and why class is such an issue for you. they genuinely seem to believe that we all have the same chance in life. they are much less likely to be prosecuted for using their drugs.
sorry for the mini rant, but these are the things that get to me. i'm glad that some of you can see through the system.