Does the class system still exist?

[ludwig]

If so, what class do you think you are and why?

[askyourgran]

Certainly not rich ludwig and not dirt poor either, we do own our own house. But the class system does exist even if the edges are somewhat blurred nowadays. There is no respect from any of the classes, but the distinction is still visible.

[237SJ]

Yes and it probably always will. There will always be a pecking order just as there is in the animal world. Class in the UK is leaning more towards how much money someone have though, rather than real class

[NOX]

I was poor into an incredibly poor family in Belfast and got into trouble which in a twisted way did me good because it made me unemployable on paper so I was forced to start my own businesses which are now quite successful BUT however successful I became I'd still consider myself working class and yes the class system still exists.

[lcg]

yes - british society is based purely upon it. as in other cultures; such as a caste system etc. if you want a longer answer, read a sociology textbook or two...boring stuff! x p.s. I HATE THE TORIES...bunch of stuck up, self absorbed, self interested.......................grrr x

[annie0000]

I think it does exist but it is probably more subtle.

I was brought up working class (with parents who worked!) in a council house, no car, virtually no holidays, but food on the table and treats from time to time - didn't have much, but didn't feel deprived.

Now we own a nice house on a nice estate, 2 cars, foreign holidays, both work in decent jobs on decent salaries - still working class, but actually we don't really fit into anywhere and I guess fall between 2 stools - looked upon by the type of people who would have been our neighbours when we were kids as the people from the posh estate, but then we don't really fit in with the people who occupy the estate who have mainly come from more traditional "middle class" backgrounds.

[Buenchico]

The rigid structures which used to exist are no longer present. For example, if someone worked on a production line in a factory (and was therefore regarded as 'working class') it used to be a reasonable assumption that they had left school at the earliest opportunity and that they didn't own their own home. A manager in that factory would be regarded as 'lower middle class' and it would be reasonable to assume that he might have had a 'grammar school education' and he might aspired to own his own home but probably still rented. The 'upper middle class' factory could be assumed to have a similar education but was likely to own his own home. The ('upper class') 'toffs' who lived on the other side of town from the factory would obviously own their own home and had probably attended university.

Nowadays many factory workers will own their own homes (and some will have attended university). Equally, there are plenty of university graduates now working in fast food restaurants, while renting their bedsits. So it's no longer easy to 'group' people across various different criteria (such as employment, education and property ownership) into clear-cut social classes.

Of course that doesn't mean that there aren't 'social divides'. You only need to look at the family backgrounds of many of our MPs (across all parties) to see that many of them come from fairly 'privileged' backgrounds.

What class am I? Well, I don't normally think of myself as belonging to any social class but (despite being raised on a council estate, with a mother who had been 'in service', currently unemployed and totally impecunious) I probably regard myself as being 'middle class' (possibly through my home ownership and the three sets of letters after my name).

Chris

[lcg]

at least you lot have had a shot at owning your own bricks and mortar. i'm a 'poor' nursie in the nhs (also with three sets of letters after my name); but have far more student debt and would like to know when i will be able to pay my essential bills without working 15 hours of overtime a week and save the £20k required for a miniscule deposit. (rant over! x). anyhoo - in answer to the original post and some answers, the boundaries of class are looser than they once were, but do not be fooled. there is still an underclass. there are still working class people. too many think they are middle class and the rest are too busy looking up their own arses to give a hoot about anything else. x

[ludwig]

Thanks for your answers so far. Here's some things to consider...
When do you stop being working class and become middle class?
If you're middle class but you can't afford to stop working, doesn't that make you working class?
What do you call a multi milionaire from humble origins like Duncan Bannatyne? - is he still working class?
What do you call a working class person who's never actually worked?
Who are the upper class?

[Answerprancer]

Definitions are breaking up as everyone homogenises but attitudes to class are still defined by those that 'feel' they were born into a certain category IMO.

From my POV I first experienced 'classism' from a time when I worked in a factory.
I frequently heard expressions like "corr, I bet you was born wiv a silver spoon in your maaf" and "it's alright for some!"
It didn't take me long to work out what they were on about was that I was from an affluent educated background and they were defining differences that I had already accepted but they hadn't.

That's the first time I properly learnt about the definition of the 'class system', that was over twenty years ago but I suspect nothing much has changed.

I hope for an end to any class system.

I am "me" class :-)

[naomi24]

Ludwig, yes I think it does, but I think it is kept alive mainly by the working class who seem to be intent on living in the past. (Naomi sits back and waits for the howls of protest).

Steve, have you aspired to 'their' ambitions, or achieved 'their' ambitions - and if you're so proud of your working class roots why did you aspire to their ambitions in the first place? Did you want what you saw?

[naomi24]

Sorry, I didn't answer the question. Despite my distinctly working class roots, I think I would probably be considered to be middle class or perhaps by some even upper middle class. Why? Because I was well educated, and I now have everything that goes with that - and more. Having said that, in actual fact, like Answerprancer, I am 'me' class.

[naomi24]

Steve, I love that sketch - but knowing your place is the biggest mistake you can make - especially if you come from humble beginnings.

[NOX]

Thankfully I never knew mine:)

[naomi24]

And contrary to popular belief, that doesn't only apply to the working classes.

[welshlibranr]

Yes, it does still exist, i

[mike11111]

I was pondering the very same question so I asked the upstairs maid as she was dusting the chandelier and she said No. I checked with the second footman as he was attending to my toilet and he concurred.