Class system

[Hobbit]

Back in the early 60's the road we lived on had a mixture of semi-detached and detached. Most of the guys worked at ICI or British Steel. Not everyone had a car. If you go down that road now there usually 2 cars outside each house, sometimes 3. Where ever we think the lines were 50 years ago, they're still there but what a working class guy had back then he has way more now.

 

[Wolf]

I don't think the class structure per se really exists anymore. It's as Robin Thicke would sing a Blurred line.

My dad was working class as was his dad before him and so was I to a certain extent as a grunt Bootneck in the forcesfro 12years. But since leaving I've built up a working reputation where I can pretty much choose my hours, have a mortgage on a nice house, drive new car as does my Mrs and able to go on holidays abroad with my kids. I'd say that makes me more middle class now than my upbringing and indeed my own early working life.

When the class structure was relevant working class people didn't suddenly develop opportunity to get all these niceties, didn't get chances to go to Uni or move up the class system, as a kid my family idea of a holiday abroad was the Isle of Wight. Nowadays with hard work and the right qualifications which are open to anyone with an aptitude for learning or grafting the ability to earn more is available to all.

There are still the rich, poor socially deprived and self entitled people but actual class structure I think we're moving we'll away from that now. If people ever ask me what class I am now rather than pigeon holing myself into one, I'd rather just say I'm a hard working father of 6 kids that's has been lucky enough to find a way to live a better life than my parents before me and hope my kids do better than I have. I'm not a specific class I'm just me..

 

[PJ87]

I don't think the class structure per se really exists anymore. It's as Robin Thicke would sing a Blurred line.

My dad was working class as was his dad before him and so was I to a certain extent as a grunt Bootneck in the forcesfro 12years. But since leaving I've built up a working reputation where I can pretty much choose my hours, have a mortgage on a nice house, drive new car as does my Mrs and able to go on holidays abroad with my kids. I'd say that makes me more middle class now than my upbringing and indeed my own early working life.

When the class structure was relevant working class people didn't suddenly develop opportunity to get all these niceties, didn't get chances to go to Uni or move up the class system, as a kid my family idea of a holiday abroad was the Isle of Wight. Nowadays with hard work and the right qualifications which are open to anyone with an aptitude for learning or grafting the ability to earn more is available to all.

There are still the rich, poor socially deprived and self entitled people but actual class structure I think we're moving we'll away from that now. If people ever ask me what class I am now rather than pigeon holing myself into one, I'd rather just say I'm a hard working father of 6 kids that's has been lucky enough to find a way to live a better life than my parents before me and hope my kids do better than I have. I'm not a specific class I'm just me..

Mate if you can afford holidays with 6 kids your defo not working class!

But your right it doesn’t matter anymore

The rich and the poor are the two extremes

Everyone else just has enough to do what they want in life

 

[Wolf]

Mate if you can afford holidays with 6 kids your defo not working class!

But your right it doesn’t matter anymore

The rich and the poor are the two extremes

Everyone else just has enough to do what they want in life

That's my point though I came from a working class background but if I were still entrenched in that lifestyle and mindset I wouldn't be able to do all the things I can now, yet compared to others I don't earn as much as them.

Agreed the rich and poor are the extreme ends and the rest is literally classless. Gone are the days for most where scraping around in an old banger with a haynes manual needed to keep it running.

Most cars these days are new(Er) people may not even have a load of disposable I come I know I don't, yet people still have more now in way of material items than in the past.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

But can someone who’s true working class really justify spending a lot of money just to play a game

How much to have a season ticket for football? Buy the shirt, have a beer, go the match. Classic working class pastime if we go by stereotypes. It costs as much to do that as it does to play golf in Northumberland.

If you work you choose what to spend your money on. Golf, football, the horses, beer. You could spend the same amount on any of those. Three would be deemed working class pastimes, stereotypes again, but why not all 4?

 

[SocketRocket]

When I was growing up the classes were pretty well defined and to coin a phrase we all knew our place. The big difference I see now is that the jobs carried out then by working class are not there anymore in the numbers to keep people with lower educational standards in employment, or maybe jobs are there but many have an option of doing them or being unemployed and living on benefits. You never had this option in those days as you either worked or got nothing. This has created another class or two: The benefit class and the underclass.

 

[clubchamp98]

Would you put accountancy in the category of working class occupations? Incidentally I wasn't having a pop in our discussion. He has worked hard to get where he is.

The golf point is a funny one. Growing up in Cheshire I saw golf as a middle to upper class sport. Moving to Northumberland there are more working class golfers than any other category. In reality you can argue golf is classless here.

I tend to think if your working for someone else your working class.
Obviously this is not black and white.
A self employed joiner would not be upper class.
Class should have gone with the empire , I am no better or worse than anybody else.

I judge class by your actions ,people who volunteer , help others that’s class not money.

 

[Slab]

I think these days the class system in society has been wholly replaced by the status system.. and to tell you the truth I’m not sure it’s all for the good

Money is still the No1 driver for both these systems and where previously you could still be upper class with little money, now you can still have status in society with little money but naturally it’s much easier with the money

Directors of scam companies, an endless conveyor belt of toxic ‘celebrities’ and the wealthy drug fuelled criminal element are just some of the examples of those with status in their societies who we’d all agree are not worthy of their status

The reason I say I’m not sure it’s for the better is at least with the class system there was generally a level of expected behavior/conduct and while it may not always have been adhered to, when it wasn’t then their peers would turn on its own. While those wrong-uns with status these days are not policed by their peers

 

[Hobbit]

What about the political class? Career politicians who go from uni straight into politics. Some politically minded people might be in the angry class, who rage against the system.

 

[Neilds]

I think more people would be middle class than they want to admit, not sure if it is some sort of embarrassing thing to admit you are well off/comfortable etc.

More important to me is is how much class you show - we all know classy people with taste, but money doesn’t always get you class.

Another thing, if football is meant to be the working class game please explain Premiership footballers - not working class and show no class when flaunting their supercars to the people who pay their wages

 

[AMcC]

. Gone are the days for most where scraping around in an old banger with a haynes manual needed to keep it running.

.

We were just talking about this last night with my inlaws. It was a regular sight where we stayed, the dads out sorting their older cars with the Haynes Manual out and very house had a few manuals.

 

[Hobbit]

I'm not sure supporting football is still an affordable working class pastime anymore. The last time, 97, we went as a family, 2 adults and 2 kids(16 & 18), it cost well in excess of £150. God knows how much it would cost now. 10 yrs prior to that it was pennies by comparison. How does a family with older children go to the matches on a regular basis?

 

[Wolf]

We were just talking about this last night with my inlaws. It was a regular site where we stayed, the dads out sorting their older cars with the Haynes Manual out and very house had a few manuals.

My dad had a whole back catalogue of the things at one stage. Nowadays most cars are either still warrantied or people can afford to book them in for work to be done, very rare we see the tinkering dad now with his head under a bonnet..

I'm not sure supporting football is still an affordable working class pastime anymore. The last time, 97, we went as a family, 2 adults and 2 kids(16 & 18), it cost well in excess of £150. God knows how much it would cost now. 10 yrs prior to that it was pennies by comparison. How does a family with older children go to the matches on a regular basis?

Totally agree football is more middle class than ever if it were put in to a class structure. I simply don't take my kids to Arsenal games it's to expensive. Even if I just went with my 2 boys rather than as a family to watch us v Newcastle the tickets alone are coming in at £215, factor in travel into London and tube, then food and drink and a possible program or souvenir it's more like a £500 day out.. Yet my golf annual subscription is only £60 more than that for my full membership

 

[bobmac]

Depends whether your toilet was inside or outside.
We used to think people were posh if they had a colour tele

 

[Hacker Khan]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22000973

 

[PJ87]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22000973

Apparently I’m established middle class

I’d of said technical working class myself

I think my household income distorts the results compared to what it should

 

[drdel]

Me = working class (but don't really care how others define me).

Secondary school but got into Uni (engineering): came out with doctorate and in theory as a 'professional' its middle class but I think its outdated. Always worked and never had or took any benefits.

Don't look at my mates and think about it at all.

Now retired - not fat but 'dumb' and happy!

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I have never liked the ‘class’ system or a label, as just seems a way of someone feeling that they are superior to someone else and looking down their nose at you. Or is that what I think others are thinking and they don't really, hmm

If you have to work to earn you money, then I would consider you are working class.

Come from what would have been classed as working class background didn't have a running toilet for a number of years as my parents could not afford to have a sceptic tank installed but at least it was a portaloo inside rather than outside and so on. Would now seen as middle class or above I suppose by most measures but really just plain old working class working more hours than a full time person.

We are all equal in my eyes and everyone should be treated the same,

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I tend to think if your working for someone else your working class.
Obviously this is not black and white.
A self employed joiner would not be upper class.
Class should have gone with the empire , I am no better or worse than anybody else.

I judge class by your actions ,people who volunteer , help others that’s class not money.

Totally agree your last sentence. It's largely outdated and apart from curiosity I don't hear this being discussed. It is more of a generational thing.

I can't agree with your definition. Most people will work for someone else so that would mean 98% of the working population are working class. That simply isn't the case. Can a stock broker or a banker earning 7 figure salaries and bonuses, never getting their hands dirty, really be working class? However, I think the definitions are largely irrelevant now as I don't see current generations viewing people in this way.

I'll have to show my daughter the old sketch about class and watch her face. I'm suspecting she will just shake her head and look bemused.

 

[PJ87]

Totally agree your last sentence. It's largely outdated and apart from curiosity I don't hear this being discussed. It is more of a generational thing.

I can't agree with your definition. Most people will work for someone else so that would mean 98% of the working population are working class. That simply isn't the case. Can a stock broker or a banker earning 7 figure salaries and bonuses, never getting their hands dirty, really be working class? However, I think the definitions are largely irrelevant now as I don't see current generations viewing people in this way.

I'll have to show my daughter the old sketch about class and watch her face. I'm suspecting she will just shake her head and look bemused.

Wasn’t it always management were middle class and their work force were working class

But that manager works for someone

Like my job so many people answer to me but I have to answer to one person above me who oversees it and signs off some things that we need to do