Family class?

D.P. said:
Since when has this thread been about archaic system solely within Britain. This is the 21st century on the international Internet. Social class these days is more defined by upbringing, societal values, career, political views, etc.
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Since when your grandparents had a factory in England or shall we apply a class system from Ancient China or modern Yemen. Since when the factory wasn't in the 21st century. Since we didn't have Internet in 1938. It would be logical to apply what it was true at the time for that particular place.

D.P. said:
I don't think anyone here is saying they are upper class.
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You did.

D.P. said:
My family history is upper class, great grand parents on father's side owned a arge porcelline factory , WW2 put an end to that.
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I always love these threads, as they rapidly fill up with people from solid middle class backgrounds claiming to be "working class and proud of it". The "proud of it" part being the giveaway. Here's a bit of help: "working class" means unskilled manual labour, or unskilled office work. Or no jobs at all because they are clever enough to get them. So road sweepers, cleaners, typists, etc etc. If their job has any kind of management responsibility, even just as a supervisor, then they are lower middle class. If they do a semi-skilled or skilled job: (lower) middle class. If they run their own business, even a one-man-band: middle class. Even if it's as a plumber. If they are (say) a plumber for another company, then it depends on what level of work they do: if they can do the whole of a house then they are middle class; if they never got beyond tap washers then they are working class.

There seems to be be a massive move to towards reverse snobbery as various lower middle class people try to claim that they are actually working class. No you aren't. The other big clue is when lower middle class people trying to pretend that they are working class then start using the term "underclass" to describe the rest of the working class, because they want to be working class, but not THAT working class.

Finally, if you have a computer and know a reasonable bit about them them then you are probably middle class. I can't help feeling that those claiming their parents are working class should list their occupations. In the spirit of that I will say: father was a squaddie (not even an NCO) followed by manual work, mother was unskilled office work. I would say that they were working class, but that I am middle class (because I worked for a long time as a forensic scientist).


M
 
Class discrimination still exists in certain forms today, but we've moved on from the period whereby if you were working class, you were destined your whole life to do the same type of work and live in the same state of housing in a certain area and would have no access to jobs undertaken by the upper classes (because of your labelled class) or access to things that they had, therefore this thread is largely pointless and only serves as a kind of bragging competition.
 
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D.P. said:
My family history is upper class, great grand parents on father's side owned a arge porcelline factory , WW2 put an end to that (factory bombed to nothing). My parent were middle class by education and pbringing, both with PhDs, my dad was a professor before retiring. I was raised middle class but my parents ended up n financial difficulties so economically I was working class.

I have a phd, travel the world for work, command a reasonable salary. I consider myself middle class.
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I know it's been pointed out already, but......

Owning a factory would be more likely to make you middle class.
 
Well, I work for my dad, in a two man band business, which in general is quite successful, my parents have a nice place in the sticks, I've got a nice place in a quiet village, none of us are that well off really, probably somewhere in the middle of the average wage range, me probably towards the bottom!

It's a tough one as I don't really know how to define class. I don't understand the whole 'Working class and proud!' thing, and don't feel part of that in the slightest, but I don't feel I fit with the middle-class lifestyle either. (WHO AM I?!!?).

If I had to take a stab of it, I'd go with lower-middle-class I suppose.
 
Meridian said:
I always love these threads, as they rapidly fill up with people from solid middle class backgrounds claiming to be "working class and proud of it". The "proud of it" part being the giveaway. Here's a bit of help: "working class" means unskilled manual labour, or unskilled office work. Or no jobs at all because they are clever enough to get them. So road sweepers, cleaners, typists, etc etc. If their job has any kind of management responsibility, even just as a supervisor, then they are lower middle class. If they do a semi-skilled or skilled job: (lower) middle class. If they run their own business, even a one-man-band: middle class. Even if it's as a plumber. If they are (say) a plumber for another company, then it depends on what level of work they do: if they can do the whole of a house then they are middle class; if they never got beyond tap washers then they are working class.

There seems to be be a massive move to towards reverse snobbery as various lower middle class people try to claim that they are actually working class. No you aren't. The other big clue is when lower middle class people trying to pretend that they are working class then start using the term "underclass" to describe the rest of the working class, because they want to be working class, but not THAT working class.

Finally, if you have a computer and know a reasonable bit about them them then you are probably middle class. I can't help feeling that those claiming their parents are working class should list their occupations. In the spirit of that I will say: father was a squaddie (not even an NCO) followed by manual work, mother was unskilled office work. I would say that they were working class, but that I am middle class (because I worked for a long time as a forensic scientist).


M
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I'm glad someone said it since I just couldn't be bothered. The 'Proud of it' soundbite is incredibly overused when it comes to the working class. Everywhere really. It's as if they have to attached those words every time this topic comes up.
 
Family is a mix of working class and middle class and I started out as working class.... Id now class myself as middle class.
 
my family are all poor. the only one out of my entire family that owns a house is my sister, everyone else (parents, brother, other sister, grandparents....) all rent.
 
I'm middle class. My family on both sides is very entrepreneurial rather than in professions though. I went to public school as did my father. However a few generations back we came over from Ireland as travellers so certainly no blue blood.

My wife is an interesting one as she has had a very middle class British upbringing but her father was born in a camp and lived in them as a displaced person after the war and was a refugee without a bean or an education.

I think I would prefer to be working class as it is obviously fabulous. In a world where social mobility is now incredibly fluid and a decent education and prospects are available to all, many are so proud of their working class credentials and maintaining that status, that there must be something in it. What am I missing out on?
 
It depends on how you define middle class, but the modern definition it includes almost anybody who earns a few pounds more than the national average (as working class has been redefined to mean ironically people out of work, or those who work in manual labour/retail).

My the modern definition I'm middle class, but I don't share the values of the people who reside within it, as InKursion mentioned earlier also - I'd prefer more meritocratic values.

My mothers educated in English literature & was vet (had to quit due to illness) & my fathers a musician/artist & has worked for the police (when traffic wardens were part of the police) - working class most definitely I'd say.

One of my brothers has done programming & spent a good few years as a research scientist in theoretical physics (during his PHD) & the others a musician/bum, while I'm a statician by trade & artist/musician by education (studied music/art & programming).

I don't really associate with the working class or the middle class.

The former for it's obsession with banal activities & the latter for it's outright contempt for the poor & vulnerable.
 
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Allnamestaken said:
My Family history and Family are Upper class/middle class how ever me and my mom who live here in the UK are working class we don't get anything from the family or benefit from them being so well off at all and we do not need it.

Honestly I wouldn't consider myself middle class unless I was earning above 70/80k had my own paid off house and was able to afford to mortgage another. I think once you get to the point you own debt free your own property and earn a decent amount and can actually live life without worrying about not having somewhere to live you can truely feel as if your not working class anymore.
I however am studying at the moment so wont be working for a while but once I finish i fully intend to setup something meaningful so my future generations do not have to suffer through lots of hard work and effort!
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Eh? Own your home debt free?

No one would qualify. It is the norm to have a mortgage, until you are nearing retirement. (Unless we sell up and move to the north east!)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-no...arket-ferryhill-property-cheapest-house-in-uk
 
oldbag said:
Class discrimination still exists in certain forms today, but we've moved on from the period whereby if you were working class, you were destined your whole life to do the same type of work and live in the same state of housing in a certain area and would have no access to jobs undertaken by the upper classes (because of your labelled class) or access to things that they had, therefore this thread is largely pointless and only serves as a kind of bragging competition.
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Social mobility is still actually very poor in the UK (compared to the rest of europe).

The socio-economic class of your parents is still one of the key factors which will determine the individuals success - even when you adjust it based on individual kids intelligence (by tests done on 6 years old then following them through in later life & comparing the difference in earnings).

Equally intelligent young children will start to drift (on average) pending on the socio-economic class of the parents.
 
Allnamestaken said:
My Family history and Family are Upper class/middle class how ever me and my mom who live here in the UK are working class we don't get anything from the family or benefit from them being so well off at all and we do not need it.

Honestly I wouldn't consider myself middle class unless I was earning above 70/80k had my own paid off house and was able to afford to mortgage another. I think once you get to the point you own debt free your own property and earn a decent amount and can actually live life without worrying about not having somewhere to live you can truely feel as if your not working class anymore.
I however am studying at the moment so wont be working for a while but once I finish i fully intend to setup something meaningful so my future generations do not have to suffer through lots of hard work and effort!
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You think a £70k a year salary would allow you to rapidly own your own house? Northerner?
 
Skidder said:
I was following you until this bit:
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Based on experience & location, it's true from the people I've met - I never implied it was all middle class people.

I'm talking averages here, not all cases - if you look at political voting tendencies/social attitudes by socio-economic class, you see some quite clear trends.
 
elmarko1234 said:
Based on experience & location, it's true from the people I've met - I never implied it was all middle class people.
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I don't care (and am not looking for a row about it :p) but you kind of did;)

I must take the dogs for a saunter, hopefully I will find some poor people to micturate on.
 
Skidder said:
I don't care (and am not looking for a row about it :p) but you kind of did;)

I must take the dogs for a saunter, hopefully I will find some poor people to micturate on.
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:D:p - if you read these forums as much as I do, you start to notice a certain type is quite popular on here who wouldn't be joking with that statement ;)
 
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