The Class System

[Webbo]

Wayne Rooney, whats he?

I thought of him when I was thinking about starting this thread. He's obviously Working class yet he's probably got more money than some upper class. How would you class his kids?

[Zingari]

Horoscopes are there, but they don't mean anything!

Answer this question honestly

Do you think this group of people consider you a one of their equals ?

I'm not glorifying the class system , merely saying that it is very real in society

[MooseBreath]

People like Rooney are difficult to class but they are exceptions. The vast majority of people can be classed quite easily.

[I am Rod Hull]

I thought of him when I was thinking about starting this thread. He's obviously Working class yet he's probably got more money than some upper class. How would you class his kids?

"Class" is the difference between public and private education, thats how I see it.

[Zingari]

I thought of him when I was thinking about starting this thread. He's obviously Working class yet he's probably got more money than some upper class. How would you class his kids?

The Rooney's will be the classic case of clogs to clogs in 3 generations ( strangely enough it's a Lancashire proverb or saying)

‘From clogs to clogs is only three generations.’ A Lancashire proverb, implying that, however rich a poor man may eventually become, his great-grandson will certainly fall back to poverty and ‘clogs’.

http://www.answers.c...ree-generations

[NiftyFox]

"Class" is the difference between public and private education, thats how I see it.

The rich can afford to send their children to a private education and therefore someone who is wealthy can't be seen as Upper Class. I would see Class as the family background and the assets they have.

[ousefox]

Upper Middle. My dad was working class but now earns more than my mum who was middle.

We definitely have a class system that is obvious to see all around the country. The races always highlights it to me. Most people who don't believe in a class system are trying to protect it.

[MooseBreath]

Upper Middle. My dad was working class but now earns more than my mum who was middle.

We definitely have a class system that is obvious to see all around the country. The races always highlights it to me. Most people who don't believe in a class system are trying to protect it.

To be upper middle you and your family need to be senior professionals - doctors, high level accountants etc - you were probably sent to a private school and grew up in a £400k+ house if you were outside London

[Saxondale]

Answer this question honestly

Do you think this group of people consider you a one of their equals ?

I'm not glorifying the class system , merely saying that it is very real in society

Not in the traditional sense.

I think the divisions are solely to do with wealth these days rather than the old definitions. The upper classes will of course always exist, but that only really refers to people with titles in their names.

[davieG]

Not in the traditional sense.

I think the divisions are solely to do with wealth these days rather than the old definitions. The upper classes will of course always exist, but that only really refers to people with titles in their names.

Surely it was always to do with wealth, wealth that was well establish and sustained by a system created and maintained by the upper classes/wealthy. They totally inhabited and owned the Commons & the Lords and made rules that kept maintain their position and made sure they were the only ones who could obtain such riches, a closed shop by any other name.

[1964FOX]

Due to the likes of Rooney money really has gone out of the class system nowadays, it's more a state of mind ost middle classed people would consider themselves superior to Rooney.

As I said earlier the class system is still here just not as prominent, I am very aware of it in certain aspects of my life when they either forget or don't know I grew up on a council estate.

[ousefox]

To be upper middle you and your family need to be senior professionals - doctors, high level accountants etc - you were probably sent to a private school and grew up in a £400k+ house if you were outside London

Indeed, apart from i didn't go to a private school. The secondary school where i live is on par with most of the private schools in the area. My dad wouldn't have let me go to a private school out of principle too i think.

[Zingari]

Indeed, apart from i didn't go to a private school. The secondary school where i live is on par with most of the private schools in the area. My dad wouldn't have let me go to a private school out of principle too i think.

Just out of interest , why have you got a photo of a prominent Geordie underneath the words Yorkshire lad ?

[Captain...]

By all definitions I am middle class but my grand parents were all working class, I'm not really sure where that puts my parents they were both teachers that became heads of schools, (in Leicestershire, probably taught some people on here) we didn't have a lot of money growing up but then teachers wages increased and becoming heads meant that we would now probably be classed as middle class, but nothing has actually changed.

The class system isn't what it used to be, jobs are no longer thought of as blue/white collar in my opinion, it is now skilled or unskilled, there are a lot of white collar jobs that now require nothing more than basic computer skills, and these are no longer classed as actual skills. Where as a lot of blue collar jobs are very highly skilled and well played.

I find the obsession with being working class a bizarre romantic notion, I have come across many people who will claim to still be working class despite having good jobs with good money and a degree.

I find any sort of classism as bizarre as racism and other discrimination. It is not uniquely British but it is much more prevalent over here than in other countries.

[sphericalfox]

Just out of interest , why have you got a photo of a prominent Geordie underneath the words Yorkshire lad ?

That's Grandpa in my Pocket. I thought he lived in Sunnysands?

[Saxondale]

Surely it was always to do with wealth, wealth that was well establish and sustained by a system created and maintained by the upper classes/wealthy. They totally inhabited and owned the Commons & the Lords and made rules that kept maintain their position and made sure they were the only ones who could obtain such riches, a closed shop by any other name.

That may be true, as wealth was a by-product of the old social divisions akin to the Hindu caste system, but it is not just people from moneyed backgrounds that are wealthy these days. Again, if we're talking about the upper end, it's natural that the wealth will continue as it's inherited through generations. If we're talking about the traditional middle and working classes, the boundaries are far too blurred now to be relevant.

[ousefox]

Just out of interest , why have you got a photo of a prominent Geordie underneath the words Yorkshire lad ?

i had that before the picture!

[Zingari]

i had that before the picture!

Ahh

I thought it was a joke that i didn't get

[ousefox]

Ahh

I thought it was a joke that i didn't get

If i remember correctly i think he was also from Sunderland so may take offense at the Geordie comment!

[Trav Le Bleu]

People voted upper class, but I haven't seen Wymesy on here for ages.

[Zingari]

People voted upper class, but I haven't seen Wymesy on here for ages.

I assumed it was you Trav

[Steven]

It's often said that the British are obsessed with class but in all the years I've been on here I can't remember a thread about.

What class do you belong to?

How do you define which class you're in, are you born into it or can you change, up or down?

How important

is it to you or the country in general?

Class has no meaning the UK any more, it is all about money.

[MooseBreath]

I find any sort of classism as bizarre as racism and other discrimination.

I find it quite interesting from an anthropologistic point of view. There is nothing offensive about it these days imo. You could probably find some class discrimination if you really wanted to, but you're not going to end the class system so might as well just treat it for what it is.

[Zingari]

If i remember correctly i think he was also from Sunderland so may take offense at the Geordie comment!

Yes you're right he is

But he was famously a Geordie in at least 2 TV series , so he'd have to excuse my ignorance

[Captain...]

I find it quite interesting from an anthropologistic point of view. There is nothing offensive about it these days imo. You could probably find some class discrimination if you really wanted to, but you're not going to end the class system so might as well just treat it for what it is.

Sorry, I meant classism like racism, people discriminating by class, by where someone is from or what job they do and how that relates to their social background.