Social ClassA presentation by Bethanie Roughley and Namra Amer

GLOBAL SHIFTS• Class continues to be important part of social

identity

• Growing polarization in economic class structure over the past 30 years (westguard 1996)

• polarization (or polarisation) refers to the divergence of political attitudes to ideological extremes.

• Since 1980 the disposable income of the richest 10% had increased 62% whereas the poorest 10% has decreased 10%.

Contemporary discourses of classlessness

Pakulski and Wators believe “There has been a radical dissolution of class in 2 senses; decentering of economic relationships – and shift in patterns of group formation”

• Arguing class has less to say about social inequalities …• Refer to the disappearance of class discourses as an indication

of the demise of class• Free market disearses promote the need of free trade and non-

state intervention to operate, privilege some classes at the expense of others.

• Markets are shaped by “class, culture and consumption” • E.g. education market would privilege middle class

groupings.

Class relation construction

• Class relations are constructed through patterns of CONSUMPTION.

• Consumption is no less than production is aclassed and classifying process.

• One of the most divisive exclusionary mechanisms of the 1990s is the LABELING of some of the working classes, predominantly lone mothers and children as underclass.

• The working class rarely chose the discourses within which they position themselves• Produced by more powerful in society

Triumph of individualismPakulski and waters state the lack of any collective expression of class interests “either in terms of social and political reformation is evidence of the current unimportance of social class.

• The lack of collective working class action can be viewed as the product of dominant class strategy.

• Current orthodoxy of individualism represents the universal acceptance of middle class perspectives in society – replaced collective indinations in earlier eras.

New ways of envisioning class.

• Class is part of micro politics of peoples lives

• Q. Extent to which collective class-consciousness ever existed class – always been a social a;ter

• View class as powerfully initialized and continually played out in interaction with others across social fields.

• Understanding of class needs to be much broader than the economic scope.

Recognizing class in individual livesWe must “classify the classifiers”• Academic texts are always middle class texts as academics are

a privilege group.

Working class- failing to achieve the power to contribute to dominant discourses/ even marginal ones

• Lack public forums which to give their own accounts

Mothers making sense

We all now share the problems of living in a world risk society. The world is constantly under assault. Media brought events and crisis happening almost everywhere in our living rooms.

• A reason for sharing concerns is that certain global problems require global solutions. • Acting alone, governments cannot protect their borders,

territories or the lives and well-being of their citizens from a number of situations. = Only collaboration between governments and regulations at the global level can provide genuine solutions.

• The impact of global industrialization on the planet's biosphere explains shared, global nature of many problems.

• Rich and poor have driven to abuse their own environments.

'the world's growing environmental problems are connecting the lives of people in very different societies ... it is ultimately impossible to hide oneself away from these phenomena altogether'.