Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has reported to have said that “there is no such thing as society; just individuals and families” (Pateman online). Thatcher’s idea of Britain being a classless society was one where she had one the class war and where there were no collective class identities or class enemies left, so initially class was removed from the agenda of public perceptions (Cannadine 1998). Alternatively former PM John Major is reported to have said that “we are all classless” (Pateman Online). His idea of a classless society was where everybody would try to be “nicer with each other” (Cannadine 1998:181). Further, most recently Tony Blair claimed that one of the aims of his government was to “make everybody middle class” and has also been reported to have said that the “class war is over” (Pateman Online). These above responses from political readers show that according to them the social class structure does not exist in Britain today and that everybody is viewed equally.
However, if we look at the political sector it is clearly evident that within this sector the employers and individuals within the hierarchy consist mainly of the middle and upper class people, such as civil servants and company directors. Within this sector you are less likely to see working class individuals and in addition the people within the public sphere are recognised as the middle and upper class. This can be reflected through their lifestyles, habits and status within the society. Further, another issue that can be raised is that many people in society depend on the government, thus they receive state benefits in order to fulfil their needs and support their families (Glennerster 2000). The aspect that the government provide these benefits implies that today in Britain we still have class differentiation, where there are those unemployed and poor individuals on one end and on the other hand the rich and wealthy. This clearly shows that there is social inequality present and we have segregated classes of poor and the wealthy which goes against the view of political leaders that class differentiation is over.
Therefore, despite the comments given by these politicians, there is still evidence to suggest that class structure does exist in Britain today and those within the lower classifications are affected in many ways. Further, most British people feel uncomfortable when the issue of class is raised, which shows that it is still a factor yet to be eliminated completely. The aim now will be to look at the other factors which portray that there is a social class structure still existent and that it affects individual’s lives in various ways.
Throughout, the historical period we find that there has been much social inequality existent within the educational structures, which are in fact still recognised today in British society. Today in Britain, we have a dual system of education, on one end of the spectrum we have publicly maintained state schools and on the other scale we have private schools that include fees (Landow Online). This clear segregation of education, builds a social class structure because it suggests that the state schools are for those families that cannot afford high expenses or are evidently poor. Likewise, the wealthy noble children rather than having private tutors, now gain education in fee paying schools such as Eton and Winchester. This has excluded children from the poor classes as the paying schools are dominated by pupils from upper and middle class sectors (Landow Online). Further, statistics by the department of education in 1997 found that children from advantaged social backgrounds such as professional/ managerial, would earn at least five more higher grades in GCSE’s, in comparison to children from parents who are categorised in the unskilled manual classification’s (Gillborn & Safia Online).
Further, it can also be argued, that ones family structure will determine where the child’s position within the educational system will be in the future. According to the national statistics, the children of the manual workers are underrepresented within the higher education to that of those of the non-manual workers. The year 2001/ 2002 seen 19 % of the manual participants within the higher education, where as 50 % of non-manual participated within the higher education (Gillborn & Safia Online), from this we can clearly see an example of class differentiation. Additionally, in higher education we find class variation as mostly those from wealthy backgrounds go further on to higher education and have better job prospects. Those from lower classes are also motivated to carry on further studies as the idea of better jobs and opportunities in the future motivate them. However, the problem experienced by most people, is the financial aspect as many are unable to afford the high expenses of higher education. This then leads them to quit education, and take in part time jobs which are in the lower classifications of the social class structures (Social class and education online). Therefore, in universities we tend to find individuals from upper class background rather than lower classes, this is further supported by the figures obtained as shown below (Reid 1998).
Figure1 Education and qualifications
Furthermore, the social class structure is evident within the employment sector as it consists of a hierarchy of occupations. These define the job classifications to which individuals belong to. We can also identify that through occupations, individuals are classed in a particular groups which show their capabilities and represent their social status. This aspect maintains the class barrier; this is because we find that those in a higher level occupation are on the upper end of the scale with professional jobs. These include doctors, lawyer’s teachers and so forth (RGSC online). Alternatively, those with less education and lower level jobs that include manual labour are found at the bottom of the scale. It may be argued, that although we see these segregated barriers of employment the class element is eliminated as suggested by many political figures. However, an argument in contrast to this is that the fact that these barriers are recognised by society suggests that social class is an element that still remains within Britain today. Further, this can be supported by the fact that individuals within these occupations tend to maintain their status through their lifestyle, habits and association within their own social network, for example an individual in the professional employment sector is less likely to be seen in the pub frequently with people from different social backgrounds as they may tarnish their reputation, therefore they are most likely to socialise with people from their own society that also have the same profession. This attitude portrays that Britain is not yet a classless society, as people have adapted themselves to a particular lifestyle due to their social backgrounds and are not all middle and upper class as they associate on different levels.
Further, again within the employment sector individuals earn their jobs depending on their qualifications, hence we often find that people from a more wealthy and prestigious background go to private schools or have personal tutors. This enables them to have a better standard of education and hence better results are produced. Therefore, these individuals are likely to have better prospects for jobs in the future. Alternatively, those individual that attend state schools may not have the same opportunities and consequently this will result in poorer qualifications, thus they are most likely end up working within the skilled and non-skilled manual sector. This can be supported by the statistics gathered by the department of education and employment in which they found that in the late 1980s five or more higher grade GCSEs were attained by 52% of children from 'Managerial/Professional' backgrounds and 12% from 'Unskilled Manual' backgrounds. In 1997 the proportions were 69% and 20% respectively, an increase from 40 to 49% point difference over a period of approximately ten years (Gillborn online). Therefore, this shows that employment and education are linked in as they are initially the root factors which decide the social class status of people within the society.
Additionally, another factor which can portray a class difference is within the health sector, where we can find class inequalities. This in fact occurs less in adulthood in comparison to childhood. Statistics tell us that the death rates are higher for lower classes in comparison to the upper classes (Reid 1981). It is also found that poor social classes use the health service more often and killer diseases often affect manual classes than non-manual classes. An explanation that could be offered for these aspects is that the lower class individual’s lifestyle and habits differ from that of the upper and middle class and are not concerned for their health as much. They tend to drink and smoke heavily and also have an inadequate diet. This may also be result of their income which is poor and they are unable to fulfil their dietary needs and so on (Reid 1981). Further, the idea of a social class determining health amongst people is found in the following table which shows the difference between classes in health matters (Reid 1981).
Social class (R.G.66/A)
(Derived from table 30, Dunnell and Cartwright 1972)
The figures above show that those at the bottom of the social scale are prone to more health risks compared to those in the upper social class. A reason for this could be their attitudes towards sickness and also depends on their work conditions and demands which results in health problems (Reid 1981). Thus, this clearly shows that we have class barriers present in the health sector which separates individuals on the grounds of wealth.
Exploring all these factors in relation to social class, we find that Britain being a capitalist country can not be classless completely as the politicians have claimed. The above factors supports this view as they portray that in each area of life such as education, health, employment and the political spectrum there is present an inequality of class. The class issue is present globally and is represented through lifestyle and is seen as a status position within society. Apart from these obvious factors where class inequality is evident, in my opinion, I believe that such inequalities that cause class barriers are also present in the basic aspects of livelihood. An example of this, is transport which individuals use on a daily basis, this includes trains and planes. These transport mediums have seats according to class such as first class, business class and economy class. Hence, on these facilities individuals are again segregated, according to which class they belong to and how much they can afford. Therefore, it is evident that class is exposed to individual’s and people travel according to their expenses, recognising that they belong to a particular class, thus a wealthy person will not use the economic class as it is a question of his reputation. Therefore, the statements made by the political figures commenting that we are all now middles class, is in fact proven wrong by the above idea of class differentiation.
In conclusion, we see that Britain being a capitalist society can never be free of class structures. Following the view of Marx, on the idea of class being the fundamental theme of his analysis, he concludes that exploitation is basic to all forms of society. An individual that controls production dominates the labourer who sells his work for wage (Jary & Jary 2000). This illustrates that in a society individuals carry out different roles and are thus segregated into different classes, based on their power and authority. This idea in my opinion still exists in British society today, as we find inequalities exist in various fields such as health, education, and employment and so on as discussed earlier. Such inequalities provide the basis for a social class to develop and consequently people are categorised into these structures according to their skills, authority and status.
Further, Marx argued that if the working class were conscious that their labour was being exploited by capitalists or often referred to as bourgeoisie then they would act to overthrow a capitalist society and establish a new form of a classless society (Jary & Jary 2000). However, the question is that have we produced a classless society today, there are few people who believe that Britain is a ‘classless’ society as most people see Britain as a class-bound society. For Britain to become a classless society certain questions need to be inquired these include, what would a classless society look like? What measure should be taken to make people view each other equally? Lastly, is it realistic to suppose that such a ‘classless society’ can be brought about in practice’ (Cannadine 1998).
However, since there are many inequalities in society of wealth and power it makes it difficult to define a classless society if these inequalities have not been abolished. Also that today people in the lower classifications are still affected in many different ways. Therefore, in summary we conclude that we do not yet live in a classless society as Britain still has many inequalities present in many areas such as employment and education. These inequalities make Britain a class-bound society where people are segregated into different classes through their habits, lifestyle and social status. However, we can argue that, although these class structures exist, people from various classes treat each other equally in comparison to historical times where class was more important. Hence, Britain may not be a classless society but we could be moving towards such a society (Cannadine 1998).
REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY
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