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Notes -
The Devil in the Definitions:
We talk about class a fair bit, but it's hard to define many of them. Most of these terms are relative, and the exceptions numerous. I've been thinking about what the "working class" is, and how to distinguish it from the middle classes. It can't just be money, a successful plumber might make four times what a librarian or a teacher makes, but he is working class and they are some sort of middle class. An artist might be much poorer than most working class, but they are not working class.
My current formulation is something like this: In the west, the Working Class are those workers whose jobs do not require any college, and which do not raise their social status among the educated middle classes.
What do you think separates the classes? Am I off base here?
There's no single characteristic, but there's probably a cluster. For instance, working class is usually paid by the hour and middle classes salaried, but then you have consultants and lawyers (outside "Big Law", which would be upper class) and (some) accountants and such. The college distinction is probably (at least) a 4-year degree, since many jobs held by the working class require a certificate or associates degree. Physical work argues for working class, but a librarian (in a small library, anyway) does a lot of restocking of shelves.
I agree there's no single characteristic, but the single biggest indicator to me is any college degree, associates or otherwise. Having one doesn't make you middle class, but working in a job that requires one does, whether it's really necessary or not. Some exceptions obviously apply, but I think that college is the real fulcrum that this whole thing rests on. It's why university education has been so heavily propagandized and overused the last fifty years.
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