Class is one of those aspects of life that still seems to cause a lot of fuss in the UK, and the BBC has generated a great deal of interest today with The Great British class calculator:
Traditional British social divisions of upper, middle and working class seem out of date in the 21st Century, no longer reflecting modern occupations or lifestyles.
The BBC teamed up with sociologists from leading universities to analyse the modern British class system. They surveyed more than 161,000 people and came up with a new model made up of seven groups.
The BBC Lab UK study measured economic capital – income, savings, house value – and social capital – the number and status of people someone knows. The study also measured cultural capital, defined as the extent and nature of cultural interests and activities.
The new classes are defined as: Elite, Established middle class, Technical middle class, New affluent workers, Traditional working class, Emergent service workers and the Precariat (or precarious proletariat).
So which class would Technical Authors come under? It’s likely to be Established middle class or Technical middle class, but you can test yourself on the BBC site.
See also:
I do hate the UK’s obsession with class. What does it matter? Having said that, I love any excuse for a TW3 clip. I suppose that makes me established middle class 🙂