Attribute of a Capitalist Society - Case Study Example

Critically evaluate the claim that Britain is now a ‘classless society’. Class structure is an attribute of a capitalist society, result of converting the economic processes of reproduction of the capital into social processes of its unequal distribution. The studying of class structure is very interesting. It is an understanding key to the behaviour of the people included in it. The Class association in an essential measure forms a way of life of people, styles of consumer behaviour, and an electoral choice. Many researches in Great Britain are devoted to the questions of connection between classes and electoral behavior. Speaking about the British society as about the classed or classless one, it is worth looking back into the history. During war the English class system serves as the best propaganda argument of the enemies. The unique fair answer to claim of Dr. Goebbels that England and remains the country of "two nations", would be a recognition, that in practice there are three of them. But feature of English class distinctions is not in their injustice, but in their anachronism. They do not quite precisely coincide with the borders of economic distinctions. It is accepted to classify a modern society according to three parameters: the upper class that is bourgeoisie, middle class, that is petty bourgeoisie, and working class, that is proletariat (Abercrombie, 2001). England remains the one of last countries clinging external forms of feudalism. New titles are kept and are constantly established; the chamber of lords, basically consisting of hereditary peers, possesses real powers. At the same time in England there is no real aristocracy. Racial distinctions, on which the aristocracy is based, were erased already by the end of the Middle Ages, and the well-known medieval families practically have already disappeared (Abercrombie, 2001). It is interesting to note that the sharp line, not financial, but cultural, runs inside of middle class, separating those who aspires to a secular way of life, from the others. To standard measures everyone among the capitalist and living for the week salary can be in a crowd ranked as petty bourgeoisie. That is the farmer, the responsible official, the lawyer, the priest, the bank-worker, the enterprising contractor and the fisherman are enlisted in the same class. Anybody, who pays even least attention to class distinctions, will place the officer with the revenue in 1 000 pounds above on a public ladder, than shop-assistance with the revenue in 2 000 pounds. The similar distinctions exist even among the upper classes: It appears that more honour is given to the titled person, than to the untitled one, but richer. In practice the people of middle class are divided depending on in what degree they resemble aristocracy: officials of a high rank, fighting officers, lecturers at universities, clerics, even literary and scientific intelligency cost above businessmen though the earn it less. The peculiar feature of this class is that the biggest clause of its charges is education. If the succeeding dealer gives his child to a local comprehensive school, the priest having half of his incomes, will sends his son to a private school though knows, that direct dividends from similar capital investment will not be received (Hills, 1996). There is one more distinct line inside of middle class: ancient distinctions between "gentleman" and "not gentleman". For the last thirty years by virtue of needs of the modern industry and activity of technical schools and provincial universities a new type of the person has developed, belonging to middle class under incomes and to a certain extent on habits, but a little concerned by own social status. For England the happy day was when it has started to destroy the old class system. For long years the division into the upper, middle and low classes generated enmity and the bitterness, the fatal for health and individuals of the nation. It was the reigning of snobbery and the inequality. The haughty attitude of the upper class to the middle one, severe indifference of the middle class to the lowest; servility of the lowest class before two others - all this transformed derisively ideas of freedom and a brotherhood of people(Abercrombie, 2001). The classless society – to be is more exact, the illusion those - arose during constant assimilation, owing to which England during some centuries avoided the bloody resolutions, civil collisions and kept royal family and exclusive institutes though almost everywhere in the world they have departed head over heels. The English upper class skilfully avoided the inner war. Instead of it, if they were pressed too strongly, they resorted to tactical tap of forces from positions. The upper class conceded disputable territory voluntary, without bloodshed and tears, but, certainly, having grasped with them everything, that had though any price. So, for example, when people demanded the suffrage, they got this right. Only it has appeared that it is impossible, as all authority in constituencies has been transferred to the organizations of parties was under the control of the upper classes and selected the candidates. Anything does not excite an Englishman so, being the representative of the upper race, as an opportunity to get into the upper class of this race. The firm belief of an Englishman, that he is not worse than any another, has helped to keep the upper class, and at the same time and to create illusion the classless society (Eccleshall). From everything that was mentioned above it is clear, that the upper class is not small and close, moreover, it constantly grows. To hold the majority far away from the class, it is compelled to let the selected minority in, the elite group. If to not speak about those who since a birth belong to it, the upper class is ready to accept, and if it is necessary, also force to drag to itself everyone who answers three basic conditions: First, you are obliged to prove, that recognize the existence of the upper class and its way of life. Secondly, you should have the firm sights at this way of life - or you approve it, or do not approve, vague sights are inadmissible. Thirdly, it should be absolutely clear to all - whether you support completely and unconditionally the upper class or openly try to undermine it (Views of Britain). If you meet these requirements, you will be accepted into the members with a trial period. You become the complete member after you will give some lessons of the realistic attitude to a life and will correct fine errors in your behaviour. It is not necessary to advertise the accessory to a new class. As well as everybody, pretend that it does not exist. For the English education system the training of children is only a collateral problem. Basically it serves as arena of struggle where the children spend the first rounds of the class fights in which later much of them should participate seriously. It depends on them, whether there will be a child in the lowest class of a society or it has a chance to pass into the upper class (Saunders, 1996). The accessory of an Englishman to this or that class is difficult for defining considering how he uses the right for voting, which is a lot of years back was granted the upper class. It can belong to the upper class and vote for socialists, belong to the lower class and give a voice to conservatives. It is much easier to guess about the class association, knowing, what party he has entered and what work is(Abercrombie, 2001). First of all the class system is very convenient. It is enough to affirm in the ranks of the upper class, to behave decently and then no fine troubles, like reduction of incomes, will affect your status. Americans, for example, should work much to increase incomes and by that to remain in the social group. This does not excite an Englishman from the maximum class; if he has got into this class, he can be absolutely quiet. The accessory to the upper class is defined by that who this person is, instead of that he does. It can be absolutely inutile and unable if to estimate abilities of the person from the appropriate point of view. Such point of view was expressed by one of trade-union leaders in interview to the newspaper "Guardian". But along with all it the political consciousness and discontent with class privileges have considerably increased. For last twenty-thirty years the working class became more hostile in relation to ruling classes by way of political and less hostile by way of cultural. Here there is no contradiction: in both tendencies symptoms of averaging of the ways resulting from a machine civilization and giving to English class system more and more anachronistical character are shown. The obvious class distinctions kept in England, stun foreigners, but they are much less distinct and much less real, than thirty years ago. It is necessary to list various factors under which influence the tendency to the increasing deleting of distinctions between all classes of an English society was outlined (Crompton, 1999). First of all it is the improvement of industrial production. With every year the number of people engaged in the physical work reduces, constantly tiring them, hypertrophying the certain groups of the muscles, giving to them a specific bearing. Secondly, the improvement of living conditions. Thirdly, the mass production of furniture, which is on sale by installments during the normal times. Fourthly - and, probably, it is a principal cause, - mass production of cheap clothes. Thirty years ago the social status of each Englishman could be defined on its external shape almost far off. The similar effect is created with mass release of the literature and show business. Radio programs, for example, are the same for everyone. Films though frequently and the extremely reactionary in implied sense of the concepts, should win a mullions-strong audience and are therefore obliged to avoid kindling of class antagonisms. The same concerns the newspapers also. Mass libraries and the cheapest books of "Penguin" editions widely develop a habit to reading and, perhaps, average literary tastes(Crompton, 1999). It would be unjustified to say, that class distinctions really disappear. Basically in England it is the same structure, as in the nineteenth century t. But, certainly, real distinctions between people are reduced and even is welcomed by those who several years ago clinged to the social prestige. A number of observers, both foreign, and domestic, believe, that a personal freedom rather essentially developed in England, depends on preservation of precisely certain class system. Freedom, consider the some people, is incompatible with equality. But at least one thing is clear: today there is a tendency to a greater social equality, and the majority of Englishmen want it (Crompton, 1999). The modern class division is represented not as a consequence of new redistribution of authority and property; it is caused by the intrinsic differences of internal potential of different members of a society. The nearest decades it has all chances to become much more rigid and much more appreciable, than any former forms of a social inequality; it can split and will split that middle class which during last century was the mortgage of stability of industrial societies. Being the basic catalyst of becoming of the posteconomic society, the given social division becomes also the major obstacle in the way of its development. And it is quite possible, that the given problem should not be represented on a special place in a spectrum of the questions mentioned by modern sociology if real development of economic processes even in postindustrial states, not speaking about the whole mankind, it would not do it more and more sharp. References Abercrombie Nicholas, Warde Alan, ‘The Contemporary British Society Reader’, Polity Press (2001) Bradley H., ‘Fractured Identities’, Cambridge: Polity. Ch.3. (1996) Crompton R., ‘Class and Stratification’ in Taylor, S., (ed.) Sociology: Issues and Debates, Basingstoke: Macmillan (1999). Eccleshall Robert, ‘British Liberalism: Liberal Thought from the 1640s to the 1980s’, ed. and intro. http://www.users.muohio.edu/mandellc/libm.htm Hills J., ‘New Inequalities: The Changing Distribution of Income and Wealth in the UK’, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1996) Harris Jose, ‘Civil Society in British History: Ideas, Identities, Institutions’, Oxford University Press, USA (2005) Nash Gary B., ‘Class and Society in Early America’, Prentice Hall (1970) Scott, J. ‘Class and Stratification’ in Payne, G. (ed.) Social Divisions, London: MacMillan (2000) Saunders P., ‘Unequal but Fair? A Study of Class Barriers in Britain’, London:IEA(1996) Views of Britain (2000) http://elt.britcoun.org.pl/elt/v_brclass.htm What classes exist within modern society? http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1931/secB7.html Zweig Michael , ‘What's Class Got to Do With It?: American Society in the Twenty-First Century’,  ILR Press (2004) Read More