Britain - A classless society? The development and influence
of the middle class in Great Britain

by: Anja Reiff

WS 2002/ 03

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. Main Part 4

2.1 Definition of the term ‘class’ 4
2.2 Aspects of the term ‘Middle Class’ 5
2.3 Developments of Britain’s Society from 1780 till 1950 6
2.4 Middle Class in Britain today – “The New Middle Class” 9

2.4.1 The ‘embourgeoisement’ thesis 9
2.4.2 Towards a ‘classless’ society? 10

3. Conclusion 14

4. Bibliography 15

1. Introduction

Great Britain has often been described as a very class-conscious society. Some people even proclaim the British as “obsessed with class” and Britain as a “very rigid society”¹. Compared to other countries such as Germany this statement seems true. These different states of society are due to ‘individual’ developments and national attitudes towards class e.g. whereas in Britain the Industrial Revolution already had begun, Germany still suffered from feudalism.

Apart from those historical developments class gains in almost every modern nation another emphasise. In Britain the recent years opened up the discussion on a classless society. Politicians more and more referred to this vision of a society in which the rigid divisions between social groups are reduced and everyone benefits from the wealth and efforts of modern life.

In this paper I firstly want to discuss general ideas and definitions concerning the term ‘class’ and especially the ‘middle class’, which is my main topic. Secondly, I want to draw the attention to historical developments and therefore, how the middle class succeeded to gain more influence in politics and economy. Finally, I will concentrate on the recent debate on the question: “Is Britain a classless society?”. In this part I will try to compare different opinions and arguments in present- day publications.

2. Main Part

2.1 Definition of the term ‘class’

The term ‘class’ embodies different aspects. Under an economic perspective, class is used to define a group of people within society who have the same economic and social position (cf. Cambridge International Dictionary of English). Karl Marx, who spent several months in England studying the effects of industrialisation, gave a more specific definition. He once characterised ‘class’ by three main features: Firstly, he defined class as an economic category. Secondly, he emphasised the importance of the development of class-consciousness within a social class. According to Marx, only classconsciousness turned a group of people into a class. Moreover Marx spoke of “the will to compete for political power and to use it for the protection of economic interest” (Jordan 1971: 25).

In which way did this definition correspond with the British society and where were the important changes? At the beginning of the 18th century only one class in British society was actually based on all three characteristics – namely the landed gentry and the aristocracy. Their economic status was founded on their land. Regarding class-consciousness, the landed gentry “were very conscious of being distinct from the mass of the people below them, and prided themselves on the privileges of gentle birth” (Dickens/ Gash 1977: 40). They were also in a dominant position concerning political power and authority in the Government as well as the Parliament.

Since the British society in the 18th century only had one class one can hardly speak of a class society. Thus, some historians use the term a ‘one- class society’. This situation started to change with the industrialisation, the growth of the middle class and class-consciousness among lower classes. Another important aspect, is that the concept of ‘class’ is fluctuating and it depends on the historical context, as one of the following sections will show.

2.2 Aspects of the term ‘Middle Class’

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1 Both quotations refer to the article “The British Obsession with Class” published by ‘The Week’ on June 17, 2000, which was later reproduced on <http:// elt.britcoun.org.pl/v_brclass.htm>.