Lecture 9: A Touch of Class

Question 1

what does the word class come from

Answer 1

Latin classis in ancient Rome

Question 2

when was the word class first used

Answer 2

English by C16th

Question 3

what was the meaning of the word class originally

Answer 3

depending on hw much property they owned

Question 4

what is the modern usage of the word class

Answer 4

modern socio-economic usage

main form of stratification in capitalist societies

Question 5

when did the modern definition fo class come about

Answer 5

from late C18th/early C19th;

Question 6

what are the 3 ways of distinction from castes and estates

Answer 6

economic rather than legal
ability for movement between classes (unlike castes)
does not just depend on birth, but also a little bit, on individuals own actions

Question 7

what are the multiple usages for the term class

Answer 7

objective; subjective (“imagined community”); in “class-divided societies”

Question 8

what is means by objective

Answer 8

professionals using a range of objective terms to put people into classes in an attempt to make sense of stratifications in past and present societies
these objective classifications may or may not be understood by the people in them

Question 9

what is meany by subjective

Answer 9

(Imagined community)

ir the sense that class is a kind of imagines community 
individuals who describe themselves as Working class believe thy share the same livestyle as vast numbers of unknown peoples elsewhere 
a sort of “nation” thought

Question 10

what is means by class-divided societies

Answer 10

class is often used to describe and analyze the use of power in a class-divided society even in the absence of actual class
most common terms associated are upper, middle and lower; but also upper middle, working, etc

lower = working or labouring class sometimes used positively but always in contrast to the higher classes

all terms used in plural form particularly to emphasize the division within the classes

Question 11

what are the Varieties of class terms

Answer 11

upper, middle, lower (or working or labouring); bourgeoisie and proletariat; peasants; aristocracy and nobility; “them” v. “us”, “rich” v. “poor”, “tax-eaters” v. “taxpayers”

Question 12

what were the class divisions

Answer 12

upper
middle
lower

Question 13

what is Aristocracy

Answer 13

apax was the monarch

then the aristocracy; vast land of estates and titles (as mentioned)

Question 14

who was in the upper class

Answer 14

Aristocracy and gentry

Question 15

who was in the Aristocracy

Answer 15

dukes, marquesses, earls, lords, viscounts

Question 16

who was Duke of Westminster

Answer 16

around 1900 he was the wealthiest of them all
about 1000 pounds every day when the average was 50 every year
aristocracy made up the house of lords in parliament, and they still welded (in 1900s) lots of political power
leading figures in parliament (conservatives and liberals) in local governments and as officers in the british army

Question 17

what is the gentry

Answer 17

large land owners
less rich
no titles
their power influence was more local and regional rather than national

Question 18

Many of the upper class managed to retain/increase wealth during industrialization because of what

Answer 18

value of land (for agriculture, housing, mining); creation of a plutocracy (with financiers and industrialists); other sources of revenue (investments, boards of directors, American heiresses (e.g. of Lord Randolph Churchill)).

Question 19

how did the value of land help maintain their wealth

Answer 19

people needed to be fed!
at least until railroads started and this shifted
the food items could be shipped across the atlantic more cheaply in steamships than could be produced home
this became the decline of the aristocracy
the who owned farmland during this time did quote well

owned land where mines were dug or where cities expanded

Question 20

how did the duke of wesminister have his wealth

Answer 20

duke of Westminster got his wealth as he and his family happened to be sitting on land that the city wanted when it expanded

Question 21

what is plutocracy

Answer 21

ruled by the wealthy

Question 22

how did the plutocracy come to be

Answer 22

bought their way in

Question 23

what did people invest in

Answer 23

railways

Question 24

what were other sources of revenue

Answer 24

investments, boards of directors, American heiresses

Question 25

what was American heiresses

Answer 25

marriage alliances with new money | most famously with that in America

Question 26

how did the upper class Claim to power and status

Answer 26

ethos of public service; superior education (Eton, Harrow; Oxford, Cambridge); conspicuous consumption; paternalism; code of etiquette/manners

Question 27

what is ethos of public service

Answer 27

in parliament, the armed forces, the empire etc | the notions that they themselves (the plutocracy) were useful and dedicated to societies

Question 28

what is superior education

Answer 28

could be through governesses and private tutors at home or in the top public (which is actually private) schools such as listed next Eton, Harrow; Oxford, Cambridge after primary and secondary school education, they would go to universities focus on ancient greek and latin to set themselves apart from other classes

Question 29

what is conspicuous consumption

Answer 29

vast dinner parties washed down by the best wine, served by many servants, hunting was also a sign of wealth

Question 30

what is paternalism

Answer 30

paternalistic attitude in the estate and out of it

Question 31

what is code of etiquette/manners

Answer 31

know what to wear when, the right patters of speech, posture, roles of men and women in house and public

Question 32

what were the Struggles of the nouveaux riches

Answer 32

did not have same upbringing and training as the above so they trudged moving to that class could place a person just based on how they spoke or speak

Question 33

who was George Bernard Shaw

Answer 33

famous play wright

Question 34

describe the middle class

Answer 34

this class increased a lot few would get a university education but they would get decent education up until them very diverse persons

Question 35

who was in the middle class

Answer 35

bourgeoisie and petite bourgeoisie

Question 36

who were bourgeoisie

Answer 36

entrepreneurs, baskets, lawyers, clergymen, doctors etc

Question 37

who were petite bourgeoisie

Answer 37

lower middle class shop keepers school teachers

Question 38

what was the middle class divided by

Answer 38

Divided by wealth, religion, politics

Question 39

what was the middle class united by

Answer 39

shared values: individualism, education, independence, voluntary associations, rational recreation, religiosity, the family and “separate spheres” of gender

Question 40

what is individualism

Answer 40

individual acheivement and hard work the sense that people has god given talents and if they worked hard enough and applied themselves they could do great this was more about talent that priviledeg

Question 41

what is education

Answer 41

as a means to self improvements morally and financially

Question 42

what is independence

Answer 42

self-sufficiency and independence | from the church and state and anyone else

Question 43

what is voluntary associations

Answer 43

charitable organizations, literary and philosophical organizations as a mean to social improvements on own terms rather than forced by the government or whoever

Question 44

what is rational recreation

Answer 44

chess, museums, cricket and tennis, etc instead of gambling boozing and whoring

Question 45

what is religiosity

Answer 45

string commitment to religion and church going | loathing of sin and the flesh (sex) so people were chaste

Question 46

what is family and “separate spheres” of gender

Answer 46

means of transmission of wealth and ideals the clear separation of home from work place with the husband emercing himself in business and politics during the day but returning to private at night wife was exlusded from public and dedicated herself to running household and taking care of children

Question 47

was the middle class good or bad?

Answer 47

``` middle class is responsible for both good and bad bourgeoise ended feudalism ```

Question 48

what good did the middle class do

Answer 48

as developers of a “public sphere” or “civil society”, entrenching political and economic liberalism (Great Reform Act, 1832; Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846)

Question 49

what is public sphere

Answer 49

civil society aka “public sphere” independent of noble matronich and control, and inso doing this it entrenched political and economic liberalism , law, constitutional government, representative institution, fair trade etc they set the legal framework for the protection fo the riots of property and the demands of capital point being that marxists and non marxists have credited the bourgeoisie with major reforms in government such as the things listed next

Question 50

what was Great Reform Act, 1832

Answer 50

opened up the vote in elections to more of the middle classes

Question 51

what was Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846

Answer 51

intended to lower prices of bread and reduce competitiveness

Question 52

what was the working class

Answer 52

vast majority of people aka lower class

Question 53

who was in the working class

Answer 53

From artisans and millworkers to agricultural labourers and domestic servants

Question 54

what did the middle class do that was bad

Answer 54

they were not praised for; denying the right and liberties of others, ruthlessly exploring rights of women and children

Question 55

what poor conditions did the working class go through

Answer 55

exploitation, poor wages, no sanitation, etc ``` higher class blamed the poor for their condition they didnt have the means to escape this class ```

Question 56

how did the working class countered poor conditions

Answer 56

through self-help organizations, kinship networks and collective action

Question 57

what are self-help organizations

Answer 57

building societies so they could hope to own a decent house | or barrel people so they could hope to have a decent burrial, etc

Question 58

what are kinship networks

Answer 58

to help out those who were out of work or who fell ill

Question 59

what are collective action

Answer 59

in the form of a developing labour movement trades unions and political movements--e.g. Chartism and Labour Party

Question 60

who Searched for class consciousness

Answer 60

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Question 61

what did Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels write

Answer 61

Communist Manifesto; Das Kapital, 1867-94

Question 62

what was marx's mindset

Answer 62

``` by far the most influential moved beyond class as a descriptive language and used it as a device to explain the unfolding of human history ```

Question 63

what did the Communist Manifesto talk about

Answer 63

``` would in time bring about the overthrow of bdourgoisy class warfare was the motivator of history ```

Question 64

what was said in Das Kapital

Answer 64

said that capitalism was reducing/simplifying the number of classes reduced to 2 only, the bourgeoisie and proletariat aristocracy was disappearing class for marx was determined by relationship to the means of production in capitalist society the bourgeoisie owned the means of production and controlled a wage earning workforce this means that peasants and artist ants were gradually proletarianized, the capitalists exploited them in a world of finite resources, the theory continued, the competition between capitalists would grow every more acute which would result in them reducing workers earnings in the pursuit in increasingly marginal profits so the gap between the bosses and workers grew but the progressively emmiserated working classes were not perminately destined to be history’s victims as their condition deteriorated, they would begin to organize and fight back aka marx was saying that the proletariat would develop a class consciousness , a move from the passive class in itself based on objective criteria to a class FOR itself based on newly recognized subjective factors and once this happened the greater numbers of proletarians would in time bring about the revolutionary overthrow of the bourgeoisie and force a socialist society class warefare was the motivator of history

Question 65

what is the move that marx proposed was going to happen

Answer 65

from “class in itself” to “class for itself

Question 66

what is “class in itself” based on

Answer 66

based on objective criterial

Question 67

what is class for itself based on

Answer 67

based on newly recognized subjective factors

Question 68

what did marx say about class warfare as motor of history

Answer 68

``` would in time bring about the overthrow of bdourgoisy class warfare was the motivator of history ```

Question 69

Problems with the model marx gave

Answer 69

``` what he predicted did not happen long-term improvement of wages and conditions; difficulties in achieving class consciousness; competing forms of identity (race, ethnicity, nation, gender, sexuality). ```

Question 70

what was difficulties in achieving class consciousness

Answer 70

in any given group except fleetingly the divisions within classes were so large that any unanimity of the classes misdealt would be hard/almost impossible

Question 71

what was competing forms of identity

Answer 71

the next listed things question the notion that class is the dominating division other divisions include; race, ethnicity, nation, gender, sexuality

Question 72

what is the professor's perspective on class

Answer 72

But, still, class analysis remains crucial to understanding capitalist societies extended version; he argues that class still remains crucial to the understanding of capitalist societies ``` subjectively- when pressed, most people will assign themselves to a particular class and while be able to distinguish themselves and others objectively— less likely to view them as collective actors with single minds, but classifying them still is an extremely self thing to do “class as a tool to analyze inequality”— some people point to the fact that income inequalities and STUFF UNDER THE IMPACT OF NEOLIBERALISM AND GLIBALIZTION IS DESPERATELY UNEVEN the dental of class is a means to mask the operation fo power, to divide and rule more effectively and to have the greater domination of capital ```