DISCLAIMER #1: I USE “BROTHERS” IN THE SENSE OF “HUMANITY.” I AM NOT SPECIFICALLY REFERRING TO MALES.
DISCLAIMER #2: I AM GOING TO MAKE SOME EXTREME GENERALIZATIONS HERE. HOWEVER, EVERY STATEMENT I WILL MAKE IS TRUE FOR MORE PEOPLE THAN FOR WHOM IT IS FALSE.
It seems to me that the only time my “social class” makes any difference is on an airplane. Even in that situation, it refers more to my ability to cough up the extra money than to my birth. As far as I can gather, Americans have by and large done away with the concept of “social classes” since, I’d guess, around WWI. Excluding the extremely rich on one end and the extremely poor on the other end, most of us eat at MacDonald’s when we’re rushed, rent our movies at Blockbuster, and enroll our children in public schools; perhaps this cultural homogeny has tended to level the playing field, in a matter of speaking.
However, I’ve read various things that suggest that our brothers across the Puddle take social classes very seriously to this day.
Would anyone from the UK (or someone who has lived on both sides) tend to comment? What role does your social class play in your day-to-day life? Can you be excluded from certain business, clubs, etc. on the basis of your birth? Or does it all just depend on your ability to cough up the money, like a First Class seat on an airplane?