Another element that has largely vanished from the “class structure” of America - those are the professions which were “paid” largely in respect, the regard of their fellow citizens. Teachers are the prime example, doctors, as well, were once a part of that “class” - persons who pursued their vocations largely due to dedication, with material consequences secondary.
Amongst a number of unfortunate consequences: people who become doctors primarily because of the material rewards, without any sense of healing as a “calling” rather than a profession. More’s the pity.
I think I can say without fear of contradiction that this change is our loss.
I think you’re really missing the richness of western culture. Not only is there are lot of income mobility in America, but classes are blurred by entrepreneurship. Is a woman who owns her own cleaning business part of the working class? The zillion private contractors with their own small companies doing drywall and framing? How about the guy who works at the office during the day and does web design on the side?
Plus, people change classes all the time. It’s common for young working class workers to go back to school and move up. People start small businesses and become wealthy enough to employ significant numbers of people.
Then there’s the investor class - people who have a say in how capital moves around the system. And that’s a good percentage of the population.
Well, I’ve noticed a dearth of threads about dwarf lesbian redheads and their impact on the economy and social structure of outer mongolia in GD. Shocking really if you think about it.
And I agree that there is mobility in the American class structure. I think that’s one of its strengths. But I note that when one moves classes one tends to adopt the mores and appearance of that class.
And I think what msmith said up there is too deterministic to truly apply. Yes, one’s birth and such can slot one into a specific class but it’s not the only, or even the largest, factor determining where one ends up. I think individual motivation and education play a far larger role in where one ends up.
I think there’s something somewhere between working class and office class, but I can’t think of a suitable name for it. These are workers who make a little more than the working poor, and can eke by appearing middle-class if they have two incomes and few kids, but in terms of job respect, they’re underneath “assistants and coordinators.” Often they are office clerks, medical assistants in a doctor’s office, receptionists, and the like. This class is highly populated by women. 25 years ago few of them had degrees, but now, half or more do, and many of them are working on it. They don’t really fit in at the truck stop or the country club.
What is “office class”? There’s no such thing as a generic office worker. There is “professional class” which would be people in accounting, marketing, finance, sales, whatever - jobs requiring specific degrees or training. There is management class - basically mid-level managers. There is executive class - very senior management. Then there is white collar working class - secretaries, admins, mailroom, call center opperators - office jobs requiring limited education.
I have met many white collar working class workers who are a step above blue collar and would actually fit in more with the blue collar crowd than with professional class and above. Really professional and above are all the same class, they are jut different stages in their career progression.
It really doesn’t matter anyway. The definitions are so blurred and the classes intermingle so much that it has become meaningless. My gf dads side of the family are part owners of a major league baseball team. Her moms side are almost hillbillies. My mom was raised working class while my dad was raised upper-middle class. I know, met, or worked with people of all classes. There are daughters of old money who work as secretaries and there are poor kids from Brooklyn who make millions on Wall Street as brokers. I have a highly educated friend who’s Ivy League wife is now horrifed by the fact that he has taken to the Florida pickup driving redneck lifestyle of her parents hometown.
Other than possible shared conversation topics, clinging to class is somewhat anacronistic.
