S1: Social Class: Controversies S1.1 Social Class Defined and Debated S1.2 Examples Illustrating Social Class S1.3 Deprivation and Social Class S1.4 Regional Variations Across UK in Class, Including Northern Ireland S1.5 Exercises

S1.1.1 Defining Social Class Class is seen as an aspect of social relations by Marx and in Marxian analyses Neo-liberal and individualist thought tends to see class in terms of resources, hence in atomistic terms rather than relationally The origins of class schema arose in the comparison of feudal classes (e.g. landlord, tenant, merchant) with the emerging capitalist classes Class is related to social exclusion and to the distribution of income and wealth

S1.1.2 Class is socially sensitive Class is often associated with social status and the respect others give a person. Classes in this sense generate a status ranking, and to be placed in this ordinal ranking is to be placed high or low Household and personal income were not recorded in the UK Census 1991, 2001, because these are sensitive indicators of status

S1.1.3 Class Origins Many studies allow the analysis of the social class of origin, indicated by the fathers occupational class or perhaps mothers and fathers education levels. High levels of formal-education are associated with a high class of origin The presence of social mobility would imply that the class of origin does not have a deterministic effect on current class.

S1.1.4 Class and Social Exclusion Those without jobs are somewhat hard to classify into a social class. They are currently among those called socially excluded. An earlier debate labelled some people as an underclass. These are not relational approaches to class, and indeed they are not Marxian analyses.

S1.2.1 National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) From 2001 the NS-SEC has been introduced for use in all official statistics and surveys. It has replaced Social Class based on Occupation (SC, formerly Registrar Generals Social Class) and Socio-Economic Groups (SEG). The information required to create NS-SEC is occupation coded to the unit groups (OUG) of the Standard Occupational Classification 2000 (SOC 2000) and details of employment status. Note: Further information can be found on the National Statistics website at

NS-SEC (cont.) The scheme, NS-SEC, no longer provides a ranking of occupational groups by status. It also avoids the notion of unskilled work. NS-SEC has categorised into 40. Eight analytical categories were derived.

S1.2.1 The NS-SEC Class Schema Higher managerial and professional occupation (I) Lower managerial and professional occupation (II) Intermediate occupations (III) Small Employers and Own account worker (IV) Lower supervisory and technical occupation (V) Semi-routine occupations (VI) Routine occupations (VII) Never worked and long-term unemployed (VIII) Note: NS-SEC variable for the 1991 Census was derived from households SARs in order to make it compatible with that of the 2001 Census

S1.2.2 Social Exclusion Even From Class Categories A variable of being student was introduced in the 2001 Census. Students were subtracted from Never worked and long-term unemployed and they represent 6.45 percent of the total proportion. However, the table still shows using proportions that percent of people age show up in the Census without a class category. NumberPercent Higher managerial and professional occupation114, Lower managerial and professional occupation258, Intermediate occupations132, Small Employers and Own account worker97, Lower supervisory and technical occupation104, Semi-routine occupations167, Routine occupations135, Student 94, Never worked and long-term unemployed excluding students354, Source: UK SARS, 2001, individuals. Crown Copyright.

S1.2.3 Class Proportions: NS-SEC Schema In 1991, for Great Britain, among age Source: UK SARS, 2001, households. Crown Copyright.

S1.2.3 Class Proportions: NS-SEC Schema In 2001, for UK, among age Source: UK SARS, 2001, households. Crown Copyright.

S1.2.9 Class and Education Education levels are higher among those who rank high in either class schema, as this description of the percentage having different highest qualifications shows: Source: GB SARS, 2001, individuals. Crown Copyright. NS-SEC Persons qualification IIIIIIV V VIVII No qualification A Levels First degree and Higher Other

S1.3.1 Deprivation and Social Class At individual level, several material circumstances may indicate social deprivation. We expect them to be associated with low social class. Tables illustrate this strong association.

S1.3.2 Social Class and Deprivation Indicators Source: GB SARS, 2001, individuals. Crown Copyright. Social Class% without any central heating % having no degree I3.60%1.38% II11.32%6.01% III6.94%4.84% IV6.24%8.22% V7.74%7.82% VI13.50%16.52% VII12.65%17.68%

S1.3.3 Home-owning by social class among individuals Source: GB SARS, 1991, individuals. Crown Copyright.

S1.3.4 Being a Manager: A Class Apart? Individuals may or may not be managers or whichever class. In this table we show that whereas an individual may be a manager, their household might not be in that social class. Source: GB SARS, 1991, individuals. Crown Copyright. Percent of persons In Managerial Occupation Class of head of Hh% Professional4 Managerial & Tech77 Skilled non-manual5 Skilled manual8 Part skilled or other4 Unskilled1 100

S1.3.5 Excel Table of Details See the full table of the cross-class identity of individuals in This table has the persons class in the columns, and their head of households class in the rows.

S1.3.6 Exercise in Interpreting a Table In the slide labelled Being a Manager: A Class Apart? you saw a table with 23% of people located in a socio-economic group which is not the same as their social class. 18% of managers (class II) were in households whose class was gauged as III- V. How is this possible? Note the pros and cons of class analysis.

S1.4.1 Regional Variations Across UK in Class Source: GB and NI SARS, 1991, individuals. Crown Copyright. This table shows the percent of people falling into the following socio-economic groups: Employers and managers in large or small establishments; professional employees and self-employed professionals. (SEG 1-5)

S1.4.2 The Middle Class: Southern UK? Source: GB and NI SARS, 1991, individuals. Crown Copyright.

S1.4.3 Comprehension Check One could roughly use Registrar General classes I, II, and III-Non-Manual to operationalise the notion of a middle class. In the slide showing the size of the middle classes (in this sense) in the Districts of the UK, two districts of the south and two in the north of England are contrasted. Read the slide. Interpret the meaning of different sized middle class groupings. Use the Excel spreadsheet data on regions (that is, Northern Ireland and 12 regions of Great Britain) or on these districts to make a more detailed class comparison. See spreadsheet S1-ClassIntro-ClassRegion.xls.

S1.4.4 Education in the UK Regions Education levels can be summarised into four categories. For each country of the UK, taking all ages of persons, the percentages are as follows: Source: GB and NI SARS, 1991, individuals. Crown Copyright. Have passed some examsHave a degree Wales16%67% Scotland15%67% N. Ireland7%73% England15%63% Total15%64%

S1.4.5 Education in the Highest Classes in the UK Regions In 1991, the percent of people (of ages 16-65) in Registrar-General Class I having no educational qualifications (ie no exam passes and no degrees) is 20% in NI, 17% in Wales, 21% in England, and 18% in Scotland. From your reading about the four main parts of the UK, their politics and their education policies, you may want to comment on this. Hints: devolution dates; demographic differences.

S1.4.6 Education in 2001 in Scotland Taking all people of all ages, Scotland shows relatively higher levels of education than for Britain as a whole. Here a table compares England with Scotland for the year 2001, across social classes.

S1.5.1 Exercises Examine the table of socio-economic groups for three districts on the next slide. Discuss how these districts would probably differ in their Registrar-General class structure. Make notes on how the Socio-Economic Groups compare with the Goldthorpe schema. Why is the Scottish district so different? Interpretation Exercise

Socio-Economic Group of Peoples Occupations (SEG) Source: GB SARS, 1991, individuals. Crown Copyright. Percentages BlackburnSomersetClydesdale Employers and managers in large enterprises Employers in small enterprises Managers in small enterprises Professionals – self employed Professionals – employees Ancillary artists Foremen and superior non- manual Junior non-manual Personal services Foremen and worker-managers Skilled manual Semi-skilled manual Unskilled manual Own-account workers Farmer-employers and managers Farmers – own account Agricultural workers Armed forces Not well described

S1.5.2 Exercise Using Excel See the spreadsheet containing details of the Socio-Economic Groups for individuals occupations in Using this spreadsheet, collapse categories using Excel formulas, and compare the size of the Employers class with the rest, ie Employees and Others for the three Districts. This is class analysis. Discuss.

S1.5.3 Critiques of Class Three main avenues of critique exist. 1) Individualists and neo-liberals have argued that class is out of date, and that individuals may lie in an underclass but otherwise class is dead. 2) Others argue that consumption patterns denote class and give class meaning, whereas Marxist class analysis rests entirely on ones involvement in production. 3) Feminist critiques take a particular standpoint on class.

S1.5.4 Important References Crompton, R. (1998) Class and Stratification: An Introduction to Current Debates, 2nd ed., Cambridge: Polity Press. Marshall, G.H., D. Newby, D. Rose, and C. Vogler (1988) Social Class in Modern Britain, London: Hutchinson. Goldthorpe, J.H., and G. Marshall (1992) The Promising Future of Class Analysis, Sociology, 26, Goldthorpe, J.H. (1987) Social Mobility and Class Structure in Modern Britain, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press. Saunders, P. (1990) Social Class and Stratification, London: Unwin Hyman.