Working class

Working class is a term used both in academic sociology as well as in ordinary conversation. In common with other terms relevant to social class, it is defined and used in many different ways depending on context and speaker, and incorporates references to education, occupation, culture, and income. When used in a non-academic situation, it typically refers to a section of society dependent on physical labour, especially when remunerated with an hourly wage.

However, casual usage differs widely; in extreme cases, well-paid university-educated professionals in the United Kingdom may self-identify as working class based on family background, while many semi-skilled and skilled laborers in the United States are characterised as middle-class. It is usually contrasted with the upper class and middle class in terms of access to economic resources, education and cultural interests. Its usage as a description can be pejorative, but many people self-identify as working class and experience a sense of pride analogous to an ethnic or national identity. Working classes are mainly found in industrialised economies and in urban areas of non-industrialised economies.

The extreme variation between different socio-political definitions makes the term controversial in social usage, and its use in academic discourse as a concept, and as a subject of study itself, is very contentious, especially following the decline of manual labour in postindustrial societies. Some academics (sociologists, historians, political theorists, etc.) question the usefulness of the concept of a working class, while others use some version of the concept.

Definitions

Definitions of social classes reflect a number of sociological perspectives, informed by anthropology, economics, psychology and sociology. The major perspectives historically have been Marxism and Functionalism

The parameters which define working class depend on the schema used to define social class. For example, a simple stratum model of class might divide society into a simple hierarchy of lower class, middle class and upper class with working class not specifically designated.

Due to the political interest in the working class, debate has been raging over the nature of the working class since the early 19th century. Two broad schools of definitions emerge, those aligned with 20th century sociological stratum models of class society, and those aligned with the 19th century historical materialism economic models of the Marxists and Anarchists.

As the concept of the working class is important in Marxist, Anarchist and Socialist thought, there is a great deal of political interest in the precise definition of who the working class is. Key points of commonality amongst various ideas include the idea that there is one working class, even though it may be internally divided. The idea of one single working class should be contrasted with 18th century conceptions of many labouring classes.

Marxist definition

Karl Marx defined the "working class" or proletariat as the multitude of individuals who sell their labour power for wages and do not own the means of production, and he believed them responsible for creating the wealth of a society.

For example, the members of this class physically build bridges, craft furniture, fix cars, grow food, nurse children and mark exams, but do not themselves own the land, factories or means of production. The proletariat are the "ordinary" proletariat and the lumpenproletariat (rag-proletariat,) who are extremely poor and cannot find legal work on a regular basis (like day laborers and the homeless).

Marx himself argued that it was the goal of the proletariat itself to displace the capitalist system with socialism, changing the social relationships underpinning the class system and then developing into a future communist society in which: "..the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all." Communist Manifesto.

Key issues in Marxist arguments about working class membership include:

Those in a temporary or permanent position of unemployment.
Domestic labour, particularly the children and traditionally, also the wives of male workers who do not themselves work paying jobs outside the home.
Whether the term includes ownership of personal property.
Whether the term includes ownership of housing;
Whether the term includes self-employment.
The class position of students in society.
Part-time workers who also run a retail shop.

The Answers are:

Unemployed workers are proletariat.
Class for dependents is determined by primary income earner.
Personal Property is clearly Different than Private Property
The Proletariat can own houses, this is personal property.
The Self-Employed worker is Petty-bourgeois not Proletariat.
Students are dependent on family's class background and whether or not they are still dependent on them.
It would depend on primary sources of income.

Other definitions

Identification of a person as a member of the working class is often based on the nature of the work performed (Blue collar/White collar) by the person, the income of the person, or the extent of formal education that the person has completed. However, studies of social class generally focus on other traits, such as the basis for the person's access to the means of production, or amount of control that the person has over his work environment.

Working class people are generally paid wages, usually on a weekly or monthly basis. In popular American political discourse, medium-income skilled laborers and tradespeople are termed "middle class" despite having minimal investment income, as are college-educated white collar workers.

Explanations for the situation of the working class have varied dramatically over the centuries and are still hotly contested. The main points of contention are what causes an individual to be a member of the working class, and what are the causes for troubles faced by the working class.

History

In feudal Europe, and other pre-capitalist societies, the working class as such did not exist in large numbers. Instead, society conceived those engaged in manual labour as labouring classes, a group which united different professions, trades and labours together. In Europe, a lawyer, craftsman and unskilled peasant were all considered to be part of the same social unit, a "third estate" of non-nobles who were not church officials. Similar hierarchies existed outside Europe. The social position of these labouring classes was viewed as natural and ordained by deities. This social position was contested, particularly by peasants, for example during the German Peasants War.

In the late 18th century, the European society was in a state of change, and this change could not be reconciled with the idea of a changeless god-created social order. Wealthy members of these societies created ideologies which blamed many of the problems of working-class people on the morals and ethics of the working class themselves (i.e. excessive consumption of alcohol, perceived laziness and inability to save money).

These processes were identified in English history by E.P. Thompson in his book The Making of the English Working Class. Thompson argues that the English working class was present at its own creation, and seeks to describe the transformation of pre-modern labouring classes into a modern, politically self-conscious, working class.

Culture and personal characteristics

As the working class is divided among nations, and internally divided along very broad lines of rural, blue collar and white collar occupations, there is no one unitary culture. Working class cultures tend to be identified on national and occupational bases, for instance, Australian rural working class culture or New Zealand white collar working class culture. There are however many stereotypes of the working class.

Working class culture in the United States

May Day (or Labour Day), celebrated on May 1st in most of the world, is a day to commemorate the struggle for the 8 hour work day. (see Haymarket Riot)

Social and emotional life

According to Rubin (1976) there is a differential in social and emotional skills both between working class men and women and between the blue-color working class and college-educated workers. Working class men are characterized by Rubin as taking a "rational" posture while women are characterized as being more emotional and oriented towards communication of feelings. This constellation of issues has been explored in the popular media, for example, the television shows, All in the Family featuring Archie Bunker and his wife Edith Bunker and Roseanne. These popular television programs also explored generational change and conflict in working class families.

External links

The Center for Working-Class Studies at Youngstown State University
International Labor and Working-Class History
Images of the working class between 1840 and 1945 from the McCord Museum's online collection
libcom.org Working Class History page
The Working-Class poetry of Gerald Massey
Definition of "Working Class", Dictionary.com