Social class
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 19:55, 2 October 2014 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 17:27, 9 September 2019 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
| [[Image:Eugène Delacroix - La liberté guidant le peuple.jpg|thumb|200px|This page '''{{PAGENAME}}''' is part of the [[politics]] series.<br><small>Illustration:''[[Liberty Leading the People]]'' (1831, detail) by [[Eugène Delacroix]].</small>]] | [[Image:Eugène Delacroix - La liberté guidant le peuple.jpg|thumb|200px|This page '''{{PAGENAME}}''' is part of the [[politics]] series.<br><small>Illustration:''[[Liberty Leading the People]]'' (1831, detail) by [[Eugène Delacroix]].</small>]] | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| + | A '''social class''' is a set of subjectively defined concepts in the [[social sciences]] and [[political theory]] centered on models of [[social stratification]] in which people are grouped into a set of [[Dominance hierarchy|hierarchical]] social categories, the most common being the [[Upper class|upper]], [[Middle class|middle]] and [[Working class|lower classes]]. | ||
| - | '''Social class''' refers to the [[hierarchy|hierarchical]] distinctions between individuals or groups in [[society|societies]] or [[culture]]s. Anthropologists, historians and sociologists identify class as universal, although what determines class varies widely from one society to another. Even within a society, different people or groups may have very different ideas about what makes one "[[high]]" or "[[low culture|low]]" in the hierarchy. | + | "Class" is a subject of analysis for [[List of sociologists|sociologists]], [[political scientist]]s, [[anthropologists]] and [[Social history|social historians]]. However, there is not a consensus on a definition of "class" and the term has a wide range of sometimes conflicting meanings. In common parlance, the term "social class" is usually synonymous with "[[Socioeconomic status|socio-economic]] class", defined as "people having the same social, economic, cultural, political or educational status", e.g., "the [[working class]]"; "an emerging professional class". However, academics distinguish social class and socioeconomic status, with the former referring to one's relatively stable sociocultural background and the latter referring to one's current social and economic situation and consequently being more changeable over time. |
| - | The most basic class [[distinction]] between the two groups is between the powerful and the powerless. Social classes with more [[Power (sociology)|power]] usually [[subordinate]] classes with less power, while attempting to cement their own power positions in society. Social classes with a great deal of power are usually viewed as [[elite]]s, at least within their own societies. | + | The precise measurements of what determines social class in society has varied over time. [[Karl Marx]] thought "class" was defined by one's relationship to the [[means of production]] (their [[relations of production]]). His simple understanding of classes in modern [[Capitalism|capitalist society]] are the [[proletariat]], those who work but do not own the means of production; and the [[bourgeoisie]], those who invest and live off the surplus generated by the proletariat's operation of the [[means of production]]. This contrasts with the view of the sociologist [[Max Weber]], who argued "class" is determined by economic position, in contrast to "[[social status]]" or "''Stand''"<!--German term, could be confused with English word, so italics needed--> which is determined by social prestige rather than simply just relations of production. The term "class" is etymologically derived from the Latin ''classis'', which was used by [[census]] takers to categorize citizens by wealth in order to determine military service obligations. |
| + | |||
| + | In the late 18th century, the term "class" began to replace classifications such as [[Estates of the realm|estates]], [[Nobility|rank]] and [[Religious order|orders]] as the primary means of organizing society into hierarchical divisions. This corresponded to a general decrease in significance ascribed to hereditary characteristics and increase in the significance of wealth and [[income]] as indicators of position in the social hierarchy. | ||
| - | In the simplest societies, power is closely linked to the ability to assert one's status through physical strength; thus [[age]], [[gender]], and physical [[health]] are often common delineators of class in rudimentary [[tribe]]s. However, spiritual [[charisma]] and religious [[Vision (religion)|vision]] can be at least as important. Also, because different livelihoods are so closely intertwined in simple societies, [[morality]] often ensures that the old, the young, the weak, and the sick maintain a relatively equal standard of living despite low class status. | ||
| ==Social class in ancient Rome== | ==Social class in ancient Rome== | ||
| [[Social class in ancient Rome]] played a major role in the lives of Romans. Ancient Roman society was [[social hierarchy|hierarchical]]. Free-born adult male [[Roman citizenship|Roman citizens]] were divided into several classes, both by ancestry and by property. There were also several classes of non-citizens with different legal rights, along with [[slavery in antiquity|slaves]], who had no rights, and could be ejected or sold by their master. | [[Social class in ancient Rome]] played a major role in the lives of Romans. Ancient Roman society was [[social hierarchy|hierarchical]]. Free-born adult male [[Roman citizenship|Roman citizens]] were divided into several classes, both by ancestry and by property. There were also several classes of non-citizens with different legal rights, along with [[slavery in antiquity|slaves]], who had no rights, and could be ejected or sold by their master. | ||
Revision as of 17:27, 9 September 2019
Illustration:Liberty Leading the People (1831, detail) by Eugène Delacroix.
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
A social class is a set of subjectively defined concepts in the social sciences and political theory centered on models of social stratification in which people are grouped into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes.
"Class" is a subject of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists and social historians. However, there is not a consensus on a definition of "class" and the term has a wide range of sometimes conflicting meanings. In common parlance, the term "social class" is usually synonymous with "socio-economic class", defined as "people having the same social, economic, cultural, political or educational status", e.g., "the working class"; "an emerging professional class". However, academics distinguish social class and socioeconomic status, with the former referring to one's relatively stable sociocultural background and the latter referring to one's current social and economic situation and consequently being more changeable over time.
The precise measurements of what determines social class in society has varied over time. Karl Marx thought "class" was defined by one's relationship to the means of production (their relations of production). His simple understanding of classes in modern capitalist society are the proletariat, those who work but do not own the means of production; and the bourgeoisie, those who invest and live off the surplus generated by the proletariat's operation of the means of production. This contrasts with the view of the sociologist Max Weber, who argued "class" is determined by economic position, in contrast to "social status" or "Stand" which is determined by social prestige rather than simply just relations of production. The term "class" is etymologically derived from the Latin classis, which was used by census takers to categorize citizens by wealth in order to determine military service obligations.
In the late 18th century, the term "class" began to replace classifications such as estates, rank and orders as the primary means of organizing society into hierarchical divisions. This corresponded to a general decrease in significance ascribed to hereditary characteristics and increase in the significance of wealth and income as indicators of position in the social hierarchy.
Contents |
Social class in ancient Rome
Social class in ancient Rome played a major role in the lives of Romans. Ancient Roman society was hierarchical. Free-born adult male Roman citizens were divided into several classes, both by ancestry and by property. There were also several classes of non-citizens with different legal rights, along with slaves, who had no rights, and could be ejected or sold by their master.
Renaissance Europe
The Mantegna Tarocchi, sets of cards made as an educational aid in Ferrara in the late 15th century, used the following hierarchy for the "Conditions of Man", largely ignoring the rural population:
- 1 Beggar
- 2 Servant (Famiglio)
- 3 Craftsman (Artigiano)
- 4 Merchant (Mercante) - presumably living mostly off income as a landlord
- 5 Gentleman (gentiluomo)
- 6 Knight (cavaliere)
- 7 Doge (doge)- i.e. a local ruler
- 8 King (Re)
- 9 Emperor (Imperatore)
- 10 Pope (Papa)
Pre-revolutionary French
France was an monarchy with a king and other princes at the top of the class structure. The French States-General, established in 1302 was an assembly whose members were ranked according to hereditary class. The First Estate was the clergy, all Roman Catholic, and by this time with the bishops and higher roles dominated by sons of the nobility. The Second Estate consisted of lay members of the nobility, who constituted approximately two percent of the total population. The Third Estate consisted, technically, of everyone else, but was represented by representatives elected by a complicated system, in practice dominated by the bourgeois lawyers who held offices in the various regional Parlements. The peasantry had no official status in this system. This may be contrasted with the ideologically high status of farmers in Confucian China. The rigidity of the French hereditary system has been suggested as a major cause of the French Revolution.
See also
See also
- Bohemianism
- Caste
- Class conflict
- Class consciousness
- Classless society
- Elite theory
- Elitism
- Mass society
- Reverse snobbery
- Second-class citizen
- Snob
- Social exclusion
- Subculture
- Social status
- Social stratification
- Social position
