Changes to the Class Structure – Upper and Middle Classes

Changes to the Class Structure – Upper and Middle Classes www.educationforum.co.uk

Westergaard and Resler 1975 (Marxists) • Britain is still dominated by a Ruling Class – the owners of the means of production, distribution and exchange • 5-10% of population have most of the wealth and all of the power • Class positions polarising

Peter Saunders (New Right) • Rejects Marxist position of Westergaard and Resler • Saunders says ruling class is becoming fragmented as Britain becomes a nation of shakeholders in the capitalist economy via shares, savings, pensions etc.

John Scott (Weberian) • Rejects Saunders position – argues there is still a ruling class who control ‘property for power’ • More people have ‘property for use’ – money, shares, savings, consumer goods but this is not the same as ‘property for power’

Langsley (2006 Neo Marxist) • The make up of the ruling class has changed but it is still a recognisably capitalist elite • Under New Labour a new ‘super class’ of extremely rich and powerful people has developed – an elite within an elite

Sklair (1995) • Capitalism is now a global phenomenon – a transnational capitalist class has now emerged challenging the power and authority of nation states and national governments

What is Happening to the Middle class • The growth of the professional class • The proletarianisation debate

The Growth of the Professional Classes 1911 4% of workforce was professional 1971 11% “ “ “ 2005 14% “ “ “

Reasons for Rise • Welfare State – expansion of services + education • Need for new professions as economy gets more complex – legal and financial experts for example • Successful pressure by groups of workers to ‘professionalise’ and achieve a favourable place in the job market

Higher and Lower • Higher Professionals – judges, barristers, solicitors, doctors etc. Command significantly higher pay, control over labour process, autonomy and status • Lower Professionals – school teachers, nurses, social workers, librarians – some advantage over other workers but less marked

Functionalism and Professionals Functionalists like Bernard Barker say professionals are functionally essential for modern society • They provide a body of functionally important knowledge • They offer an essential level of service to the community – they do ‘good’ • They control the highest standards of behaviour through their own codes of ethics • They therefore receive high levels of status and reward because they are functionally important

Critique The functionalist view of the professions has been somewhat undermined by recent high profile scandals The Shipman murders Nurse Allit The ‘Baby P’ social workers Failing schools and ‘weak teachers’

Weberian View of the Professions Professionals have achieved a favourable ‘ market position’ by establishing control of their profession, training, governance etc. This is seen as a successful market strategy for achieving high rewards and high status Higher professions have been more successful in this strategy than lower ones e.g. Parry and Parry, Keith Macdonald

The Non Professional Middle class The key debate is Marx versus Weber Marxists say classes are polarising – middle class disappearing into the proletariat Weberians say that the middle class is growing – white collar non manual workers with better ‘market situation’ than traditional working class

Proletarianisation The Marxist Harry Braverman claims that the middle class is being proletarianised. Technology has deskilled white collar workers and they now carry out routine and repetitive tasks with little or no autonomy Braverman also sees similar trends with some of the ‘professions’ – greater regulation and control of teaching for example

Weberians Identify how middle classes have preserved a favourable ‘market position’ when compared to the working class e.g. 1. Lockwood – lower middle class white collar workers have more autonomy, less supervision and better wages and perks than working class 2. Stewart, Prandy and Blackburn – clerical non manual workers have far superior promotion prospects than working class workers – more likely to be upwardly mobile into management

Reading • Haralambos and Holborn pages 32-56

Changes to the Class Structure – Upper and Middle Classes