Chapter 7 – Class and class struggle

Before you read

Warm-up

Watch a short video introducing habitus – an important notion in understanding social classes [link]. Who was this notion coined by?  What does it mean in relation to the class system and society? What important aspects of social organization does it imply?

Preliminary questions

Chapter 7 outlines the problem of class struggle, showing how the concept of class has developed in cultural theory as well as how it has evolved in the practice of contemporary societies. The idea of class it speaks of relates to various (but overlapping) understandings of the concept as proposed by Karl Marx, Raymond Williams, Richard Hoggart, E.P. Thomson and Pierre Bourdieu. It does not, however, focus on individual theories; rather, it provides an overall insight into the problem of class that these theories propose. It specifically relates to class struggle, explaining its connection to popular culture and how the popular has been the site for social distinction, especially, in relation to cultural production and representation.

The chapter traces the changes in conceptualizing social stratification that has followed the change in political-economic organization of societies. It traces that change in class vocabulary (slavery, feudalism, capitalism) and the change of systems (industrialism, neo-liberalism), proving that, although it may seem out of date, the problem of class distinction is still a vital part of our modern experience. And important thing the chapter does is explain why class in central for British cultural studies (or popular studies in general). Not only is the concept of class central to understanding cultural process, but also an element of theoretical heritage that has included class in its debate on the cultural practice.

With this in mind, look at the questions below and rethink what the chapter has to offer. Some of them will refer to specific concepts the understanding of which is fundamental for the understanding the problem of class.

• Why is popular culture a site of class struggle?
• In what way does the problem of class connect with cultural studies?
• What is homogeneity?
• What the concepts of ‘base’ and ‘superstructure’ mean and relate to?
• How can we think of class distinction in terms of a daily experience?
• Do you or your family experience class struggle? If yes, in what way?
• Has the perception and practice of class changed (from the Early Modern period to contemporary times)?
• How terms such as low culture, classical music or kitsch inform about class struggle?
• Does class difference shows only through material goods?
• Can you think of any seemingly symbolic forms of social stratification that cause class division?

After you read: Important ideas

The concept of class plays a key role in cultural studies and is indispensable for understanding the cultural condition of modern life. For the last decade, however, it has seen a gradual exclusion from the cultural debate and has been considered too obsolete for theorizing postmodern, de-industrialized, neo-liberal and increasingly global societies. Anita Biressi and Heather Nunn describe this problem in their Class and Contemporary British Culture, showing how debased and rejected, the theoretical validity of class division has looped back, returning class to the vocabulary of the cultural debate. By answering the questions in quizzes 7.1 and 7.2, see how this idea has developed in cultural studies and what issues it has brought out.

Quiz 7.1

Which, in your view, is correct? (Choose between true or false)

1. 

The recent drop in interest in the notion class in cultural theory is an effect of the actual obsolescence of the problem itself.

True

False

None

2. 

The notion of class is considered indispensable for theorizing the human contemporary condition and culture.

True

False

None

3. 

Postmodernism made the class a central concept for analysing social matters.

True

False

None

4. 

De-industrialization was what exposed the problem of class division.

True

False

None

5. 

Before the Industrial Revolution, the notion of class denoted a specific social group.

True

False

None

6. 

Rank, estate, order or degree are still valid markers of social class.

True

False

None

7. 

The concept of class is central to the works of major Birmingham School scholars.

True

False

None

8. 

E.P. Thompson describes the problem of class and its cultural importance in The Uses of Literacy.

True

False

None

9. 

The concept of class shows that culture is to a large extent a social construct.

True

False

None

10. 

The cultural meaning of the concept of class changes with the social practice and organization

True

False

None

11. 

Meritocracy is a cultural practice that occurs only in certain social groups in certain populations

True

False

None

12. 

Meritocracy is a smoke screen for social inequality

True

False

None

13. 

Plutocracy is a ruling system in which authority is represented by the wealthy species of a given society

True

False

None

14. 

Neo-liberal culture benefits from mediocracy

True

False

None

15. 

In meritocratic terms, talent and intelligence value over effort 

True

False

None

16. 

The lack of professional and economic success means that one lacks talent

True

False

None

17. 

In capitalism, competitiveness is a goal in itself

True

False

None

18. 

The conviction that everyone has a chance to get to the top is a myth

True

False

None

19. 

The market determines the merit

True

False

None

20. 

Merits for social mobility reflect the social value of one’s work

True

False

None

21. 

In meritocratic terms, wealthy and successful people are happier than those from lower social strata

True

False

None

22. 

Modern societies are meritocratic

True

False

None

23. 

Meritocracy does not create social divisions but ensures freedom of social mobility

True

False

None

24. 

Meritocratic states promote equal opportunities for all who want to work hard

True

False

None

25. 

In meritocratic systems, hard work will get you to the top

True

False

None

Time’s up

Quiz 7.2

Match the answer to the statements (choose one)

1. 

The person who defined the concept class was

Karl Marx

Margaret Thatcher

Pierre Bourdieu

None

2. 

Marxism defines class as

a relationship between an individual and an organization of labour

a connection between social distinction and forms of production

a solution to social problems

None

3. 

Slavery, feudalism and capitalism are

systems of democratic production and social assistance

forms of lifestyle

systems of social organization and modes of production

None

4. 

The production of material life conditions is meant to relate to

the assurance of basic life conditions, the organization of work relations, and the creation of cultural infrastructure

the stratification of society, the consolidation of inequalities, and the enforcement of cultural privileges

the alienation of social classes

None

5. 

In Marxist theory, base refers to

ideas, beliefs, knowledge, and social organization that support production

tools, methods, structures, and relations that organize production

technology and technological infrastructure

None

6. 

Superstructure deals with

raw materials, technology, land, and economic structures

social roles, political organization, religious systems, and cultural practices

artificial intelligence

None

7. 

Class is

an objective and subjective phenomenon manifested in ‘base’ (work organization) and ‘superstructure’ (lived experience)

a socially irrelevant phenomenon

an objective phenomenon that relates only to ‘base’ (work organization)

None

8. 

In capitalism, class division means the binary of

workforce and labour ownership

technologies of labour and work organization

emotional labour and menial work

None

9. 

Contemporary class division is a reflection of

a new social economic organization

improvements in understanding the problems of social organisation

new incarnations of old class systems

None

10. 

Self-employment means

freedom from the capitalist class system and exploitation

self-exploitation under the capitalist system

self-preservation under the capitalist system

None

11. 

Class struggle shows in

An open war of social groups and cultural communities

A clash of economic, cultural and social relations

A conflict of technological advancement

None

12. 

According to Ernst Fisher, class is

a form of economic relations, social consciousness, and cultural practice

a form of social solution to the cultural change

only a form of economic relations unrelated to social consciousness and lived experience

None

13. 

According to E. P. Thompson, class is

An imposed but conscious experience implemented into cultural practice

An imposed and unconscious experience people are unaware of

A form of an experimental approach to culture and society

None

14. 

According to Bourdieu, consumption is

a marker of an individual’s position in society

a marker of an individual’s taste

a marker of an individual’s legal rights

None

15. 

Bourdieu distinguishes three forms of capital through which class shows itself. They are

the symbolic, the real, and the imaginary

The economic, the cultural, and the social

The psychological, the emotional, and the semiotic

None

16. 

Bourdieu defines cultural disposition as

An outcome of one’s life environment and upbringing (habitus)

A conditioning for a successful life

A requirement for great achievements

None

17. 

In Bourdieu’s theory, taste is

a subconsciously executed judgement of taste

an involuntary reflex independent of external influences

what preconditions human preferences and choices in the social

None

18. 

In Bourdieu’s terms, social distinction will be

factors (and powers) that impose a given system of values by ascribing meaning and various degrees of significance to the components of human lived experience

individual predisposition for social organisation

a legal system of social recognition

None

19. 

Hegemony denotes

control

freedom

anarchy

None

20. 

The modern meaning of hegemony as used in cultural studies was established by

Karl Marx

Pierre Bourdieu

Antonio Gramsci

None

21. 

English Christmas

respects social diversity

reflects enforced universalism

reactivates social equality

None

22. 

Football has

lost its original character of a ‘popular game’

been corrupted by the middle-class economic ideals

all of the above

None

23. 

In around 1750, football disappeared as a popular sport because

it was banned by authorities

of social changes at that time

social change impacted the rules of that game

None

24. 

In 1885, football

became a working-class sport again

became professionalized

became an Olympic discipline

None

25. 

Through class distinction, the popular

no longer connotes its belonging to the people

refers mostly to the mainstream represented by bourgeois ideals

all of the above

None

Time’s up

Important names

Chapter 7 highlights a number of important terms. Revisit their meanings using definition flashcards. Pause on the TERM whilst you think of the meaning, before flipping to DEFINITION (the explanation of the term).

<Insert flashcards here>

Complementary materials

<Insert Icon 3 here> Listen to the podcast Class Struggle. Today and Tomorrow [link]. How does it reflect the problems and theoretical implications outlined in Chapter 7?

Further considerations

Is class struggle still relevant? What TV shows would be the best depiction of class struggle as described in Chapter 7? Discuss with fellow students, family or friends.