7.4: Class Identity

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Define class identity, economic class, and social class.
• Explain the connection between class identity, power, and politics.

Introduction

Class identity relates to both economic and social class. Class identity is how a person, or group of persons, thinks of themselves in relation to others in society based on their economic and social position. Class identity is inherently about power. As Robertson (2020) writes: 

 

Classes can be divided according to how much relative power and control members of a class have over their lives. On this basis, we might distinguish between the owning class (or bourgeoisie), the middle class, and the traditional working class. The owning class not only have power and control over their own lives, their economic position gives them power and control over others’ lives as well.

Class identity, and its connection to power, also manifests in politics. One of the theories of power is called the "elite theory." Elites are the upper socio-economic class, or the "ruling class, among those business, government, and military leaders whose decisions and actions have significant consequences" (Mills, 1956). Elite theory posits that elites not only have power, but that they use that power for their own self-interests. One of the components of being a member of the elites is to have social capital, in this case meaning a network to call on for help in finding things like a new job, new clients, and new customers. The well-connectedness of elites provides them (and their families and other close contacts) with clear benefits. Today, elite theory encompasses not only elite individuals, but elite organizations, such as major oil companies and global military contractors (Horowitz, 1981).

Socioeconomic Class

While defining and measuring economic status is quite similar across cultures, based on measurable characteristics like money and material resources, the same cannot be said for social status. Different societies have different social values and, therefore, assign social class positions in different ways.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Wealth in South Florida. (Source: Miami Millionaire Row, by Thank You via flickr is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

In terms of economic status, the photo above shows a sleek yacht. This is one indicator of wealth because of the high cost of the yacht. Therefore, we presume that the owner of the yacht is from the upper economic class. Homes, cars, and jewelry are other commonly observed indicators of economic class.

There are other markers of economic class, however, that are not always as easy to interpret. Fashion and grooming styles are examples. In the past, perhaps, these were more fixed. In contemporary society, they are more fluid. Consider the 1794 image of the wife of a wealthy Spanish diplomat below.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Portrait of the wife of a wealthy Spanish diplomat, 1794. (Source: Matilda Stoughton de Jaudenes by Metropolitan Museum of Art via Metropolitan Museum of Art is licensed under CC0 1.0)

It is quite easy to know that this is an image of a wealthy person with high status. Yet, such markers of wealth are not always visible today. The picture of Elon Musk below offers no clues that he is one of the wealthiest persons on Earth.

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): In blue jeans and a black t-shirt, it is difficult to spot Elon Musk's wealth based on his clothing alone. (Source: Elon Musk at the 2016 Tesla Annual Shareholder's Meeting, by Steve Jurvetson via Wikimedia Commons is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

When we combine economic factors, such as income and wealth, with social factors, such as level of education and occupation, we have socioeconomic class. This intersection occurs because a person's social factors often influence their economic class. However, as noted by the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching, "An individual's socioeconomic status does not always align with their social class identification. In the U.S., for example, those who identify as middle class vary on every indicator of socioeconomic status (e.g., level of education)."

As noted above, components of social class vary significantly across cultures. In some societies, for example, it is considered more prestigious to be a religious leader than a medical doctor. Different states also place different levels of respect for teachers. According to a 2018 report from the Varkey Foundation, "In Malaysia and China, teachers are compared to doctors – seen as the highest status profession in our sample, but [in most countries] it is most common for teachers to be compared with social workers having a mid-range status."

Class Identity and Politics

Class identity, both economic and social, is a major component of politics. Class identity often influences political affiliations and attitudes. Politicians appeal to class identity as a means of gaining support for their policies. Class identity often drives political and social movements.

One example of the relationship between class identity and political movements is Marxism (named after Karl Marx). Marxism, which we will discuss more in Chapter 8, is an approach to political economy that is based on the idea of class conflict between the owner and worker classes. Marxism focuses on the exploitation of workers by owners and seeks to mobilize the working class to demand a change in the power dynamic. Marxists seek to change the economic class structure and, as a consequence, the political structure. Marx saw such class struggle as inevitable due to exploitation, and he believed that political revolution was inevitable. By overthrowing the owner class, this revolution would usher in a socialist system (Sociology Boundless, n.d.). But, before such an uprising could happen, the working class had to see itself as working class and recognize that--as a class--it was being exploited by the owner class.

Marx viewed class in objective terms, whereby a person's social class was "determined by his or her position within the system of property relations that constitute[d] a given economic society” (Little, n.d.). Therefore, it was not just about being a member of a certain class that had political significance, but it was also one’s class identity (a feeling of belonging to a particular class) that was politically important.

Class identity is not only at the core of certain social or political movements, it is often a key focus of political campaigns seeking to win votes or support. A recent example of this in the United States is the intense interest in the working class--those engaged in manual-labor occupations or industrial work, often without a four-year college degree--during the presidential election campaign of 2015-16. Unionized working class Americans had been fairly solidly united behind the Democratic Party since the 1930s, but over the past 30 years, the Democratic Party lost its solid support from working class voters, making them a constituency of voters that candidates believed were up for grabs in the election (Zweig, 2017). At that time, Bernie Sanders characterized his run for the presidency as one focused on the working class, and such class-based appeals "also figure prominently in debates concerning the success of right-wing populist politicians such as Marine Le Pen in France, Luigi Di Maio in Italy, and Donald Trump in the US" (Robertson, n.d.).

Turning our attention to the role of class identity in Israeli politics, we see something a bit different. Rather than identity politics being a way to bring attention to groups who feel "left behind" in some way, in Israel there is a class-based identity politics movement evident in the more economically secure middle class. As Kaplan explains:

Whereas theories of identity politics tend to focus on the socially disenfranchised, we look at how the higher-ranked may use others’ essentialisation of culture and identities for their own advantages. We explain the secular middle class’s turn to Judaism as an attempt to reestablish or reclaim the social power they feel entitled to, under changing cultural, social and material conditions. [Kaplan, et al, 2017]

Kaplan’s analysis also highlights the intersection of class, culture, and politics:

In as much as Israel is an advanced-capitalist and a Jewish state, our middle-class participants have re-adjusted to the changing terms of belonging to the Israeli collectivity. In doing so, they may very well advance the ‘Judaisation’ of Israeli culture, yet not merely as an explicit political process, but also as a class distinction practice. [Kaplan, et al, 2017]

This example from Israel reminds us that even groups who generally are seen as having well-established economic, social, and political power can feel their identity is threatened and, in this case, seek to redefine important aspects of that culture to help maintain their place in the hierarchy.