Models of Contemporary Social Class: The Great British Class Survey

Abstract

Although conceptually distinctive, a comparison of the Great British Class Survey (‘GBCS’) and NS-SeC (taken to be illustrative of previous class schema) shows they produce basically similar pictures of class in contemporary Britain. Among the advantaged, GBCS usefully separates off a very rich class, and technical professionals, from the established middle class (although with some problems of cut-off points of financial advantage, and the concept of ‘elite’). However, the intermediate classes remain an area of less clarity in both schemes. Among the less advantaged, substantial age differences prompt reflection about economic history, and the extent to which cultural capital captured as differences in consumption behaviour is actually bounded by fashion and material circumstances. Although NS-SeC is preferred for its practical utility, the measurement of occupational groups remains problematic, indicating the continued need to improve the tools of class analysis.