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What does it mean to be "working class"?

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Are working class people ever happy with themselves?

Original post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Are working class people ever happy with themselves?

can you please take the time to explain what class and wealth have to do with happiness?

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

AperfectBalance

Original post by Allie4

can you please take the time to explain why class and wealth have to do with happiness?

While money cannot give you everything you want It can go a long long way to making you happy.

But for me money is happiness

Reply 4

Lexusaf

I've heard more stories of murder/suicides coming from the upper class than I have from the working class...

Reply 5

Giotto

Original post by Allie4

can you please take the time to explain what class and wealth have to do with happiness?

Happiness does generally improve as your pay goes up, but it plateaus around 50k per year, beyond which its impact reduces. This suggests comfort, pride and economic freedom affords you a bit more happiness because it very often buttresses how you feel about yourself. However it is relative, a lot these feelings of pride and accomplishment are defined in relation to your social circle, those you see as your equals; if your background and upbringing contained a lot of very rich people you'll feel less affluent and successful on a salary others would feel proud of. 50k seems to be an average point of typical affluence in relation to average wages.

In terms of class this again relates to how you see yourself and against whom you judge your financial success. As you get richer and richer happiness actually begins to go down, often. The extremes of the wealth scale have their own unique problems you don't generally have being only comfortably off. "Mo' money mo' problems".

In the past the working class had a specific and clear lot in life, with a clear part to play; they didn't stress about not having the Mercedes the local doctor had because they weren't supposed to have a similar lifestyle. The meritocratic aspiration culture we have now suggests that not only that no matter in what conditions you grew up you COULD achieve similar success to others, but that you SHOULD and failure to do so is embarrassing.

[Don't have sources to hand, but studies suggest the above. Also, Alain de Botton's documentary Status Anxiety I kind of paraphrased as well]

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