The 'middle class' label

Middle class ? And dyslexic too. Oh my aren't you the lucky one.

I don't know. It could be Brighton rock.

Its definitely an insult on here. There's the whole reverse snobbery for those who go to private schools or those who come from wealthy families.

It's funny if 'middle class' is being taken as an insult, because more and more British people like to claim they are middle class when asked in surveys.

I was brought up in the middle class and so (unless I was filled with guilt and self-loathing - both sometimes identified with the MC!) I won't say it's an insult.

Actually (classic middle class sentence starter) I think there are good things about the MCs.

Upsides

* They value learning and culture and make a point of supporting both.

* Middles often yearn for things to be better and want to build a better society.

* They can be very funny - some of our best comedians are of the middling sort. I love people like David Mitchell, Miles Jupp, Ian Hislop and Tom Hollander, all solid MC figures with huge humour quotients.

* Middle class people often do very socially useful things, like being doctors, teachers, university academics, theatre producers and tax accountants.

* They spread good taste and common decency.

Downsides

* Can be reserved, stuffy and cool.

* Have a tendency to be hypocritical, especially about the morals of the other classes.

* Make a fuss about things that don't matter (designer food, the right sort of wallpaper, what's fashionable to wear at Crufts) and ignore things that do matter. (Poverty, oppression of low paid workers who clean their homes, wash their hair, empty their bins.)

* Confused as to who they are. Many working class people wrongly claim to be middle class. So do some upper class/very wealthy people. Some middle class people 'move up' and forget how it was to be in the humble middle.

* Arrogant about their position and yet whingy about it as well. Quite a few solid middles are very well off and they act superior about that, but they still moan about all the iniquities of their situations.

* Tend to vote Tory a lot. Annoyingly. Although a segment of the middles that used to vote Tory has switched to LibDem and Labour.

What is the cut off point (salary or net worth or whatever) between middle and upper?

It's not usually based on salary but occupation:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/classifications/current-standard-classifications/soc2010/soc2010-volume-3-ns-sec--rebased-on-soc2010--user-manual/index.html

There are other methods which look at economic capital and cultural capital but generally occupation is the main signifier of social class.

The very existence of the middle class is disgusting - it's a group of people that start life with more opportunities, better education and a better chance to earn more money.

cus you got so much expensive stuff lmao.

Three story house. Two cars. Horses lol

I'd disagree with that, surely it's a combination? Loads of rich kids do jobs they enjoy rather than anything particularly high powered but they don't suddenly become working class...

See, why is it upper class? You'd be surprised by the amount of people own horses.

We don't all walk around in jodphurs, talking about a spiffing day at the races. It's hard work, daily. So why is it a middle class thing?

This is actually a good summary

Haha what?

My in laws are the most working class people you are ever likely to meet. They have a large period house in a village, hence they need two cars to get to work (no public transport) and they have horses because my mother in law works with horses.

(They can afford a large house because they live in north Lincolnshire)

Yeah as I said there are other methods which I think are more reliable too but traditionally it was done on occupation and that's how the government still look at it.

This seems more appropriate (although I doubt any method could be all encompassing).


http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22007058

hmmm your are Havana good day

Your wit makes me greene with envy.

Its definitely an insult on here. There's the whole reverse snobbery for those who go to private schools or those who come from wealthy families.

Yeah that method seems better. I mean, I know some very rich people who work as retail assistants and office workers just cause they like it