The Great British Class System, Explained

Today we explore the history and future of the British Class system.

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[ericdane]

I like how in The Gentlemen Guy Ritchy states that "English nobility are the original gangsters."
They grabbed power & money via violence, then solidified their position by pretending they were 'noble'.

[luwilliams]

I’m from a working class family and went to Oxford Uni and it was truly eye opening 😅 I didn’t know that a whole group of society didn’t have to work until I met people who thought I was joking when I said my dad delivered pizza.

[likatalikata]

I'm Kenyan and my country's colonial history was literally built on the British class system where the British aristocracy sent their scions to start a feudal state in Africa complete with castles, manors and landed gentry with white aristocratic Brits as the ruling class, Indians/Pakistanis taking up the merchant class and Africans acting as the serfs....it lasted for 60 years with an African revolt on the unjust system leading to independence.

Now the curious part is Kenya still retained the class system. Only now in 2024 we have African political leaders as the landed gentry with a few remnants of the old British aristocracy. Both black and white still aspire to send their children to the elite UK schools, speak with the same posh accents and come back home to take key positions in Kenya's economic and social spaces. The Indians also rose up the economic ladder to form the upper middle class and wealthy merchants (part of Rishi Sunak's background is from this part of Kenyan society). The black Africans span the entire spectrum of the classes with almost the same attitudes and dynamics as described in the video.

At least now I understand the origins of my country's class structure better after watching this.

[r.hagenau]

It is rather simple: Lower Classes -- they are owned. Middle Class -- they own themselves. Upper Class -- they own others. Or in economic terms terms: Lower Classes -- living day by day, no assets, no access to capital. Middle Class -- they own as personal assets what they utilize, but need to work for a living, some have capital. Upper Class -- no need to work, living off capital gains, own and control resources and societal narrative.

[matthewcoombs]

When you understand that Britain is an unreformed feudal society, a lot makes sense. Where I live in West Berkshire 40% of the district is still owned by three families.

[ctlspl]

In Germany aristocrats were expected to become officers in the army. It was sort of a unwritten contract, that they had to repay their privileges by serving the King / Kaiser/ Führer.

[TheFearlessArtsJon]

I’ve lived in council flats my entire life. Went to one of the worst schools in the country, but still entered Uni I am now just finishing up my degree in Psychology, working 50+ hours a week in a mental health ward. I’ll work hard enough to make a comfortable living in future. But that’s not to say it was easy, Uni exposed me to people who weren’t always struggling and it took a while to come to terms with the fact that I will have to work harder than some to achieve the same.

The working class are looked down upon as lazy when it’s frankly untrue, I know some many people from within my town that were smarter than I, could’ve done incredible things if their families didn’t experience these struggles or if the schools were better. I got lucky in so many different ways to be in the position to finish university but others aren’t and it hurts because they shouldn’t be. The country needs to do better.

[Drakelett]

Working class: Uneducated
Middle class: Educated
Upper class: Inherited

[harrywelfare]

squarespace keepin this guy off the streets fr

[rocktcatU]

Anytime an aristocrat goes broke, a chav receives his Adidas tracksuit.

[hassenmh]

Great job 👏🏽 I'm a French guy living in the UK for 5 years and it always amazed me how class based Britain is, I never really understood. Without the French revolution we would have the same class divide today

[merigarcia]

Let’s be honest here: if the UK truly wanted an equal society, they would start from the very bottom with high-quality, affordable (or free) education. Replicating the Nordic model, as seen in Finland, is the best example. Having lived in both the UK and Finland for a long time, I can tell you the difference in how society functions in each is abysmal.

In the UK, there are so many elites in the upper spheres who’d start trembling at the very thought that maybe their historical privileges would go down the drain a few generations down the line if we actually used a meritocratic system. Imagine this: if everyone received the same high-quality education and qualified for the best public universities based on merit, they’d have the skills and knowledge to apply for the jobs they are most qualified for, purely based on merit. At this point, we would have a final sample of people who are there for purely meritocratic reasons.

Let’s cut the nonsense about the idea that “some” Eton kids are middle class who just work hard. That’s bullshit! The price tag is too high to enter that “equality” illusion.

[CrazyMama]

I'm a lower class disabled single mum on benefits, not due to choice, but I sound upper middle class because I was taught to speak with a BBC British accent (I had to learn local regional accents to fit in in my peer group). It is hilarious when talking to people, especially middle class people who love chatting with me, at the theatre or a cafe in town, for example, they love talking or debating philosophy, politics or theology (the top subjects I've noticed), until they find out I'm on benefits then suddenly they're extremely confused and trying to hide their disgust 😂

[xiaomoogle]

My accent betrays me in some ways. I sound posh. My dad was a builder and my mum grew up in total poverty (but in a loving family). I went to a private school on an assisted place (because my parents couldn't afford the fees but I did so well in the entrance exam). I was kicked out of home while still at school when my mum died and my dad married a narcissist. I then self funded my way through the rest of my life with no financial aid. I developed anxiety, depression and chronic pain on the way - now I am over all of that and have a well paid job in London. I'm really proud of myself. However, I now get slapped with 'privileged white woman' in multi cultural intersectional victimhood loving London. It's a joke tbh. Growing up with no family support is really stressful on your body and mind, regardless of your background or skin colour. Having a loving, supporting family is the greatest privilege anyone can be blessed with, in my opinion. I do feel I've had to work twice as hard to get to where I am.

[magules]

Charles Dance literally changed his lower class accent to an upper class one with a dialect coach when he went into acting. I watched him having lunch with his brother on Finding Your Roots and they sound completely different.

[occamsfarm]

I think it was on the Second Thought that I heard: There is no middle class, upper class or lower class. There's only working class and the ruling class. If you have to work to get through the month and don't get to call the shots, you're working class.

I liked that painful reality check.

[helenagackowska]

Using Stepen Merchants face when you talk about the merchant class is cracking me up so much lool

[Alex-cwrz]

Seen as the election has been announced it becomes official that this is the first time in British history where living standards have dropped during a single Parliament and it is the largest drop in living standards since the Napoleonic war. And at the same time the richest in society have got a lot richer deepening the divide.

[Campaigner]

As a Swede (Scandinavian) the UKs classism sounds so old fashioned and weird.

[GolerGkA]

Working class didn't lead revolutions around Europe. They provided the muscle, but revolutions were led by middle class and counter-Elite. Most of the victims of the French revolution were peasants from Vendee region. Most of the people who rose to power in French revolution were upper-middle class. Same in Russian revolution and most others.