tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963911182386962237.post5558929368688955611..comments2009-12-26T02:32:51.718-08:00Comments on Obsolete and unsuitable for modern living: Always worrying.Chris Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16459940033551898441noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963911182386962237.post-32927738471697970032008-12-09T01:28:00.000-08:002008-12-09T01:28:00.000-08:00Thanks Jean. In reply to the points you make;1. C...Thanks Jean. In reply to the points you make;<BR/><BR/>1. Class distinctions. I don't think that the class distinction is outmoded (this is a variant on the argument that terrace housing is obsolete). Many academics would like to think that the working class does not exist anymore but few, if any, of them spend any time in the places I am talking about. Put simply, if people still think they are working class - and if working class culture still exists - then there you are. The working class is, however, constituted in complex ways - as is the middle class. So, you are right, simple class distinctions cannot be drawn (see my book on HMR and social class for more on why this is the case). I use the broad terms on this blog to make straightforward points, without going into the complexities of class. Best to keep it straightforward because the important thing is to provide people with an entry point into the arguments. If readers of the blog are so interested, they can follow through the various complexities of it in the book; by the way the proceeds of the book go to 'Fight for Our Homes' and not me.<BR/><BR/>2. Your point about 'rising aspirations' and 'over consumption' is an interesting one. Again, I don't think it is innapropriate to equate the two. First, from a normative point of view it is entirely legitimate to suggest that the elevation of things such as housing into a symbolic economy of consumption (i.e. where we live says something about us as people, e.g. that we are middle class), as opposed to a practical economy of consumption (i.e. where we live is largely a practical matter) constitutes over consumption or whatever you want to call it. Second, aspirations are not linear. So just because you aspire to become a sociology lecturer does not mean that you are seekiing to escape on identity in order to acquire another. So some aspirations are not simply about social mobility - although this seems to be changing. For instance, a few colleages and I are starting a new and accessible magazine to encourage the circulation of radical ideas because those that used to do this (e.g. student magazines) have lost their critical edge. They seem to be increasingly seen as a step on the career ladder rather than a forum for radical ideas; with the two seemingly being incompatible. Third, there is lots of work to sugget that working class people derive a sense of authenticity from who they already are. So they do not feel that they need to aspire to things that other people have to 'improve' themselves. (Work on the middle classes suggests that they are more likely to think that authenticity is something that is achieved, as opposed to something that you alredy are!). Moreover, there is something interesting in how working and middle class people acquire aspirations. They are, of course, socially imposed and then internalised by people. I also write about how this happens in my book when I talk about the symbolic domination of working class people which results in them relating to housing in (e.g. aspirational) terms that are not their own. So, you are right, it is not just middle class people that over consume. But that is not really the important point here. The really important point in all of this is that aspirations are imposed and, furthermore, they are imposed on people that often cannot satisfy them, notably working class people. So these people then begin to feel that they are failures. But their 'failure' is nothing of the sort. It is a social creation. So you cannot look at these things outwith an understanding of how power works to oppress working class (and middle class) people. <BR/>Again, see more on this in my book. <BR/><BR/>Thanks again for your comments. I hope this reply is useful.Chris Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16459940033551898441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963911182386962237.post-83336621992380938452008-12-06T01:27:00.000-08:002008-12-06T01:27:00.000-08:00You make some interesting points here - but why do...You make some interesting points here - but why do you insist on an outmoded and simplistic working class/middle class distinction?<BR/><BR/>And don't you think it's a sloppy use of language to equate 'rising aspirations' as 'over consumption'?How, after all, did you become a sociology lecturer if not with the help of a bit of aspiration?<BR/><BR/>And even if we confine ourselves to 'over-consumption', are you sure it's only the middle classes who are infected by it?jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10020173027151815048noreply@blogger.com