We are all ordinary people

Abstract

This paper examines people’s perceptions of class and class differences—in general and with regard to personal relationships. Data from an original survey on personal networks (n=195) shows that most people think they are middle class, although many lower class respondents classify themselves as working class. In addition, according to respondents, most of their network members have a similar class position. Follow-up in-depth interviews with 27 respondents focus on respondents’ criteria for classification and reveal that people perceive themselves as middle class not so much because their network is class-homogeneous (and people thus fail to recognize the class hierarchy) but rather because they contrast themselves with people of higher and lower class positions, finding themselves ‘in the middle’—sometimes articulated as ‘ordinary’ or ‘average’—and thus middle class. People further recognize class hierarchy and the complexity of class, pinpointing various aspects of class. Although people were quite willing and able to classify themselves and their network members, they seem less willing to recognize a class hierarchy, stressing that people are equal, ‘downgrading’ the upper class and ‘upgrading’ network members. Finally, I suggest that class-talk is ‘classed’ itself: those who saw class only in terms of income are mostly lower-educated while those who saw class also in terms of practices and taste are mostly higher-educated. The conclusion elaborates on what this might mean for the recognition of inequality and the engagement of urban middle class with urban residents of lower class positions.