Class and Rich people

What, then, defines your class in 2022? Is it your job? Your salary? Your education? Fill in the blank 1 of 22 area you grew up in? Fill in the blank 2 of 22 area you live in? Your accent? Where you go on holiday? How you vote? How many steps away you are from Fill in the blank 3 of 22 destitution? Is it Fill in the blank 4 of 22 identity? All of Fill in the blank 5 of 22 above and then some?

Earlier this year, Fill in the blank 6 of 22 polling by Fill in the blank 7 of 22 New Statesman found that Fill in the blank 8 of 22 British public hugely over-estimates how working-class it is, with Fill in the blank 9 of 22 quarter of people earning £100k or more viewing themselves as “working class”. This suggests that Fill in the blank 10 of 22 class, rather than being seen as Fill in the blank 11 of 22 economic status that’s constantly subject to Fill in the blank 12 of 22 change depending on your circumstances, comes down to Fill in the blank 13 of 22 personal experiences of Fill in the blank 14 of 22 absolute minimum and Fill in the blank 15 of 22 absolute most. If you grew up in Fill in the blank 16 of 22 post-industrial town but you’re now sat on Fill in the blank 17 of 22 fat pension with Fill in the blank 18 of 22 house and two cars, you’re still likely to describe yourself as working class. Whereas Fill in the blank 19 of 22 younger person who grew up in Fill in the blank 20 of 22 suburbs with two professional parents, and now spends £850 Fill in the blank 21 of 22 month on Fill in the blank 22 of 22 rent, would be more likely to view themselves as middle class.

Clearly, we view Fill in the blank 1 of 24 class as more than Fill in the blank 2 of 24 objective socioeconomic status. It cuts across everything. It’s Fill in the blank 3 of 24 humour, Fill in the blank 4 of 24 taste and Fill in the blank 5 of 24 emotion. It’s what’s normal to you and what’s not, how you see yourself and how you see Fill in the blank 6 of 24 society. It’s Fill in the blank 7 of 24 expectations you feel, Fill in the blank 8 of 24 pressures you feel, Fill in the blank 9 of 24 way you talk to Fill in the blank 10 of 24 people. It informs how everything – from Fill in the blank 11 of 24 fashion to Fill in the blank 12 of 24 food to Fill in the blank 13 of 24 shops – are coded.

At Fill in the blank 14 of 24 end of Fill in the blank 15 of 24 day, Fill in the blank 16 of 24 British public hate Fill in the blank 17 of 24 rich. It may not seem like it, based on how much we love to elect them to make Fill in the blank 18 of 24 life-changing decisions for us, but we’re obsessed with Fill in the blank 19 of 24 idea of hating them. “Rich” is Fill in the blank 20 of 24 worst thing you could possibly be, and so nobody wants to accept their proximity to it.

When you go over someone’s house for Fill in the blank 21 of 24 first time and you thought you had Fill in the blank 22 of 24 loads in common and then you discover they have Fill in the blank 23 of 24 tennis court? Fill in the blank 24 of 24 betrayal.

When you find out that Fill in the blank 1 of 16 artist you like’s mother has Fill in the blank 2 of 16 Wikipedia page? Fill in the blank 3 of 16 scum.

Being working class is romanticised as valorous even though Fill in the blank 4 of 16 most people living in Fill in the blank 5 of 16 working-class conditions are constantly striving for Fill in the blank 6 of 16 better quality of life, and being rich is seen as Fill in the blank 7 of 16 deeply evil, individualised feature, even though it’s Fill in the blank 8 of 16 rich people that we constantly celebrate in Fill in the blank 9 of 16 pop culture across Fill in the blank 10 of 16 film, TV, music and fashion because they dominate those fields now.

It’s not surprising, then, that under this strange moral binary we’ve seen everyone from Fill in the blank 11 of 16 artists to multi-millionaires clinging on to their working-class credentials with Fill in the blank 12 of 16 vice grip. It’s Fill in the blank 13 of 16 never-ending contest of who’s had it Fill in the blank 14 of 16 worst, who’s been through Fill in the blank 15 of 16 most, who’s triumphed against Fill in the blank 16 of 16 biggest odds. Who has what? And how much do they deserve it?