Philosophy
I've been listening to an interesting series of stories on NPR this week about the notion "middle class." Turns out that if you ask almost anyone where they fall on the socio-economic ladder, the answer will almost universally come back "middle class." But if you ask "Are you lower class, working class, middle class, or upper class," the answers will split evenly between working class and middle class.
So the question they asked, which I'd like to play with here, is what does the phrase "middle class" mean? Are middle class and working class mutually exclusive or is working class a subset of middle class, or do they intersect in part? Is it purely defined by income or is it lifestyle?
- The Social Meaning Of The Mohawk
The area I call home has a curious mix of folks. Traditionally a blue-collar rural area, it lies in the overlap of the McMansion belt of the suburban sprawls of both D.C. and Baltimore. As a result, there is an interesting socio-economic stew. In the...
- Soccer As Class Indicator
On the flight home last night, I was talking with a couple who had an adult child who was a lawyer and raising their grandchildren in a typically upper/upper-middle class suburban fashion. One element was to put the child in an orgnaized soccer league...
- On Taste And Class
I had a student write a fascinating thesis this semester on taste. On the one hand, taste is a direct sensory experience, on the other hand it is mediated by a huge number of environmental and biographical factors, some of which are class related. Think...
- Meditation On The Middle Class
In his writings on society and education in first decades of the 20th century, Hans Reichenbach argued that structural change would most likely have to be led by the emerging German middle class. The upper class had too much invested in the status quo...
- Monkey Threatdown!
Until this week, I have been working under the assumption that my blog readership was made up entirely of intelligent and curious people, but now that scientists have figured out Campbell's monkeys have a rich and sophisticated language and vocabulary,...
Philosophy
Middle Class
I've been listening to an interesting series of stories on NPR this week about the notion "middle class." Turns out that if you ask almost anyone where they fall on the socio-economic ladder, the answer will almost universally come back "middle class." But if you ask "Are you lower class, working class, middle class, or upper class," the answers will split evenly between working class and middle class.
So the question they asked, which I'd like to play with here, is what does the phrase "middle class" mean? Are middle class and working class mutually exclusive or is working class a subset of middle class, or do they intersect in part? Is it purely defined by income or is it lifestyle?
- The Social Meaning Of The Mohawk
The area I call home has a curious mix of folks. Traditionally a blue-collar rural area, it lies in the overlap of the McMansion belt of the suburban sprawls of both D.C. and Baltimore. As a result, there is an interesting socio-economic stew. In the...
- Soccer As Class Indicator
On the flight home last night, I was talking with a couple who had an adult child who was a lawyer and raising their grandchildren in a typically upper/upper-middle class suburban fashion. One element was to put the child in an orgnaized soccer league...
- On Taste And Class
I had a student write a fascinating thesis this semester on taste. On the one hand, taste is a direct sensory experience, on the other hand it is mediated by a huge number of environmental and biographical factors, some of which are class related. Think...
- Meditation On The Middle Class
In his writings on society and education in first decades of the 20th century, Hans Reichenbach argued that structural change would most likely have to be led by the emerging German middle class. The upper class had too much invested in the status quo...
- Monkey Threatdown!
Until this week, I have been working under the assumption that my blog readership was made up entirely of intelligent and curious people, but now that scientists have figured out Campbell's monkeys have a rich and sophisticated language and vocabulary,...