Social classes Social classes The Ancient Greek term aristocracy meant a system of government with "rule by the best". This is the first definition given in most dictionaries. The word is derived from two words, "aristo" meaning the "best" and "kratia" "to rule". Because everyone has different ideas about what is "best", especially in relation to government, the term is tricky to apply in this sense. Aristocracies have most often been hereditary plutocracies (see below), where a sense of historical gravitas and noblesse oblige demands high minded action from its members. ...more on Wikipedia about "Aristocracy"
A blue-collar worker is a working class employee who performs manual or technical labor, such as in a factory or in technical maintenance "trades," in contrast to a white-collar worker, who does non-manual work generally at a desk. ...more on Wikipedia about "Blue-collar worker"
Bourgeoisie ( RP [ ], GA [ ]) in modern use refers to the wealthy or propertied social class in a capitalist society. ...more on Wikipedia about "Bourgeoisie"
Before the Industrial Revolution, the gentry was located between the yeomanry and the nobility. Unlike the yeomen, the gentry did not work the land themselves; instead, they hired tenant farmers. Unlike the nobility, they lacked hereditary titles and privileges. ...more on Wikipedia about "Gentry"
The middle class refers to people neither at the top nor bottom of a social hierarchy. In today's usage, the term is often applied to people who have a degree of economic independence, but not a great deal of social influence or power in their society. For example, in the United States, a small-business owner who owns her own home and cleans it herself would generally be described as "middle class". This would be in contrast to a lower-class person who relies upon the good graces of an employer and landlord, as well as to an upper-class person who can live off investments. There are many things that define middle class such as financial, behavioural and historic grounds. In the US it is predominantly finance that determines the social hierarchy. To a great extent an old school tie and the associated accent, rather than financial status, are still defining characteristics of the upper-middle classes in the UK. ...more on Wikipedia about "Middle class"
The nobility represents, or has represented, the higher stratum of a society in which social classes can be distinguished. The most distinctive feature of nobilty is that once acquired, it is passed to descendants, possibly according to some rules. The word "noble" in "nobility" also means "doing an act worthy of respect" to people. ...more on Wikipedia about "Nobility"
Poor White is an American novel by Sherwood Anderson. Published in 1920, it is considered one of Anderson's best works. It is the story of an inventor, Hugh McVey, who rises from poverty on the bank of the Mississippi River. The novel shows the influence of industrialism on the rural heartland of America. ...more on Wikipedia about "Poor White"
The term robber baron dates back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, originally referring to certain feudal lords of land through which the Rhine River in Europe flowed. They abused their positions by stopping passing merchant ships and demanding tolls without being authorized by the Holy Roman Emperor to do so. ...more on Wikipedia about "Robber baron"
Robber baron was a term revived in the 19th century in the United States as a pejorative reference to businessmen who dominated their relevant industries and amassed huge personal fortunes, typically as a direct result of pursuing various anti-competitive or unfair business practices. The term may now be used in relation to any businessman who is perceived to have used questionable business practices in order to become powerful or wealthy. ...more on Wikipedia about "Robber baron (industrialist)"
Sharecropping or sharefarming is a system of farming in which farmers work a parcel of land which they do not own in return for a portion of the parcel's crop production and/or a wage. The system occurred extensively in colonial Africa, Scotland, and Ireland and came into wide use in the United States during the Reconstruction era ( 1865- 1876), and is used in many rural poor areas today, notably in India. This system has more than a passing similarity to feudal serfdom, and is distinguished from it by the fact that sharecroppers have the legal right to leave their land and to conduct their private lives as they see fit, and the fact that the landowner has no legal rights over them. In practice, these legal rights do not necessarily prevail, however. ...more on Wikipedia about "Sharecropping"
The term upper class refers to a group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Often members of an upper class do not have to work for a living as they are supported by earned or inherited investments. Members of an upper class often have power over other people as employers or landlords, or sometimes as members of a government. The term "upper class" has had a complex range of meanings and usages, and in the 21st century many people are uncomfortable with it as a term and as a concept. In many traditional societies, membership of the upper class was hard or even impossible to acquire by any means other than being born into it. Nowadays a high income can be enough on its own for a person to be considered upper class in some countries, especially in the United States. Other factors such as attitudes, tastes, education, occupation and accents are often relevant. ...more on Wikipedia about "Upper class"
WASP (an acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) is a term that denotes the culture, customs, and heritage of the American elite Establishment. The term was first used by Irish Catholics to designate an adversarial relationship between the Celts (themselves) and the "Anglo-Saxons" (the English). It was popularized by sociologist E. Digby Baltzell in his 1964 book The Protestant Establishment: Aristocracy & Caste in America. The term is vague and can be stretched or compressed by different writers. Baltzell originally included focused on a small, rich upper class. Others add the descendants of colonial-era British ( Yankee) immigrants—especially from England, but also people descended from Scots Irish, Welsh and Scottish gentry (irrespective of the fact that such immigrants were predominantly descended from Celts, rather than Angles or Saxons)—who belonged to the Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Episcopalian ( Anglican) denominations of Protestantism. Working class whites are usually not designated WASPS. The WASP designation also usually includes persons of Dutch descent such as the Vanderbilts and Roosevelts, although some, such as Theodore Roosevelt have vigorously rejected the term. ...more on Wikipedia about "WASP"
White-collar workers perform tasks which are less "physically laborious" yet often more highly paid than blue-collar workers, who do manual work. They are salaried professionals (such as some doctors or lawyers), as well as employees in administrative or clerical positions. In some studies, managers are considered as part of the white-collar worker grouping, in others they are not. The name derives from the traditional white, button down shirts worn by workers of such professions. The white shirts are easily soiled and therefore distinguish the workers who "do not get their hands dirty." ...more on Wikipedia about "White-collar worker"
The working class is a social class often contrasted with middle class and upper class in terms of the nature of work undertaken ( manual labor or skilled), the level of remuneration (typically low hourly rates although there are exceptions) and access to resources (limited access to capital, education and land). People in this class often rely on payment for their labour to survive. The defining characteristic is the dependence on wage-labor (or salaried employment). ...more on Wikipedia about "Working class"
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