Exploring the Reemergence of Social Class in Contemporary Society: An Analysis of the Influence of Social Class on Individuals’ Economic Perceptions
Keywords:
class consciousness, economic interpretations, political participation, stratification impact, perception formationAbstract
This article aims at investigating the contemporary impact of social class on economic perceptions in Romania. Contrary to arguments suggesting the diminishing relevance of social class in the face of new social divisions and a shift away from class-based politics, this research posits that social class remains a critical determinant of individuals' views on economic conditions. To test the hypotheses, this article employs individual-level data from the 2012 Romanian Election Study (RES), with a sample of 1.300 participants, all of whom are aged 18 and above. Using OLS regression models, the analysis seeks to deepen understanding of how social stratification shapes economic outlooks and, consequently, political choices in a changing world. The findings underscore the importance of social class in shaping individuals' economic interpretation, contributing to a deeper academic discourse on the connections between social stratification, economic viewpoints, and democratic involvement.
Downloads
References
Achterberg, Peter. 2006. “Class Voting in the New Political Culture: Economic, Cultural and Environmental Voting in 20 Western Countries.” International Sociology 21 (2): 237–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0268580906061378.
Akinbile, La. 2007. “Standardization of Socio-Economic Status (SES) Scale for Farm Families in South West Nigeria.” Journal of Social Sciences 14 (3): 221–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2007.11978352.
Andersen, Robert. 2005. “Class Politics and Political Context in Britain, 1964-1997: Have Voters Become More Individualized?” European Sociological Review 22 (2): 215–28. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jci053.
Andersen, Robert, and Josh Curtis. 2012. “The Polarizing Effect of Economic Inequality on Class Identification: Evidence from 44 Countries.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Inequality across the Globe, 30 (1): 129–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2012.01.002.
Argyle, Michael. 1994. The Psychology of Social Class. Psychology Press.
Barone, Carlo, Florian R. Hertel, and Oscar Smallenbroek. 2022. “The Rise of Income and the Demise of Class and Social Status? A Systematic Review of Measures of Socio-Economic Position in Stratification Research.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 78 (April):100678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2022.100678.
Bathmaker, Ann-Marie, Nicola Ingram, Jessie Abrahams, Anthony Hoare, Richard Waller, and Harriet Bradley. 2016. Higher Education, Social Class and Social Mobility: The Degree Generation. Springer.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 2002. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. 11th ed. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Univ. Press.
———. 2011. “The Forms of Capital.” In The Sociology of Economic Life, 3rd ed. Routledge.
Ceka, Besir, and Pedro C. Magalh˜aes. 2020. “Do the Rich and the Poor Have Different Conceptions of Democracy? Socioeconomic Status, Inequality, and the Political Status Quo.” Comparative Politics 52 (3): 383–403.
Clark, Terry Nichols, Seymour Martin Lipset, and Michael Rempel. 1993. “The declining political significance of social class.” International Sociology 8 (3): 293–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/026858093008003003.
Connelly, Roxanne, Vernon Gayle, and Paul S. Lambert. 2016. “A Review of Occupation-Based Social Classifications for Social Survey Research.” Methodological Innovations 9 (January):2059799116638003. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059799116638003.
Curtis, Josh. 2013. “Middle Class Identity in the Modern World: How Politics and Economics Matter.” Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie 50 (2): 203–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/cars.12012.
Dahrendorf, Ralf. 2022. Class and Conflict in an Industrial Society. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003260257.
David, Miriam E. 2005. “Fiona Devine (2004), Class Practices – How Parents Help Children Get Good Jobs, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 285 Pp., £16.99, Pbk, ISBN 0521006538 Dalton Conley and Karen Albright (Eds) (2004), After the Bell – Family Background, Public Policy and Educational Success, London and New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 337 Pp., £70 Hbk, ISBN 0415308968.” Journal of Social Policy 34 (2): 331–33. https://doi.org/10.1017/S004727940534880X.
Devine, Fiona, Mike Savage, John Scott, and Rosemary Crompton. 2005. Rethinking Class: Cultures, Identities and Lifestyles. Macmillan Education UK.
Dey, Sumit, Vandana Upadhyay, and Manish Chouhan. 2022. “‘What Determines Socio-Economic Status and What Reflects It?’—Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling Approach.” Journal of Development Policy and Practice 7 (2): 206–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/24551333221078069.
Dolan, Kathleen A., and Thomas M. Holbrook. 2001. “Knowing Versus Caring: The Role of Affect and Cognition in Political Perceptions.” Political Psychology 22 (1): 27–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895X.00224.
Eltis, Walter. A. 1975. “Francois Quesnay: A Reinterpretation 1. The Tableau Economique.” Oxford Economic Papers 27 (2): 167–200.
Erikson, Robert, and John H. Goldthorpe. 1992. The Constant Flux: A Study of Class Mobility in Industrial Societies. Clarendon Press.
Erikson, Robert S., Michael B. Mackuen, James A. Stimson, and mes A. Stimson. 2002. The Macro Polity. Cambridge University Press.
Evans, Geoffrey, and Nan Dirk de Graaf. 2013. Political Choice Matters: Explaining the Strength of Class and Religious Cleavages in Cross-National Perspective. OUP Oxford.
Evans, Mariah Debra Ruperti. 2004. “Subjective Social Location: Data From 21 Nations.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research 16 (1): 3–38. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/16.1.3.
Ganzeboom, Harry B. G., Paul M. De Graaf, and Donald J. Treiman. 1992. “A Standard International Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status.” Social Science Research 21 (1): 1–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/0049-089X(92)90017-B.
Gordon, Sarah. 2000. Flannery O’Connor: The Obedient Imagination. University of Georgia Press.
Harrits, Gitte Sommer, Annick Prieur, Lennart Rosenlund, and Jakob Skjott-Larsen. 2010. “Class and Politics in Denmark: Are Both Old and New Politics Structured by Class?” Scandinavian Political Studies 33 (1): 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2008.00232.x.
Inglehart, Ronald. 1977. “Values, Objective Needs, and Subjective Satisfaction Among Western Publics.” Comparative Political Studies 9 (4): 429–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/001041407700900403.
Inglehart, Ronald, and Paul R. Abramson. 1994. “Economic Security and Value Change.” American Political Science Review 88 (2): 336–54. https://doi.org/10.2307/2944708.
Inglehart, Ronald F., Miguel Basanez, and Alejandro Moreno. 1998. Human Values and Beliefs: A Cross-Cultural Sourcebook. University of Michigan Press.
Kingston, Paul W. 2000. The Classless Society. Stanford University Press.
Kuklinski, James H, and Paul J Quirk. 2001. “Conceptual Foundations of Citizen Competence.” Political Behavior 23 (3).
Kwan, L. 2001. “Class Matters.” Indicators of Social Development 2 (139).
Levine, Mark, Amy Prosser, David Evans, and Stephen Reicher. 2005. “Identity and Emergency Intervention: How Social Group Membership and Inclusiveness of Group Boundaries Shape Helping Behavior.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 31 (4). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167204271651.
Linsi, Lukas, Daniel Mügge, and Ana Carillo-López. 2022. “The Delusive Economy: How Information and Affect Colour Perceptions of National Economic Performance.” Acta Politica, September. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-022-00258-3.
Manstead, Antony S. R. 2018. “The Psychology of Social Class: How Socioeconomic Status Impacts Thought, Feelings, and Behaviour.” British Journal of Social Psychology 57 (2): 267–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12251.
Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. 2015. Manifestul Partidului Comunist. amalgama.
McMillan, Julie, and L Jones. 2006. “A New Scale for Measuring Socioeconomic Status in Educational Research: Development and Validation of the Australian Socioeconomic Index 2006 (AUSEI06).” InAARE International Education Research Conference, Canberra.
Neuwirth, Kurt, and Edward Frederick. 2002. “Extending the Framework of Third-, First-, and Second-Person Effects.” Mass Communication and Society 5 (2): 113–40. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327825MCS0502_2.
Noord, Jochem van, Bram Spruyt, Toon Kuppens, and Russell Spears. 2019. “Education-Based Status in Comparative Perspective: The Legitimization of Education as a Basis for Social Stratification.” Social Forces 98 (2): 649–76.
Pakulski, Jan, and Malcolm Waters. 1996. The Death of Class. SAGE.
Powers, Mary G. 1983. “Measures of Socioeconomic Status: An Introduction.” In Measures Of Socioeconomic Status. Routledge.
Quesnay (1758). Tableau oeconomique. Facsimile of the 1st edition. London: Macmillan & co, 1894
Ramaekers, Marlou, Twan Karremans, Marcel Lubbers, and Mark Visser. 2022. “Social Class, Economic and Political Grievances and Radical Left Voting: The Role of Macroeconomic Performance.” European Societies 0 (0): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2022.2127829.
Rosenlund, Lennart. 2000. Social Structure and Social Change. Applying Pierre Bourdieu’s Approach and Analytical Framework. Doctoral Dissertation. Stavanger University College.
Smith, Adam. 1987. The Essential Adam Smith. W. W. Norton & Company.
Stoica, Catalin Augustin. 2022. Introducere în studiul stratificării și mobilității sociale. Tritonic. https://www.libris.ro/introducere-in-studiul-stratificarii-si-TRO978-606-749-591-1--p27708681.html.
Voicu, Mălina. 2005. Ce fel de bunăstare își doresc românii? Despre legitimitatea politicilor sociale în România. Iași: Expert Projects. https://bibliotecadesociologie.ro/en/download/voicu-malina-2005-ce-fel-de-bunastare-isi-doresc-romanii-despre-legitimitatea-politicilor-sociale-in-romania-iasi-expert-projects/.
Waglé, Udaya R. 2008. “Multidimensional Poverty: An Alternative Measurement Approach for the United States?” Social Science Research 37 (2): 559–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2007.06.013.
Weber, Max. 1978. Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Univ of California Press.
———. 2019. Economy and Society: A New Translation. Harvard University Press.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.