Class categories and the subjective dimension of class: the case of Denmark

Abstract

Class relations have been proven to affect various aspects of social life, even in modern individualized societies. However, following claims on individualization and the so-called 'death of class' thesis, studying the subjective dimension of class - that is, the way individuals perceive of class relations and their own position within them - has gone out of style. We argue that even in equalized societies, subjective class perceptions may still influence attitudes and behaviour as they evolve to fit modern class relations. To explore the existence as well as structure and content of perceived social classes, this article investigates how people describe society and social groups in focus group discussions. We find that groups in different positions in terms of education and economy all tend to apply hierarchical class categories to describe Danish society, which is normally seen as one of the most equal societies and political systems in the world. In addition, we find that economic resources serve as a baseline for the hierarchical ordering, often supplemented with notions of education, lifestyle and/or occupational profile. Even though people are somewhat uncomfortable with the notion of class, their descriptions of Danish society and classes are surprisingly similar within and across groups. We conclude that not only do class relations matter; people are also highly aware of the existing classes and able to position themselves and others according to their notion of classes.

Keywords: Bourdieu; Denmark; Social class; class categories; class consciousness; focus groups.