Production piece: 'Class Division and Politics: More prominent than ever?'
An article written in the Guardian discussing the issue of class inequalities in modern day Britain and the impact this within today's political climate.
DEVISING MY TOPIC AND APPROACH
Due to my particular interest in the module topic 'class', I chose to produce an article written for The Guardian regarding whether class division still exists within today's modern UK society. The 'social class' debate is forever on-going, and has been for some time. My aim was to find out people's opinions on whether class still divides us as a society, whilst studying the impact class has on our society as a whole - particularly politically.
Learning about Class within the module 'Media, Identities and Representations', Contextual Research
Throughout the module I have studied the 'British problem of class' and really analysed how this still effects our society today. As mentioned, my particular interest has been in class politics.
Background
In the UK, politics are divided into Left Wing and Right Wing ideas and beliefs; While Left leaning views are associated with socialism and equality for the both the economy and society, Right wing views are seen to express views which believe in privatisation and
capitalism. It has been interesting to study social classes within this module as I have found a passion and interest for identity and class politics, therefore carrying out my own primary research was very insightful and thought-provoking.
Definitions:
Identity politics: those from a particular background, ethnicity, religion etc. establish 'political alliances' and as a result shift from 'traditional politics'
Class politics: often understood in terms of class alignment (when a particular social class are aligned to a specific particular party which represents their needs). The study of politics, voting behaviour and electoral results in terms of 'social class' across society
My approach: Online Survey
To obtain both qualitative and quantitative data, I chose to conduct an online survey asking specific questions related to the topic 'does class division still exist in today's society?'
Quantitative data questions:
- What is your age?
- What is your gender?
- Which of the following best describes your current occupation?
- In which sector were you educated?
- Would you consider yourself as either of the following (working class, middle class, upper class, other)?
Asking what social class respondents' described themselves as was key for my survey, as it would show me whether people do still refer to themselves as part of a social class - and if not, why?
Qualitative data questions (and examples of answers):
- What does the term 'class' mean to you, and how do you believe it is defined? (E.g. economic capital, lifestyle choices, upbringing, job status)
- In today's society, do you think that people refer to their lifestyles through traditional class ideas?
- Do you believe class division still exists in today's society, and why?
- In terms of class politics, do you believe that certain 'classes' are likely to be aligned to specific political parties?
- Do you think that in today's society it is right to label yourself under a particular class group?
Here are some examples of respondents' answers to the above questions:
I found many interesting statistics, which confirmed that class divisions do still exist in today's society. I also converted my qualitative data responses into statistics and found
- 98% of respondents believed class division still exists in today's society
- 18% of respondents occasionally refer to their lifestyles through traditional class ideas
- 62% of respondents thought it was inappropriate to use traditional class ideas in today's society
- 63% of respondents believed that particular 'social classes' are aligned to certain political parties, 18% believed this is the case in some circumstances and 8% thought this was not the case
WHO IS THE PRODUCTION AIMED AT
As the production piece is written for The Guardian, it is therefore aimed at their readership audience. The Guardian is well known for writing for a 'well-educated' audience and predominately young. The newspaper is Left-wing leaning and contains liberal articles covering current affairs, politics, the environment, culture, business and travel.
As someone who doesn't read The Guardian, it was quite difficult to get into the style of writing like a journalist for the set newspaper would however I found myself getting into it after a while. My reason for choosing the Guardian in particular, was due to my topic matter - I felt it would be most suitably placed in a more informative and educated newspaper as oppose to one that focuses on showbiz or celebrity culture (which would definitely not have fitted).
MEDIA TEXTS THAT INSPIRED MY PRODUCTION
I was initially inspired through my previous studies at A-level within Sociology, and during the lectures focusing on class throughout the module, to create a production piece based on class. After I decided on my topic, I researched into documents and books with could provide me with further knowledge on the topic.
These books include:
- Representation (Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices) - Stuart Hall
- Identity and Difference - Kathryn Woodward
WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T ABOUT MY FINISHED PIECE
What works
I have enjoyed putting the layout of my production piece, after playing around with Photoshop and realising I was finding it increasingly difficult, I decided to create the piece on Microsoft Publisher - this made the process a lot smoother and less stressful to create. I have chosen appropriate photos to fit along side the article (although I did find it hard to find recent modern day examples), I think the photos I eventually chose work well with the chosen topic.
I have used The Guardian's colours throughout my double page newspaper spread, in order to make the piece look as close to a newspaper article in The Guardian as possible. Overall, I am very pleased with the layout of my newspaper spread.
The main article is spread across the top of both pages, and the piece produces an extra article below related to current political and environmental affairs - this is purely just to give the effect of a double page spread in a newspaper which typically contains multiple stories.
What doesn't work
I found it really difficult to fit my qualitative data into the article, after browsing through articles in The Guardian it was clear to see that the newspaper produced more facts and statistics than it did interviews and lengthy opinions. Therefore in hindsight I wish I had asked more quantitative questions, and possibly more specific to class politics rather than 'class inequalities' as a whole.
I therefore think that I didn't use a lot of my data from my primary research, and focused more on secondary research which may have steered me a little bit away from my original question: 'do class divisions still exist in today's modern society?'.
I further struggled to switch from more informative essay-style writing to a journalistic approach, which I feel shows at some points throughout my work.
MY ETHICAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY PROCESS
As I only conducted a survey for primary research, there was no consent/ethical form necessary for my study. I did however make sure every respondent was over the age of 18, which was specified when I shared the survey across social media. It was also made clear that all answers would remain anonymous.
HOW MY PRODUCTION PIECE LINKED TO THEORIES WE HAVE STUDIED THROUGHOUT THE MODULE
In terms of traditional class ideas, my production piece very much links to theories we have studied throughout the module as many of these theories are based from ideas of class and the economy.
Roberts 2011: 'social class groups together people with similar ways of making their living, that is, people in similar occupations'
Marxist Theory
Marxism is a structural conflict theory founded by Karl Marx. Marx believed that the capitalist state solely benefits the ruling class (the bourgeoisie - who own the means of production) through exploiting the working class (the proletariat). Marx described society as divided into these two classes, in which this is damaging to the structures of society.
Aspects of Marxism may explain class alignment in modern society. An example of this would be 'class consciousness' - a term used by Marx to explain an individual's awareness of their place in the social class system. This may still be happening in today's society - the 'lower class' are aware of their place in the class system and therefore vote for particular parties which favour their interests (therefore aligning themselves to a certain party).
Weberian Theory
Max Weber's theories can also be used to explain class inequalities within society; also known as the 'three class system' or the 'three-component theory of stratification'. Weberian theory describes class as:
1) Those who have a 'casual component' of their life in common
2) This 'component' has to do purely with economic goods and possession of capital
3) This 'component' is represented within the 'conditions' or the labour market
Weberian theory links those who are of high power and class to with high economic capital and status. Those who are not of higher power and class are therefore linked with low economic status. This explanation of hierarchy can be applied to class theories today, e.g. those of 'lower economic status' are likely to be of lower class and therefore are likened to left-leaning views as these are the ones which are more involved in socialism and economic equality. On the other hand, those of higher economic status are linked to power and finding themselves higher up within the hierarchy. It can be viewed that those of higher class and status are more likely to vote towards the right, as this is economically more beneficial for their lifestyles.
This can also be linked back to Marxism in which those who earn the means of production, and are at the top of the social ladder are more likely to vote more towards the right.
References
Text:
Representation (Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices) - Stuart Hall 1997
Identity and Difference - Kathryn Woodward 1997
Document - UK Politics 'How to use 2015 general election examples in exam questions' Rowena Hammal September 2015
Web Links:
www.theguardian.com/politics
www.theguardian.com/environment https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/02/tory-cuts-wrecking-uk-flood-defences
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/03/lack-of-working-class-labour-mps-has-alienated-voters
Images in production piece:
NRS Social Stratification System
The Class Sketch
York Floods 1
York Floods 2
Cumbria Floods
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