The quote, “Britain is a nation divided by class whereas the US continues to be a classless society” is only partially true; both Great Britain (GB) and the United States of America (USA) are divided by social classes. However, at one point in time, roughly about the late 1900’s, the quote was highly debatable. The United States of America and other countries thought that there was little class differentiation in the USA and the social class system consisted mostly of the middle class. Michael Zweig’s “The Working Class Majority: America’s Best Kept Secret,” published in 2000, is a great example of why it was a controversy and how class systems existed in the USA even then. If there was not a myth surrounding America’s social classes, there would be no need for a book and countless others, debating class
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Statistics from 1988 show that in both countries the proletariate, otherwise known as the working class or middle class, were the largest group, containing about 42% of the population, 62% if semi credential workers are included. Whereas the bourgeoisie, also known as the wealthy, were 1.8% of the population in America, which is now known as the 1%, and the 2% in Great Britain (Fiona 22). Great Britain and USA have such similar class structures because they both experienced an Industrial Boom around the same time and occupational change in the economic sphere due to that boom, followed by a decline in manufacturing and a growing need for low level, service jobs. In both countries, this meant there was a decline in working class and a rise in the middle class, which by definition covers a large range of people in various socio-economic statuses and pay levels (Fiona
Statistics from 1988 show that in both countries the proletariate, otherwise known as the working class or middle class, were the largest group, containing about 42% of the population, 62% if semi credential workers are included. Whereas the bourgeoisie, also known as the wealthy, were 1.8% of the population in America, which is now known as the 1%, and the 2% in Great Britain (Fiona 22). Great Britain and USA have such similar class structures because they both experienced an Industrial Boom around the same time and occupational change in the economic sphere due to that boom, followed by a decline in manufacturing and a growing need for low level, service jobs. In both countries, this meant there was a decline in working class and a rise in the middle class, which by definition covers a large range of people in various socio-economic statuses and pay levels (Fiona