Social class, wealth and multidimensional inequalities: the Great British Class Survey after ten years

Savage, Mike ORCID: 0000-0003-4563-9564 (2025) Social class, wealth and multidimensional inequalities: the Great British Class Survey after ten years. Mens & Maatschappij, 100 (2). 126 - 142. ISSN 0025-9454

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Abstract

This paper reflects on the impact of the Great British Class Survey, hosted by the BBC from 2011 to 2013. I argue that its intense appeal lay in the ability to crystallize three separate trends in one piece of research. These are (i) the problems of relying on a single variable definition of class, such as one based on employment and occupation; (ii) the growing significance of wealth and property as a central driver of 21st century class relations; and (iii) the inherent intersectionality of class with multiple other divides, notably around race and gender. The Great British Class Survey both undercut occupationally based models of class analysis that had become hegemonic during the late 20th century, and offered a template for a new multidimensional approach to class analysis. I consider how these multidimensional perspectives on class are being strengthened through the important shift towards centering wealth and property as the 21st century bedrock of class relations.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author
Divisions:	International Inequalities Institute
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Date Deposited:	01 Jul 2025 15:18
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2025 16:03
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/128616

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