scholarly journals A Decline in the Social Status of the Working Class? Conflicting Evidence for 8 Western Countries, 1987–2017

2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402110474
Author(s):  
Daniel Oesch ◽  
Nathalie Vigna
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Subjective Social Status ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Conflicting Evidence ◽  
The Status ◽  
Unskilled Workers

The consensus view among political scientists is that the subjective social status of low-skilled workers has declined over the last decades, and this status loss of the working class is seen as contributing to the rise of the radical right. We examine the micro-foundation of this claim by tracing the evolution of subjective status for different social classes in Europe and the US. We use all available survey rounds of the International Social Survey Programme 1987–2017 and replicate findings with the European Social Survey 2002–2016. While unskilled workers perceive their status to be lower than members of the middle class everywhere, we find no relative or absolute fall in their subjective social status over time. Unskilled workers were at the bottom of the status hierarchy in the 1990s and 2010s. Our findings throw doubt on the narrative that sees workers’ falling subjective social status as a prominent driver behind the rise of the radical right.

scholarly journals The radical right, the labour movement and the competition for the workers’ vote

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadja Mosimann ◽  
Line Rennwald ◽  
Adrian Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Non Union ◽  
Radical Right Parties ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Better Than

This article analyses the capacity of radical right parties to attract support from union members in recent elections in Western Europe. It is argued that unionized voters resist the appeals of the radical right better than non-union members. Using data from the European Social Survey 2010–2016, the article shows that union members are overall less likely to vote for the radical right than non-union members. Even though it is found that unionized working-class and middle-class voters are less likely to vote radical right than their non-unionized peers in the pooled sample, it is also observed that these subgroups of unionized voters and especially unionized working-class voters are not immune to radical right voting in all the countries analysed. The article thus indicates a growing capacity of the radical right to attract unionized working-class segments of the electorate in some countries and to directly compete with left parties for these voters.

SUBJECTIVE SOCIAL STATUSES OF THE UKRAINIANS: CHANGES OVER TIME (2009–2019)

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-24
Author(s):  
ELENA SIMONCHUK
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Family Status ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Unskilled Workers ◽  
Nominal Categories ◽  
Changes Over Time

The article examines the dynamics of social status self-evaluations of the Ukrainians based on two waves (2009 and 2019) of the Social Inequality module of International Social Survey Programme. Three types of social status self-evaluation in different biographical situations were noted: the current one (at the time of the survey), the retrospective one (of the parents’ family status) and the perspective one (status of oneself in 10 years’ time). They were measured through the respondents’ self-determination of their appropriate status on an imaginary 10-step social ladder. The noticeable changes for the better in the current social status self-evaluations of the Ukrainians are stated, which is visualized in changing the diagram of their distribution from pyramidal shape (where the lower-middle and the lowest positions are the basic ones) to the close to rhombus shape (where the majority is concentrated on the middle levels). The retrospective self-evaluations still demonstrate negative situation: the respondents mostly perceive the social status of parents’ families as higher than their current status. At the same time, the perspective self-evaluations of the Ukrainians are rather optimistic: majority of them hope to significantly increase their own status in the social hierarchy in the next decade. A connection between the class positions (both objectively and subjectively determined) and the status self-evaluations of three kinds was also studied. It is recorded that in both years of the survey this connection remains quite significant and expected in nature. Regarding EGP-classes: representatives of service classes and small owners had significantly higher current, retrospective and prospective self-evaluations than working-class people, primarily unskilled workers and farm labours. Regarding the subjective classes defined by nominal categories (upper middle, middle, lower middle, working, lower class): the higher the subjective class position a person has, the higher he/she evaluates his/her social status.

scholarly journals Status Loss: The Burden of Positively Selected Immigrants

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 471-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Engzell ◽  
Mathieu Ichou
Keyword(s):  
European Social Survey ◽  
Social Position ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Financial Situation ◽  
Individual Outcomes ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Country Differences ◽  
The One

Immigrants experience an ambiguous social position: on the one hand, they tend to be positively selected on resources from the origin country; on the other, they often occupy the lower rungs of the status ladder in receiving countries. This study explores the implications of this ambiguity for two important individual outcomes: subjective social status and perceived financial situation. We study the diverse sample of immigrants in the European Social Survey and use the fact that, due to country differences in educational distributions, a given education level can entail a very different rank in the sending and receiving countries. We document a robust relationship whereby immigrants who ranked higher in the origin than in the destination country see themselves as being comparatively worse off. This finding suggests that the social position before migration provides an important reference point by which immigrants judge their success in the new country.

Is It a Masterpiece? Social Construction and Objective Constraint in the Evaluation of Excellence

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stoyan V. Sgourev ◽  
Niek Althuizen
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Subjective Social Status ◽  
Visual Exploration ◽  
Online Experiment ◽  
Objective Reality ◽  
The Status ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Art Evaluation

A key question in scholarship on evaluation is the extent to which the role of social construction is constrained by objective reality. This question is addressed in an analysis of the evaluation of artistic excellence. In an online experiment, we manipulate the subjective social status (both artwork and artist) and the degree of aesthetic complexity of the artwork. The results confirm the independent role of the objective aesthetic factor in art evaluation. Most importantly, we document an interaction between subjective and objective factors whereby aesthetic complexity serves as a credibility lever, amplifying or attenuating the credibility of the status labels. Excessive praise (i.e., a masterpiece by a world-famous artist) tends to reduce the appreciation of aesthetically simple artworks when status labels are questioned. However, the association of aesthetic complexity with the capacity to provoke thought may encourage respondents to take the paintings more seriously. Complexity is typically discouraged for standard products, but it can be instrumental in the process of singularization by stimulating visual exploration and sustaining interest over time.

Trade unionism in Europe: Are the working class still members?

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-120
Author(s):  
Carsten Strøby Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Upper Class ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Trade Unionism

How far does social class position influence the likelihood that employees will be members of a trade union? I use European Social Survey data to compare trade union membership of ‘working-class’ and ‘middle- and upper class’ employees in different European countries. Although the former dominate the trade unions in absolute numbers in most (but not all) countries, the likelihood that the latter will be members of a trade union is higher in most of the countries analysed.

scholarly journals The “losers of automation”: A reservoir of votes for the radical right?

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 205316801882239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Jie Im ◽  
Nonna Mayer ◽  
Bruno Palier ◽  
Jan Rovny
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Market Risks ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Radical Right Parties

This paper studies the association between the risk of automation and vote choice in 11 West European countries. We extend upon labour economics literature on the effects of automation on the labour market by focusing on the political consequences of automation. We also build on existing work relating labour market risks to support for radical right parties. We argue that automation threat is most likely to increase support for radical right parties. We demonstrate that those more inclined to vote for the radical right rather than the average voters are those who are both threatened by automation and are still “just about managing” economically. They are more receptive to the narrative of the radical right, which simultaneously highlights the risk, and proposes protection. Using cross-sectional individual level data drawn from the European Social Survey (rounds 6, 7 and 8), we find that individuals who perceive themselves as “coping on present income” are significantly more likely to vote for radical right parties as risk of automation increases. They are also less likely to vote for major right parties.

scholarly journals Cultural omnivorousness and status inconsistency in Chile: the role of objective and subjective social status

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Olivos ◽  
Peng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Subjective Social Status ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Cultural Consumption ◽  
Cultural Participation ◽  
Status Inconsistency ◽  
The Status

Sociological research has long shown that cultural participation is socially stratified. We build on this literature to discuss the role of the subjective and objective dimensions of stratification, and how they are linked to practices of social distinction through cultural consumption. The aim of this study is to understand (1) the effect of subjective and objective social status on patterns of cultural participation, and (2) the implications of the status inconsistency between objective and subjective social status. We use a probabilistic and representative sample of the Chilean urban population over the age of 18. Latent class analyses show that a significant proportion of Chileans can be considered cultural omnivores. Multinomial diagonal reference models suggest that omnivorousness is positively predicted by subjective and objective social status. Moreover, regarding inconsistency, objective social status is prominent in the explanation of omnivorousness for both status-underestimating (SSSOSS). These findings provide important insights for discussing the implications of status inconsistency on cultural consumption.

scholarly journals The Social Status of the elderly from a Comparative Perspective: distinctions of Post-communist Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 8-31
Author(s):  
Maksim Rudnev
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Communist Countries

Social status reflects the hierarchical position of social groups within society, their prestige as perceived by members of their society. The existing literature shows that age groups differ in their status considerably across countries, and that their status is linked to socio-economic modernization. This study investigates the determinants of elderly people’s status in post-communist countries in comparison to other countries. Using two large international datasets — from the World Values Survey (58 countries) and European Social Survey (29 countries) — as well as multilevel regressions, we found that elderly people in post-communist countries were at the bottom of the status hierarchy. Compared to other regions of the world, this low status was only in part explained by country modernization level, implying that some other factors may have had an effect. Moreover, only in postcommunist countries the perceived status of older people decreased with respondent’s age. We suggest that the low status of older people in post-communist countries was caused by the social and economic transformations that followed the fall of the communist regime — which led to the older generation losing human capital — and then exacerbated by the ageist legacy of the Soviet industrialist ideology. Finally, we insist that the very low status of older people is a problem of society as a whole rather than this particular age group.

scholarly journals Status Loss: The Burden of Positively Selected Immigrants

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Engzell ◽  
Mathieu Ichou
Keyword(s):  
European Social Survey ◽  
Social Position ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Financial Situation ◽  
Individual Outcomes ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Country Differences ◽  
The One

Immigrants experience an ambiguous social position: on the one hand, they tend to be positively selected on resources from the origin country; on the other, they often occupy the lower rungs of the status ladder in receiving countries. This study explores the implications of this ambiguity for two important individual outcomes: subjective social status and perceived financial situation. We study the diverse sample of immigrants in the European Social Survey and use the fact that, due to country differences in educational distributions, a given education level can entail a very different rank in the sending and receiving countries. We document a robust relationship whereby immigrants who ranked higher in the origin than in the destination country see themselves as being comparatively worse off. This finding suggests that the social position before migration provides an important reference point by which immigrants judge their success in the new country.

Not So Radical After All: Ideological Diversity Among Radical Right Supporters and Its Implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 600-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Marie Lancaster
Keyword(s):  
Latent Class Analysis ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Euro Crisis ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Core ◽  
Radical Right Parties ◽  
Migration Crisis

Radical right voters and parties are often characterized as conservative and traditionalist on issues of gender, sexuality, and morality. Common wisdom is that they reject the progressive sociopolitical shifts that began in the 1970s and early 1980s. However, some radical right parties, such as the Dutch Party for Freedom, maintain moderate positions on morality issues. Are radical right supporters still traditionalist? Latent class analysis applied to European Social Survey data from 10 West European countries reveals that radical right supporters belong to three ideologically distinct classes. The fastest growing group is the sexually-modern nativists, who make up about 45% by 2016. Contrary to extant literature, traditionalism no longer appears to be a major motivation for today’s radical right. Instead, immigration and nationalism are now the core common concerns for radical right supporters in Western Europe. This development may be due to the Euro crisis and the migration crisis, which have increased the salience of national borders.

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