SOSC 103D Social Inequality in HK Lecture 6: Class studies

L6: Inequality and class studies “ Class is not something that is simply produced economically. It is performed, marked, written on minds and bodies” – Roberts, 2001:9 Dimensions of class: –Income and wealth –Life styles –Consumption and leisure –Attitudes and beliefs –Housing

L6: Class scheme Divisions of social class: the way we divide people into different groups –e.g. Rich vs Poor –e.g. Capitalists vs Labour –e.g. Employers vs Employees (self-employed) –e.g. Blue-collar vs White-collar –e.g. Middle class vs Working class We mainly classify people into different class according to their occupations (Marxist and Weberian approach)

L6: The Hong Kong Class Structure Brief Description % I Higher managerial & professional occupations8.6 II Lower managerial & professional occupations11.3 III Intermediate (white collar) occupations9.6 IV Small employers and own-account workers14.0 V Lower-grade technicians, supervisors15.9 VI Skilled manual workers15.8 VII Semi-skilled to unskilled workers, agricultural % 40%

L6: HK class studies in the late 1980s The background: Experienced a rapid economic growth since 60s. –Experience an overall betterment of lives –Improvement in terms of housing, education, medical services Hidden message/ assumption: even the working-class people are now enjoying a middle-class way of life. (late 70s)

L6: Background of HK class studies Change in the economic structure Change in the occupational structure accordingly  Fishing  Manufacturing  Tourism  Banking & Financing

L6: Distribution of working population (%) by industry Industry/ Year Agriculture and Fishing Mining and Quarrying Manufacturing Construction Electricity, Gas & Water Wholesale & Retail Trade, Restaurants & Hotels Transport, Storage & Communication Financing, Insurance, Real Estate & Business Services Services Unclassifiable

L6: Background of HK class studies The rise of middle classes (80s) Class Structure: From triangle to diamond shape Hidden message/ assumption: Most of people in HK are now middle-class Increasing number of working-class people have became middle-class

L6: Results of the development An intellectual challenge of class studies: -Death of class -When the whole society become a middle class society: equal and fair -Limited inequalities in: -Income -Educational attainment -Housing resources