It is ten years since the seminal Social Class in the 21st Century was published. The research was undertaken by a team of sociologists from across the country over several years and reignited the conversation about the British class system amongst academics, the media, politicians and most importantly the great British public. It composed seven classes that reflected the unequal distribution of three kinds of capital: economic (inequalities in income and wealth); social (the different kinds of people we know) and cultural (the ways in which our leisure and cultural preferences are exclusive). Ten years on we will revisit the findings, ask if the trends have changed, why class seems to have fallen off the agenda, and what we can do to build solidarity in this new political era.
This free public event will be held at LSE, where Social Class in the 21st Century was first launched in November 2015. This event will again question and open the continued difficult debate about the British Class system. Our panel will ask - does social class still matter in Britain in the 21st century?
Meet our speakers and chair
Aditya Chakrabortty (@chakrabortty) is senior economics commentator for the Guardian, where he writes a regular column and reports from around Britain and the world. In 2023 he won the British Press Award for Best Broadsheet Columnist of the year; in 2017 the British Journalism Award for Comment Journalist of the year. His work has also won a Social Policy Association award and a Harold Wincott prize for Business Journalism.
Mike Savage (@MikeSav47032563) joined LSE in 2012 and retired from the Department in 2024. He is now Professorial Research Fellow at LSE’s International Inequalities Institute, from where he retains active collaboration with the Department of Sociology. Mike was Head of Department between 2013 and 2016. Between 2015 and 2020, he was Director of LSE’s International Inequalities Institute.
Faiza Shaheen (@faizashaheen) is Distinguished Policy Fellow at LSE’s International Inequalities Institute, and an economist, writer, and political commentator and activist. Faiza has over 15 years of experience researching the trends and consequences of inequality, as well as designing policies and campaigns to address the causes of inequality and exclusion. Her book, Know your place: How society sets us up to fail and what we can do about it was released in July 2023
More about this event
This event will be available to watch on LSE Live. LSE Live is the new home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.
The International Inequalities Institute (@LSEInequalities) at LSE brings together experts from many LSE departments and centres to lead critical and cutting-edge research to understand why inequalities are escalating in numerous arenas across the world, and to develop critical tools to address these challenges.
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