Applying a Psychosocial Framework to Explore Class as Lived, Experienced, and Felt. Suggestions for an Updated Conceptualization of Class and Social Position
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-26.1.4214Keywords:
psychosocial theory;, qualitative methods, class, respectability, social inequality, post welfare, class consciousness, health, middle classAbstract
In this article, we discuss the relevance and implications of class in contemporary Western society, emphasizing the importance of incorporating a qualitative, cultural class perspective into psychosocial research. We present five key discussions on the concept of class, and we propose that a psychosocial framework could offer elaborate and nuanced understandings of how class is manifested in post-welfare societies. The five discussions are: a redefined concept of class consciousness; social mobility as class journeys; development of a middle-class sociology; class configurations concerning forms of subjectivity; and finally, healthism's scapegoating of disadvantaged people.
We argue that psychosocial research holds the potential to critically examine implications of class within capitalism as a governing system, such as how class is lived, experienced, and felt in a post- welfare context. However, one must acknowledge the challenges involved in applying concepts across different societal structures and cultures, and we therefore call for a methodological rethink to accommodate new forms of value and social divisions in contemporary society. Overall, we underscore the importance of class analysis in addressing social inequality and resisting the individualization of structural inequality.
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