Working-class culture

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Working-class culture is a range of

mass-produced cultural artefacts such as prints and ornaments and commercial entertainment such as music hall and cinema
.

In academia, working-class socio-economic circumstances are conventionally associated with

delinquency.[4]

Politics of working-class culture

Many socialists with a

Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917. His erstwhile ally Anatoly Lunacharsky had rejoined the Bolsheviks and was appointed Commissar for Education
.

In Literature and Revolution, Trotsky examined aesthetic issues in relation to class and the Russian revolution. Soviet scholar Robert Bird considered his work as the "first systematic treatment of art by a Communist leader" and a catalyst for later, Marxist cultural and critical theories.[5] Trotsky presented a critique of contemporary literary movements such as Futurism and emphasised a need of cultural autonomy for the development of a socialist culture. According to literary critic Terry Eagleton, Trotsky recognised “like Lenin on the need for a socialist culture to absorb the finest products of bourgeois art”.[6] Trotsky himself viewed the proletarian culture as “temporary and transitional” which would provide the foundations for a culture above classes. He also argued that the pre-conditions for artistic creativity were economic well-being and emancipation from material constraints.[7] Political scientist Baruch Knei-Paz characterised his view on the role of the party as transmitters of culture to the masses and raising the standards of education, as well as entry into the cultural sphere, but that the process of artistic creation in terms of language and presentation should be the domain of the practitioner. Knei-Paz also noted key distinctions between Trotsky’s approach on cultural matters and Stalin's policy in the 1930s.[8]

Marxist–Leninist states have declared an official working-class culture, most notably socialist realism, whose constant aim is to glorify the worker, in contrast to typical independent working-class cultures. However, Lenin believed that there could be no authentic proletarian culture free from capitalism
and that high culture should be brought to the workers.

The millenarian nature of socialist working-class art is evident in the goals espoused by the leaders of revolutionary movements. The art forms for the masses were meant to shape a new consciousness and form the basis of a new culture and new man.[9]

Many Americans strongly believe the U.S. is a "Land of Opportunity" that offers every child an equal chance at

Horatio Alger and Norman Vincent Peale to the song "Movin' on Up"[13]
).

The American Dream Report, a study of the Economic Mobility Project, found that Americans surveyed were more likely than citizens of other countries to agree with statements like:

  • "People get rewarded for intelligence and skill",
  • "People get rewarded for their efforts";

and less likely to agree with statements like:

In the US only 32% of respondents agreed with the statement that forces beyond their personal control determine their success. In contrast, a majority of European respondents agreed with this view in every country but three (Britain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia).[15] The Brookings Institution found Americans surveyed had the highest belief in meritocracy—69% agreed with the statement "people are rewarded for intelligence and skill"—among 27 nations surveyed.[16]

Another report found such beliefs to have gotten stronger over the last few decades.[17]

Portrayals in popular culture

Working-class cultures are extremely geographically diverse, leading some to question whether they have anything in common. In the United States, working-class culture has been portrayed on TV shows such as

Handy. One of Australian pub rock singer Jimmy Barnes' more popular songs, "Working Class Man
" references working-class culture and hardships.

Along with

French, Mediterranean, Italian, Latin American and Eastern European communities within the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are also identifiers of working-class culture. Similarly to rednecks, they also often embrace themselves. Some sports such as rugby league football, darts and association football, which is sometimes referred to as the working man's game, are associated with the working class in the United Kingdom. In the United States, ten-pin bowling, American football, basketball and baseball
are associated with the working class.

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Working-class culture.

References

  1. ^ "Alcoholism and the Working-class Man". academic.oup.com. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  2. PMID 20931908
    .
  3. S2CID 34513729
    .
  4. ^ "Why do white working class pupils fail in school?". BBC News. 2014-06-18. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  5. ISSN 1573-0948
    .
  6. ISBN 978-1-134-94783-6
    .
  7. ISBN 978-0-19-827233-5
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-19-827233-5
    .
  9. ISBN 0-253-20513-1
    .
  10. ^ a b Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs | By JASON DePARLE | January 4, 2012]
  11. ^ Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well? Archived May 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Economic Mobility Project| May 2007
  12. ^ English grammar 4U online| "In general, the American Dream can be defined as being the opportunity and freedom for all citizens to achieve their goals and become rich and famous if only they work hard enough."
  13. ^ the theme song of the 1975–85 TV sitcom The Jeffersons
  14. ^ Economic Mobility Project
  15. ^ Ever higher society, ever harder to ascend Whatever happened to the belief that any American could get to the top? economist.com December 29, 2004
  16. ^ Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well? Archived May 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Economic Mobility Project| May 2007
  17. ^ CAP: Understanding Mobility in America – April 26, 2006

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Working-class_culture&oldid=1219002038"