Upper middle class

The upper middle class is a sub-label sometimes applied by sociologists to the social group of wealthier or more privileged members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term lower middle class used for the group at the other end of the middle class scale and regular middle class. There is considerable debate as to how the upper middle class might be defined (whether by education, wealth, or the prestige or skill level of their profession). According to Weber and Fussel the Upper middle class consist of well educated professionals with graduate degrees and comfortable income.

Professions

Certain professions can be judged as "upper middle class" though any such measurement remains somewhat subjective due to people's differing perception of class. Most people in the upper-middle class strata are highly educated professionals such as Physicians, Lawyers, University Professors, Architects, Engineers, Writers, Artists, high level Civil Servants and the Intelligencia or "chattering classes" of a society in general. Other common professions include Corporate Executive and Business Owner. Generally, people in these professions earn a comfortable living that, in American terms, often exceeds $75,000 per year and sometimes reaches into the six figure range. However, some prominent professionals are considered part of the lower upper class. People in the upper-middle class usually reside in well-to-do neighborhoods in above-average, well-maintained homes.

Values

Most people from this station in life have an enormously high regard for higher education, and probably more than any other socio-economic class strive for their children and themselves to obtain graduate or at least four year degrees. This emphasis placed on education should not come as a surprise considering that most people in the upper middle class are professionals who often hold graduate degrees.

They place a high value on foreign travel, the arts, and high culture in general. This value also binds into the emphasis placed on education as foreign travel increases a peoples' understanding of other cultures and helps them create a global perspective.

The majority regard themselves as liberal on social issues (such as feminism and gay rights), but some are conservative when it comes to fiscal matters (such as unionization and social security). This is the reverse of how most working class people view the world, which explains why these two groups clash more than the lower middle class and the working class.

The Upper Middle Class are usually also the group that shape society and bring social movements to the forefront. Movements such as the Peace Movement, The Anti-Nuclear Movement, Environmentalism, the Anti-Smoking movement, and even in the past with Blue Laws and the Temperance movement are all products of the upper middle class. Some claim this is because this is the largest class (and the lowest class) with any true political power for positive change, while others claim some of the more restrictive social movements (such as with smoking and drinking) are based upon "saving people from themselves" and the managerial assumption that the lower classes need the force of law to conform to society`s expectations. This can be seen as far back as the Puritan Era and the Victorian era.

Material items

Material items of high prestige within this class are luxury automobiles, fine tailoring, high-end furniture, and designer-label clothing. Most sociologists maintain that one should make the distinction of two separate sets within the upper middle class, the Professional Class and the Managerial Class. The Professional Class is composed of highly educated specialists such as Physicians, Architects, and Academics, while the Managerial Class is made up mostly of mid- to high-level Corporate Executives. The professionals generally are more liberal in their outlook and more urban and chic in their tastes, while the managers tend to be more conservative, materialistic, and suburban in their preferences. It should be noted that there may be overlapping between these two group and it is possible for either to be conservative or liberal in their tastes.

There are, however, exceptions worth mentioning, as sometimes the liberal outlook of those in the professional upper-middle class causes them to limit their material consumption, not due to financial restrictions but rather due to personal beliefs.

United Kingdom upper middle class

This is a very specific class in England and is, in many respects, peculiar to England as its characteristics do not fit easily into the social gradations of the other constituent nations of the United Kingdom.

In England this class of people is less easily defined, and personal wealth is not a necessary criterion. Frequently its members are members of professions (traditionally academia, law and medicine), although merchants too were able to penetrate its ranks. However, being a member of a profession does not automatically elevate a person to this class, and it is quite common for an upper middle class person not to work in a traditional profession.

Instead, accent, language, education (usually at a good public school), family background and understatement, in both behavior and taste, are defining characteristics of the upper middles. Although not of the landowning class, its members may aspire to the characteristics of, or be described as, gentlemen.

The character of Charles Ryder in Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited is a fine example of an early twentieth-century upper middle class Englishman. His language, accent and manners are similar to an aristocrat's, but in place of the aristocrat's self-assuredness there is an air of slight uncertainty and diffidence. A more modern day example is Charles in Four Weddings and a Funeral, played by Hugh Grant.

United States and Canada upper middle class

In the US, one commonly accepted definition of upper-middle class is a household whose income exceeds $75,000 a year and whose net worth exceeds $250,000. Another commonly used method defines the upper middle class as those fitting into the second to the top quintile. Other common definitions, such as that provided by Paul Fussell in his book Class, rely on non-economic criteria such as educational achievement and lifestyle and consumption patterns, though the latter two also relate to material wealth.

According to many sociologists the term "lower middle class" simply refers to relatively materially wealthy members of the lower class, in which case the term "upper middle class" may simply represent the true middle class; or conversely when "lower middle class" refers to people who are a station above the working class, and thus the real middle class and the upper middle class mean something much more affluent. According to these definitions, the commonly referenced upper middle class is labeled as being the "true middle class," and the commonly accepted lower upper class is defined as upper-middle class.

References

Social classes | Social groups