Abstract
In this thesis the primary aim has been to explore the social imagery of the middle class. It is grounded in an investigation of the normative dimension of class and the life style of a sample of affluent middle class householders drawn from an unambiguously middle class suburb in South West London. The fieldwork was carried out in the first half of 1972 and altogether 235 tape-recorded interviews were conducted. Of these, 23 were discarded, leaving a sample of 212. Among our respondents, we distinguish six distinct images of society which we have labelled, competitive elitist, conformist, status deferentials, intellectuals, materialist and status assured. Two residual classifications of personalised and other worldly suggest that our categories are not exhaustive. From classification we move on to an elaboration of the complex relationship between images of society and the objective situation of our sample. The distinctive life style of the affluent middle class is examined by moans of an extensive profile. This examination ranges from their backgrounds, through their residential and social mobility, their work orientations, their associational activity, their reading patterns, their political values and finally on to their class identification. We draw extensively on other studies to place this profile in a comparative framework. We also present some evidence in support of Goldthorpe and Lockwood's thesis that a form of independent normative convergence is taking place, at least among certain sections of the middle class we studied and a sample of Luton workers. In conclusion we discuss the weakening of some of the values and norms traditionally associated with the middle class. This shift, hinted at by other researchers, presents an interesting field for future research.