The changing political significance of social class in Scotland

Abstract

The meaning of social class in Scotland has been shifting because of two large economic changes, and because of the expansion of higher education. Numerically the more important is a new class of graduates who work in the service sector of the economy. Alongside that segment is a smaller but growing group who feel economically insecure – sometimes described by class theorists as the ‘precariat’. These trends are seen in many economically developed societies, including in the rest of the UK. But the meaning of the changes is distinctive in Scotland because they interact with the political question of how Scotland is governed. Unlike in other nations, including England, liberal graduates are increasingly in favour of national independence. Also, unlike elsewhere, the precariat are increasingly not conservative while favouring the liberal project of independence. Class remains a useful general concept for understanding social change, but its meaning has to take account of each country’s specific political circumstances.