Term is now often used in a negative way to describe
those who rely on benefits
Murray
Underclass are unemployed, single parents, drug addicts and criminals. They are
lazy, workshy, immoral, criminal and dependent on benefits. It is their own fault
they have a culture based on idleness, failure and criminality
Jordan
The underclass have the same values and attitudes as everyone else in
society most would work if they had the chance
Pakulski and Waters
Shift from production to consumption in defining
identities
Offe
fewer and fewer individuals share a common,
unifying experience of full time work
There has been a decline in manual work, this means
that a sense of working class identity has changed and
solidarity weakened
New working class identity
Skeggs
Working class women have instrumental attitude to work. Means to an end.
Capitalism is an effective means of rising living standards. Individualism putting
themselves first