Subjective Social Location: Data From 21 Nations

This paper investigates subjective social status using data from surveys collected from representative nationwide samples in 21 countries (N = 50,955). We nd that in all societies there is a pronounced tendency to see oneself as being in the middle of the social hierarchy; that this tendency holds among those at the top and at the bottom of the educational distribution, as well as among those actually in the middle; and that this tendency holds in rich nations as well as poor ones. The objective position of individuals, the wealth of nations, and the national level of unemployment all have substantial effects on subjective status. But their effects are muted by the tendency to see oneself as being in the middle of the hierarchy. This has important implications for class identity and democracy.