I'm afraid I've done it again. I borrowed a book from the library to see if it sounded interesting and ended up reading it all the way through instead of something from my list. I'm sorry.
On the plus side, it was a very interesting book. I've just finished reading 'Consumed: How Shopping Fed the Class System', the first book by Telegraph journalist Harry Wallop.
Mr Wallop has noticed, like many, that the old definitions of class don't work in the UK any more. The decline of manufacturing and the growth of white collar industries means what we would think of as working class has rapidly shrunk, while the stereotypical layabout lords and ladies have morphed into farm shop managers and tourist attraction owners. Over the past 60 years, disposable income has increased and more and more people have started to consider themselves 'middle class'. Effectively all three labels have been rendered completely meaningless.
Wallop, however, has identified a number of new, more relevant classes. Whereas the old system was based factors people often have little control over, such as where you went to school, who your family were and how you spoke , Wallop suggests that the biggest identifier of class today is what we buy and where we shop.
In the introduction to 'Consumed', he identifies several new classes; the Portland Privateers, the Wood Burning Stovers, the Hyphen-Leighs, the Sun Skittlers, Middleton Classes and the Asda Mums. Although his list feels incomplete, enough of what he said later in the book rang true to make me think he's actually onto something. And, no, I'm not going to admit which category I fall into, although his analysis was scarily accurate at times!
When someone writes a book on class, it's always a worry that it can become disdainful or judgemental about certain socio-cultural books. Although 'Consumed' did feel a bit so to start off with, possibly because the author comes straight out with his 'upper class' family history, it didn't really last long and by the end the book was at worst tongue in cheek and at best simply fascinating.
In reality, this is a book about marketing and segmentation. It's a bit chicken and egg - are people slotting into particular consumer groups because of what they're sold or are they sold it because they're in a particular group? I suppose we'll never know, but it was interesting to read about how shops decide where to open and what ranges to offer. Although I'd noticed that not every supermarket stocks the same lines, I had no idea that some places will never see certain shops because of the socio-cultural groups who live there. I suppose it makes good business sense, but it's still a little scary.
Is class based on shopping better than the old system? On the whole, I think it probably is a step in the right direction. So long as no one starts preventing people from buying items aimed at other 'classes'. But it would be nice to see Wallop's ideas developed further. For example, where does borrowing books from the library fit?
Overall, this is a very interesting, well written book. The author does a great job of balancing readability with raw data, but it does give the book the feel of an extended comment article. Then again, Wallop is only mooting an idea and doesn't claim to be an anthropologist. I would be very interested to see these ideas picked up and analysed further by academia. But, in the meantime, I think it's going to be a while before I stop thinking of people in terms of Portland Privateers, Wood Burning Stovers, Hyphen-Leighs, Sun Skittlers, Middleton Classes and Asda Mums!
I look forward to your next book, Mr Wallop. I might even buy that one!
Now, back to Georgette Heyer.
