Explaining Perceptions of Class and Racial Inequality in England and the United States of America

Through an exploratory analysis of small matched samples in England and the USA, I propose and test the propositions that people's perceptions of the extent of class and racial inequality in their society arise from tl) their differential placement in the stratification system, t2) their acceptance or rejection of dominant ideologies about inequality, t3 ) their differential educational experiences, and t4) the historical conditions prevailing when their attitudes were being formed. The results suggest that Americans may be more perceptive than the English of both class and racial inequality and may also be more divided on the question of how much inequality exists. In both countries, however, consciousness of inequality may fail to materialize at the most basic level: Many people do not perceive their society to be particularly unequal in the first place, and hence never get beyond this stage to evaluate inequality as unfair, recognize that something can be done about it, and take action to reduce it. A growing body of empirical research focuses on the various elements that make up what might broadly be termed 'class consciousness'. It includes studies of the images that people have of the class structure, their views of their locations in it,l their perceptions of the extent and character of the inequality that exists between different classes,2 and their judgrnents as to the justice or injustice of class inequality.3 In this paper I attempt to add to the work on class imagery and perceptions by proposing and testing the proposition that people's perceptions of class and racial inequalities arise from tl) their differential placement in the stratification system and the experiences that derive from that, t2) their acceptance or rejection of dominant ideologies about inequality, t3) their differential educational experiences, and t4) the historical conditions prevailing when their attitudes were being formed.