The class thread

[doc_bean]

I'm not saying you shouldn't help your own children, I'm saying society has a responsibility towards all children, making sure health care is available, decent education at low/no cost is available, and uni/college fees are modest.

[Duke Malcolm]

Yes, which is what I also say. You seem to be saying that upper-class people should not be able to spend their money on their children's education.

[doc_bean]

Yes, which is what I also say. You seem to be saying that upper-class people should not be able to spend their money on their children's education.

Nah, I'd just like to hope that 'public' education is good enough so that spending additional money on 'private' education would be considered a waste of money by all.

[rory_20_uk]

Doc Bean, that is never going to happen. Smaller class sizes, better teachers, better facilities can all be made better with more money.

It doesn't follow a linear relationship of course, and there used to be a system based on merit for the poor to get grants to go to the best schools (finally stopped by labour).

[doc_bean]

Doc Bean, that is never going to happen. Smaller class sizes, better teachers, better facilities can all be made better with more money.

It's pretty much the case here, there are a few elite schools that aks an awful lot of money where only the super-mega-rich go. Than you have the Catholic school network which is open to anybody (at least in principle) and which is relatively cheap (a hundred € a year expenses or something) and then you have public schools which tend to be a little cheaper, but not that much, someone has to pay for those books.

Pretty much everybody has acces to the same level of education if they want to. Uni enrollment is also sponsered by the state so that it is about 500€ a year, cheaper if you're poor, there are also state/uni sponsored rooms available at 'cheap' prices (100-200€ a month, I guess). The only problem with getting an higher education here (financially) is that you don't have an income (unless you work during your studies, but it's not a full income then either). There have been talks about giving students some sort of unemployment benefits, but not much is happening about it these days.

It doesn't follow a linear relationship of course, and there used to be a system based on merit for the poor to get grants to go to the best schools (finally stopped by labour).

Grants for HS ?

[Kanamori]

If I may say, by definition, the upper class get most of their money through inheritance. Of course, as I have said before, most of the lower parts of the upper class also make a nice amount of money through money lending, investing, leasing, and the such (here in America; we don't have royalty). Of course these are generalizations, but they are by and large mostly true. I think what most people are missing here is that, IMO, class is mostly determined by attitude and personal disposition. The middle class like things because they are percieved as upper class, not because it is their own taste, often. Problematically, not all people fit into one of the classes very well. In all honesty, those fifty some pages of Paul Fussell's are a very good read. Do keep in mind though that it is supposed to be comedic, biting, and a bit unserious at times.