Abstract
Purpose - Our attitudes, values, and tastes are shaped by our position in social space. At least, that was the argument Pierre Bourdieu set out in his seminal work, La Distinction. This article considers Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction and his argument that working-class families exhibit cultural attitudes and tastes for social necessity.Design/methodology/approach - Attitudinal data relating to social necessity are taken from a national social survey of the British population. The results provide a rich source of data for exploring classed attitudes towards necessity in contemporary Britain.Findings - Bourdieu’s original claims for working-class ‘choice of the necessary’ and working-class ‘taste for necessity’ are based on his observations grounded in social survey evidence drawn from 1960s French society. Analysis of contemporary British social survey and attitudinal data also reveals sharp contours and differences in attitudes and tastes according to class fractions. These are evident in classed tastes and preferences for food, clothes, the home and social life.Originality/value - This article sheds fresh light on the empirical validity and continuing theoretical relevance of Bourdieu’s work examining the role of social necessity in shaping working-class culture. Bourdieu argues that the real principle of our preferences is taste and for working-class families, this is a virtue made of necessity.
Purpose - Our attitudes, values, and tastes are shaped by our position in social space. At least, that was the argument Pierre Bourdieu set out in his seminal work, La Distinction. This article considers Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction and his argument that working-class families exhibit cultural attitudes and tastes for social necessity.Design/methodology/approach - Attitudinal data relating to social necessity are taken from a national social survey of the British population. The results provide a rich source of data for exploring classed attitudes towards necessity in contemporary Britain.Findings - Bourdieu’s original claims for working-class ‘choice of the necessary’ and working-class ‘taste for necessity’ are based on his observations grounded in social survey evidence drawn from 1960s French society. Analysis of contemporary British social survey and attitudinal data also reveals sharp contours and differences in attitudes and tastes according to class fractions. These are evident in classed tastes and preferences for food, clothes, the home and social life.Originality/value - This article sheds fresh light on the empirical validity and continuing theoretical relevance of Bourdieu’s work examining the role of social necessity in shaping working-class culture. Bourdieu argues that the real principle of our preferences is taste and for working-class families, this is a virtue made of necessity.