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Isn't the notion of "upper class" in Britain usually based on peerage titles or being related to people who have them, as opposed to business ownership? A small
by om2 10y ago
Isn't the notion of "upper class" in Britain usually based on peerage titles or being related to people who have them, as opposed to business ownership? A small business person is almost the epitome of middle class, to the point that impoverished aristocrats would never stoop to such an occupation.
- internaut 10y agoSort of. It is possible to buy yourself a title. Many Europeans are descended from people that potentially give them the right to nobility. Few invoke that in everyday life though. So you could become an aristocrat if you really wanted to be, by blue blood or by financial assistance. In the old days somebody successful in business would often transition to aristocracy by taking on a name and the associated trappings. It is something of a controversial area! In Japan it is still common for an unrelated successful young man to be adopted into the family tree of a business dynasty. I suspect the upper class alternates between being meritocratic and being hereditary, while claiming 'it ever twas'.