This article uses the case of Iceland to study how neoliberal globalization impacts class discourse in the political field and broader perceptions of class division. Analyzing a leading newspaper and parliamentary debates from 1986–2012, I show how neoliberal globalization—especially by increasing economic inequality—created a disjuncture between an increasingly differentiated social space and a national habitus cultivated in a small, homogeneous, and egalitarian society. This undermined taken‐for‐granted assumptions of relative classlessness and heightened perceptions of class division during a neoliberal ascendancy period from 1995 to Iceland's economic collapse in September 2008.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to study class awareness in Iceland in the wake of a national economic collapse. Design/methodology/approach -This comparatively oriented case study uses new survey data, secondary data on Iceland and 2005 World Values Survey data. The data are analyzed using a synthesis of Weber's theory of class and reference group theory. Findings -Contrary to conventional wisdom, Icelanders are class-aware. Most recognize and understand class terms, and are willing to assign themselves to a class. Consistent with Weber, Icelanders have fairly strong awareness of their class position, evidenced by a strong relationship between subjective class and economic class, on the one hand, and subjective class and class indicators, on the other. Consistent with reference group theory, a subjective ''middle class'' tendency is revealed across the class structure. Icelanders also have more of a ''middle class'' view of their class position and see it, on average, as higher than people in most other countries. Originality/value -No systematic study of class awareness in Iceland has been carried out since the 1970s. What is more, cross-national studies have never fielded subjective class questions in Iceland. This paper begins to rectify this omission. Lastly, a linkage of individualization and reference group processes is proposed to broaden the theoretical basis of studies of class awareness.
Sociologists theorize that opportunity beliefs shape whether individuals see their status in society as just or unjust-a topic that is broadly relevant to research linking social structure to emotions and behaviors. Two prominent theories, however, entail competing propositions. The dominant ideology thesis suggests that believing in opportunity barriers increases subjective status injustice, especially for lower class individuals. In contrast, relative deprivation theory implies that believing in restricted opportunities deters upward comparison among the lower classes, potentially reducing class differences in subjective status injustice. Relationships between class position, opportunity beliefs, and subjective status injustice were studied using survey data gathered during the Great Recession in Iceland. The findings indicate that beliefs in opportunity barriers are widespread, yet few see their social status as unjust. Moreover, only opportunity barriers stemming from political ties and gender increase subjective status injustice, especially so in the case of political ties among lower class individuals. It is likely that this latter sentiment was made particularly significant during the recession by an intense moral discourse condemning nepotism and cronyism. Because these two opportunity constraints are widely condemned in Iceland, we suggest that only opportunity barriers defined as social problems in a given society are salient enough to influence status justice evaluations.
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