Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Is a university education still a dividing line between the proletariat and the well bred?

I have just been listening to Billy Joel’s "The Longest Time" in which he is reminiscing about his high school days. The video is overwhelmingly vulgar and reeks of lower class sentimentality. I cannot imagine such a vid being made in a university graduation setting. But that was in the past. Do proletarians now proceed to university? And where is the last refuge of the genteel classes?

Apparently the proletariat’s don’t know what proletariat means.

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8 Responses to “Is a university education still a dividing line between the proletariat and the well bred?”

Paquito Says:
February 24th, 2010 at 7:46 pm

no its dividing the line between the rich and the poor. The rich aren’t necessarily the ones that are well bred, consider paris hilton and lindsay lohan as examples. The rich are either ones who earned their wealth through perseverance and those who were lucky to be born into the lap of luxury with a silver sppon in their mouths.
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merly Says:
February 24th, 2010 at 8:20 pm

no I don’t think so … there are a lot of people who become successful without passing through university as in hollywood and the bussiness world. I think that the only thing that divides people now is having ideas and putting them into practice. either you have them or you don’t … see this; paris hilton was born with money, ok, but she would be irrelevant if it wasn’t for her involvement in tv shows, perfumes, stuff.
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zealot144 Says:
February 24th, 2010 at 9:05 pm

Nope.

There are a lot of proletarians with college degrees, many of them from wealthy families.

Plus, there are a lot of wealthy folk with little or no college (NFL, MLB, Pop music). Not to mention information tech. Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Larry Ellison all lack college degrees.

"Well bred" is a contentious phrase. Look to Patty Hearst, Lindsay Lohan, etc. to see how "well" the offspring of wealthy folk really are.

The last refuge of the genteel classes is next door to Bernie Maddoff. OOps!
References :
http://www.forbes.com/2003/07/28/cx_dd_0728mondaymatch.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Hearst

glenn123 Says:
February 24th, 2010 at 9:14 pm

Yes….but it’s turning the other way. Intelligence and education is what matters. And when it’s more convenient for those who normally wouldn’t go to college to GO, then it’s not going to matter how rich you are in the long run. It might not seem like it yet, but the genteel way of life is slowly imploding; becoming a parody of itself. What a joke.
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phil8656 Says:
February 24th, 2010 at 10:02 pm

Apparently the proletariat’s don’t know what proletariat means.
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ToriaRamone Says:
February 24th, 2010 at 10:20 pm

In past years, for one thing, you needed money to get a university education. Those who had the money for the university education would get better jobs, whereas those who didn’t got the lower-paying jobs. They ended up with barely any money with which to send their children to university, who got the lower-paying jobs, and so on. It’s a vicious circle. Another interesting point: the Industrial Revolution put a lot of pressure on people to learn more about math and science, which put language and the arts at the bottom. Think: in school, were you taught more about math or art? Science or music? So those with a more technical education had a better shot, supposedly. The creative ones become part of the lower class. That’s why parents tell you to get a "real" job. Things are starting to change; the arts are becoming more appreciated. But that’s another spiel…
(More on the subject: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY )
To answer your question, what with the economy and prices of education as high as they are, it’s rather difficult for one without a lot of money to get into a decent school, although one must try their best. But what did you find "vulgar" about this video? It simply looked like an average high-school reunion to me. It’s far less vulgar than what is aired today. And by "last refuge", I take it you mean "where the upper class will not catch the ‘cooties’ of the lower class"? I don’t know. Not North America, where most people, rich and poor alike, are suffering the recession.
And another thing: many consider "well-bred" to mean "born into money", but I’ve always seen it as one who is well-mannered and polite. Refined. A gentleman, if you will. I’ve seen some rich people that could be total rednecks; take away the material possessions and you wouldn’t know the difference.
Just remember, education shows nothing of true intelligence and true class. It never was a barrier until the 1800s. I am more articulate than most adults and a member of the lower class, which goes to show that education cannot define you, at least not completely. Although I have to admit, an education gives you more control over your life. You will get the better jobs, better pay, and a better life as a result. I encourage my fellow proletarians to pursue a higher education and break down that barrier. Prove to the world that the lower class can rise up.
And if that fails, we could try communism.
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Living in this world.

catharsis Says:
February 24th, 2010 at 10:43 pm

Not in modern America.

The "well bred" in modern America are those who strive and achieve. Given that definition, no dividing lines exist for us.

As evidence I offer myself. A four time college dropout proletariat currently writing a business plan. (And blogging)
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eternus Says:
February 24th, 2010 at 10:57 pm

A university education could be a dividing line for those who can’t afford it. In general, I think a dividing line exists, but it’s not an education. A lot of people with degrees can’t get jobs. The well bred still consists of those who can get into their "network", and a degree can’t get you into that. What does is being born into wealth. Not just direct cronyism, but the ability to enter conversations about the decor of your condo or what Caribbean island you went to for spring break or what your dad’s job is. Those who don’t pay to go to the movies, or a gym membership, will have an even more difficult time being social as kids and will be shut out of conversations with their coworkers as adults. This is essentially my life, and my lack of life experiences coming from my inability to consume has kept me in the proletariat despite my university degree.
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