Social Mobility and Class Relations in Britain

Abstract

Trends in social mobility in the U.S.A. suggest that upward mobility has been increasing while downward mobility has been decreasing. In the ten years 1952-62, Blau and Duncan note, 'an increasing proportion from manual origins moved up into white-collar positions, yet there was no compensatory increase in downward mobility from white-collar origins; on the contrary, increasing proportions of those originating at this level remained there'.1 In Britain the way in which the post-war expansion of secondary and higher education seem to have benefited middle-class as much as working-class children would lead one to expect a similar pattern of change in social mobility rates here.2 The questions arise firstly, as to whether this expectation can be confirmed for Britain by direct evidence; and secondly, what the implications of such changes for the structure of society might be.