This chapter explores the extent to which Scotland is a ‘class society’, and what is meant by that. It explores the concept of ‘social class’, and how it might operate differentially in Scotland, compared with the rest of UK. A related concept is ‘social mobility’ which examines how easy or difficult it is to move from one social class to another, either across generations, or within your own life experiences.

The chapter aims to:

• set out what we mean by ‘social class’.
• explore how structures of social class in Scotland have changed over time.
• examine processes of social mobility whereby people end up in the social classes that they do.
• explain why, if class structure and patterns of social mobility are similar throughout the UK, Scotland’s culture and politics of social class are different.