What Constitutes a Subjective Class? a Comparative Study of 64 Countries

Subject class refers to how individuals perceive their class position, which is shaped by their sense of belonging to a particular class and how they view their position within a broader social structure. Many studies have consistently identify a gap between the objective class and the subjective class. One potential reason is that subjective class is associated with more than objective measures such as income, education, or occupation. But so far, few have explored this question systematically, let alone comparatively. This study aims to find what values constitute a subjective class and compare the commonalities and differences across countries.

Our study employs a belief network approach to comprehensively examine the correlation between subjective class and its associated values. We utilize the most recent WVS on 64 countries to create a value network around the subjective class in each country. This comprehensive approach yields three interesting results, providing a thorough understanding of the complex nature of the subjective class. First, subjective class is a mixture of various values, not just economic well-being. It is also associated with a plethora of values, including political values, attitudes toward social issues, values about family and gender, and culture and religion. Second, in most countries, subjective class is associated with four core values: financial satisfaction, subjective health, feeling happiness, and life satisfaction. Third, the main difference between countries is how subjective class connects to political and social values. While higher economic development strengthens these links, the connection logic across countries varies, leading to the identification of two categories of countries: participation and trust, a division more geographically dispersed than development-related. In summary, our study provides a comprehensive understanding of how subjective class is shaped by a mixture of value systems, and how countries with different political values enjoy different conceptual connection logic.