"What defines "working class" vs. "middle class"?"
In this book, he defined "blue collar" as not having post-secondary education and working at either a skilled manual labor job, or an unskilled labor job. Anyone that had a college degree, no matter what their salary was middle class.
The concept he uses is called "cultural capital" - there are things beyond money that one can use to get ahead in the corporate world. He mentions far too many here to get into but I'll mention a few. The concept of networking is one blue collar people don't do (yet, it seems to make the white-collar world go around). The concept of thinking or planning is another - blue collar people just "get the job done" and don't ponder it much. Things as small as the right clothing, knowing the right music, etc are also mentioned. He notes that believing you can do anything if you just set your mind to it is a middle-class ideal (blue-collar people are focused on just surviving).
"educational boundary either - don't blue-collar jobs often require as much skill and education as white collar jobs if in different arenas?"
It really just depends on the job. Being a guy that lugs boxes around a warehouse doesn't require much education. Being a plumber requires more. The plumber may make more money than a writer - but they don't have the same level of 'cultural capital' that the writer does. They may know more about how a sink operates, but that's not going to help them much in the white-collar world. :)
"There is definitely a social element that defines class, and what is that element?"
He really doesn't focus on the money aspect as much as the cultural and educational one in this book. Parents may work their butts off to send their kids to college (I don't think many people can easily drop $30k a year and not flinch at it). College is a given for many kids in the middle class though - its just something you do and its something that most parents expect themselves to pay for (even if it kills them). Typically in blue-collar families college is a really big deal - its just not an option, or if it is at all, its something that kids do pay for.
There were things that I took issue with in this book for sure, but I think it was a really good read. I think given your interest in cultures you would find it interesting :).
Definitions
In this book, he defined "blue collar" as not having post-secondary education and working at either a skilled manual labor job, or an unskilled labor job. Anyone that had a college degree, no matter what their salary was middle class.
The concept he uses is called "cultural capital" - there are things beyond money that one can use to get ahead in the corporate world. He mentions far too many here to get into but I'll mention a few. The concept of networking is one blue collar people don't do (yet, it seems to make the white-collar world go around). The concept of thinking or planning is another - blue collar people just "get the job done" and don't ponder it much. Things as small as the right clothing, knowing the right music, etc are also mentioned. He notes that believing you can do anything if you just set your mind to it is a middle-class ideal (blue-collar people are focused on just surviving).
"educational boundary either - don't blue-collar jobs often require as much skill and education as white collar jobs if in different arenas?"
It really just depends on the job. Being a guy that lugs boxes around a warehouse doesn't require much education. Being a plumber requires more. The plumber may make more money than a writer - but they don't have the same level of 'cultural capital' that the writer does. They may know more about how a sink operates, but that's not going to help them much in the white-collar world. :)
"There is definitely a social element that defines class, and what is that element?"
He really doesn't focus on the money aspect as much as the cultural and educational one in this book. Parents may work their butts off to send their kids to college (I don't think many people can easily drop $30k a year and not flinch at it). College is a given for many kids in the middle class though - its just something you do and its something that most parents expect themselves to pay for (even if it kills them). Typically in blue-collar families college is a really big deal - its just not an option, or if it is at all, its something that kids do pay for.
There were things that I took issue with in this book for sure, but I think it was a really good read. I think given your interest in cultures you would find it interesting :).