Class awareness in Iceland

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study class awareness in Iceland in the wake of a national economic collapse. Design/methodology/approach - This comparatively oriented case study uses new survey data, secondary data on Iceland and 2005 World Values Survey data. The data are analyzed using a synthesis of Weber's theory of class and reference group theory. Findings - Contrary to conventional wisdom, Icelanders are class-aware. Most recognize and understand class terms, and are willing to assign themselves to a class. Consistent with Weber, Icelanders have fairly strong awareness of their class position, evidenced by a strong relationship between subjective class and economic class, on the one hand, and subjective class and class indicators, on the other. Consistent with reference group theory, a subjective "middle class'' tendency is revealed across the class structure. Icelanders also have more of a "middle class'' view of their class position and see it, on average, as higher than people in most other countries. Originality/value - No systematic study of class awareness in Iceland has been carried out since the 1970s. What is more, cross-national studies have never fielded subjective class questions in Iceland. This paper begins to rectify this omission. Lastly, a linkage of individualization and reference group processes is proposed to broaden the theoretical basis of studies of class awareness.