Are you old enough to have been a part of those glory days, the last of colonial money filtering down to your neighbourhood, the subsequent pecking order? all perfectly agreeable: Lord of the manor, landowners, the clergy, the gentry, professionals, working class, under class. And loads in between.
In 1950s Gloucestershire, it was very much alive, everyone had their place.
Then the 60s revolution.
Do you have memories, good or bad, about your perceived position?
Good riddance imo!
Everyone is born as equals, and everyone should earn respect based on their contribution towards humanity, society, or the planet. It doesnât have to be big, it just has to be genuine - and ideally it should be more than we receive - if we can do more for others than we can ourselves, then we should. Emphasis on âcanâ - I wouldnât expect the majority of the population who are on the lowest rung of the ladder to, just those who have pretty much everything a person needs (and maybe then some) i.e those that have more than enough means to.
In the sight of God maybe but itâs pretty clear ,especially after this last weekâs ceremonies that people are not born equal . If you are lucky enough to be born into the royal family you are immediately endowed with wisdom and devotion to âduty and service â and therefore should be awarded almost unlimited respect privilege and deference .
If you are born into a very wealthy family you have advantages , you go to select schools you join select pastimes you have different experiences than people who are born without financial advantages .
While people born into a poorer family still have advantages- certainly in the U.K. and can achieve success the way is not so smooth for them .
Well everyone is born equal, itâs just that some people donât think it should be that way - and have engineered things to serve themselves/create an illusion. As mentioned in many threads people like that are a scourge on humanity, and the sooner we are rid of them the betterâŠ
All animals are equal but some are more equal than others âŠâŠâŠ
Begs an obvious question though. Assuming youâre not suggesting throwing them off a cliff, how does one eradicate nurtered greed, and how does one prevent innate tendencies from re-emerging in the future?
Sounds like a good topic for a thread Dex 
Certainly things have changed in the UK regarding class but it is probably still there in some form, I canât see those in power giving it up easily. It was certainly writ large during the Queenâs funeral.
When I lived there how you spoke largely determined your social standing but I suspect that has drastically diminished if it hasnât gone altogether.
My first job in Australia was a bit of shock, calling employers, managers and directors by their first name, drinking with them after work was not the norm I had experienced. As a GPO employee in the UK AEEs and above for example were âMrâ even when I worked briefly as a postman the supervisors were âGovâ never their first name and they stayed purposely remote from their charges, something that never happened in Australia. Of course this was all a long time ago.
Working for BT one meets all types and so called class of people . Best to treat all the same way and just be yourself.
@Bruce The way you speak has, as you say changed, but only on the BBC!
When l meet up with my grand daughters Freindâs,( she is presently at
Cambridge uni) or travel on trains with uni students l have noticed the
change in their behaviour if l happen to to speak with them!!
They become awkward and sort of ashamed ?? 
Itâs no5 just a British thing class discrimination is all over the world .
India for example is very class conscious .
As for equality many countries of the world discriminate against 50% of their own people and award them no respect at all - these people are called women .
Didnât want to take your thread off-topic, but this is related and worth a watch:
Hi
Whilst all humans are born equal, they are not born with the same opportunities
Your opportunities rely very largely on who your parents are, it is a lottery.
I know just how they feel.
wasnât it something called communism that tried to get rid of old class structures? and now they maybe about to teach the west a lesson or two?
Every country and culture have a class system doesnât it, even if not patently obvious, itâs certainly not exclusive to the BritishâŠ
For sure. And many are years behind Britain in bringing equality. Many European capitals are far more segregated than London. I was on a Lisbon train in the 90s that had first and second class carriages.
Now many on this site with remember that back in the 60s, 50s, 40s Britain. In fact, before the mid 50s there was 3rd Class rail travel.
Whatâs that old saying, âIn every equal society some will always be more equal than othersâ 
I would just like to say that equality can never be achieved by being rich, that just makes life easier & people who get rich are often created by poorer people who want a rich life.
As a child the corner shop provided what food we needed, and they knew our names! Supermarkets make a fortune out of us now by selling us food at lower prices, mainly because they have made so much money, they can pressure the people who farm the food to sell cheaply. There could never be financial equality unless we go back to trading things, like food for pluming or electrical work, and we all know that will never happen. Barryâs quote is true because some people are greedier than others!
