The Privileged Class: Who Are They And Why?

Privilege is a multifaceted concept that encompasses various forms, including social class privilege. The notion of a privileged class is often associated with historical social structures, such as those preceding the French Revolution, where the first estate (clergy) and the second estate (nobility) constituted the privileged class. They enjoyed exemptions from taxes and their status was reinforced by land ownership. In contemporary contexts, privilege extends beyond social class and includes dimensions such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, education, and physical ability. The intersection of these factors creates interrelated hierarchies of power and dominance, shaping access to opportunities and resources.

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Clergy and peasants

In the context of the French Ancien Régime (Old Regime), society in the Kingdom of France was divided into three separate estates or social classes: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). The clergy, therefore, constituted the privileged class. They were exempt from paying taxes to the state and enjoyed financial freedom. They collected tithes from their extensive landed property and also collected manorial taxes in villages where bishops, abbots, and chapters held lordship.

The clergy was also influential in the medieval era, with members of the clergy coming from either the nobility or the peasant class. Most of the lower parish clergy came from peasant families. The medieval Church held influence over the nobility and peasants, with at least three-quarters of the bishops and upper echelons of the medieval clergy coming from the nobility.

In other regions, such as southern Germany, a three-estate system of nobility (including high clergy), knights, and burghers was used, excluding lower clergy and peasants. In Scotland, the three estates were the clergy (First Estate), nobility (Second Estate), and Shire Commissioners or burghers (Third Estate), representing the bourgeoisie and lower commoners.

In Sweden and Russia, a four-estate system was in place, with the two higher estates being nobility and clergy, and the two lower estates being burghers and land-owning peasants. Each estate had specific rights and responsibilities and could send representatives to the Riksdag of the Estates, where each estate voted as a single body.

Peasants and nobility

In the context of social structure and class systems, peasants and nobility represent distinct groups with specific characteristics, rights, and obligations.

Peasants, as a social class, primarily consisted of agricultural workers who spent most of their time outdoors, resulting in tanned skin. They were often bound to the land they worked on and had limited political rights. In some systems, peasants were subject to the jurisdiction of courts and police, and their movements, religion, and legal undertakings could be restricted by the local lord.

On the other hand, nobility refers to the highest social class in pre-modern societies, particularly in the feudal system. Nobility was often associated with land ownership and military service, with nobles holding fiefs or estates under vassalage to a suzerain or monarch. Their wealth derived from these estates, which could include fields, pastures, orchards, and infrastructure like castles and mills. Nobles were expected to live off the proceeds of these possessions, and manual labor was generally forbidden or frowned upon. Nobility was typically hereditary, with privileges and exemptions from certain taxes. In France, for example, nobles were exempt from paying the "taille," the major direct tax.

The relationship between peasants and nobility was often hierarchical and interdependent. Peasants were subject to dues and services owed to the nobility, and their rights and movements could be restricted. Nobles, on the other hand, held privileges and exemptions that set them apart from the peasant class.

In terms of social mobility, advancing from the peasant class to the nobility was uncommon and difficult during the Middle Ages. However, in certain cases, nobility could be conferred or granted by a monarch or sovereign ruler, recognizing an individual's preeminence.

Today, while noble status has largely become honorary in most societies, some residual privileges may still exist legally in certain countries, and the concept of nobility continues to hold significance in various cultures.

First and Third Estate

The First Estate was the clergy, the Second Estate was the nobility, and the Third Estate was the commoners. The first two estates enjoyed a significantly greater degree of privilege than the third, despite the Third Estate representing more than 90% of the French population and paying almost all taxes.

The First Estate comprised the entire clergy and the religious orders, traditionally divided into ""higher" and "lower" clergy. The "lower clergy" (about equally divided between parish priests, monks, and nuns) constituted about 90% of the First Estate, which in 1789 numbered around 130,000 (about 0.5% of the population). The Second Estate was the French nobility and royalty, other than the monarch himself.

The Third Estate can be divided into two groups, urban and rural, together making up over 98% of France's population. The urban group included wage labourers, while the rural group included free peasants (who owned their own land) and villeins (serfs, or peasants working on a noble's land). The Third Estate also included the bourgeoisie, or the wealthy urban elite, and the increasingly impoverished working class that came to be known as sans-culottes.

The First and Second Estates relied on the labour of the Third, which made the latter's inferior status all the more glaring. The Third Estate had a hard life of physical labour and food shortages. Most people were born in this group, and most remained in it for their entire lives.

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Clergy and nobility

In the context of the French Ancien Régime (Old Regime), a three-estate system constituted the privileged class. The First Estate comprised the clergy, the Second Estate the titled nobles, and the Third Estate, all other subjects including peasants and the bourgeoisie.

The clergy, as part of the First Estate, held significant influence and wealth. They were exempt from paying taxes to the state, instead making donations to the Crown. The Church owned extensive landed property, with lands constituting about one-tenth of the kingdom's territory. The clergy also collected tithes and manorial taxes from the villages they controlled.

The nobility, as the Second Estate, enjoyed privileges such as exemption from certain taxes and forced labour, and honorific rights like the right to wear a sword. Their ancestors had defended the kingdom and paid the 'blood tax', which justified their immunity from further monetary contributions. The nobility constituted the ruling class, ruling over serfs who worked their lands in exchange for military protection.

In Scotland, the Three Estates were similarly composed of the Clergy (First Estate), Nobility (Second Estate), and Shire Commissioners or "burghers" (Third Estate).

In England, a two-estate system combined nobility and clergy into one lordly estate, with "commons" as the second estate.

The upper class in modern times continues to include members of the clergy and nobility, along with high-level positions in business, politics, and academia. This group is characterised by privilege, prestige, and influence, with access to exclusive resources and a lifestyle marked by luxury and leisure.

Race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, education, etc

Race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and education are all factors that can contribute to an individual's privilege.

Race: Privilege operates within a series of interrelated hierarchies and dynamics of power, dominance, and exclusion. In terms of race, this can manifest as the dominance and normalization of certain racial groups over others in society and the media.

Class: Class privilege is related to both economic status and social class, providing access to opportunities, political participation, and educational and vocational advantages. Those with higher social class privilege are often treated as the baseline, or "ordinary," against which other groups are judged or compared.

Gender: Male-identified, masculine individuals generally hold a level of privilege over other genders. This systemic operation of male privilege, or patriarchy, is evident in media representation, leadership roles, and news commentary, where men and their perspectives are overrepresented.

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual privilege includes the assumption that everyone is heterosexual, forcing queer individuals to constantly navigate a coming-out process. In the media, queer-identified characters are rarely portrayed unless their sexuality is central to the plot, while heterosexual characters' sexuality is constantly enacted and goes unnoticed due to its privileged status.

Religion: Religious privilege is associated with being a member of the dominant religion in a culture, where one's religious practices and observances are normalized. In North America and much of Europe, Christian faiths hold privilege over other religions, which are often portrayed as novel or strange.

Education: Educational privilege provides access to higher-paying careers and confers unearned credibility. Individuals with advanced degrees may leverage their titles (e.g., "Dr.") to suggest expertise beyond their specific fields, such as offering medical or psychiatric advice in the media.

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