| Working Class Culture |
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EXISTENCE Working class culture is extremely geographically diverse, leading some to question whether the cultures have anything in common. Many socialists with a Class Struggle viewpoint see its importance as arising from the Proletariat they champion. Some states which claim to be Communist have declared an official working class culture, most notably Socialist Realism , which aims to glorify the worker. It should be noted that glorification of the worker in abstract is seldom a feature of independent working class cultures. Others socialists such as Lenin believed that there could be no authentic proletarian culture free from Capitalism , nor that high culture should not be outside the experience of workers. DEVELOPMENT Working class cultures developed alongside the working class itself, during the Industrial Revolution . As most of the new proletariat were former Peasant s, so the cultures took on much of the localised folk culture. This was soon altered by the changed conditions of social relationships and the increased mobility of the workforce, and later by the marketing of Mass-produced cultural artefacts such as Print s and Ornament s and events such as Music Hall and later Cinema . WORKING CLASS CULTURE AND POPULAR CULTURE Working-class culture may be seen on TV shows such as Roseanne or Good Times in which American families struggle to pay for basic needs. In the United States, working-class culture is often conflated with Southern culture. Thus, shows like The Dukes Of Hazzard or The Beverly Hillbillies can be seen as examples of that culture. Recently, comedian Jeff Foxworthy has had success speaking of Rednecks in The Blue Collar Comedy Tour . VIEWS OF WORKING CLASS CULTURE |