‘Class is Always a Matter of Morals’: Bourdieu and Dewey on Social Class, Morality, and Habit(us)

Abstract

This article argues that all judgements or statements about social class are inherently moral in that they implicitly advocate how people should (or should not) act. The argument extends Bourdieu’s linking of social class and representation by introducing Dewey’s intertwining of morality and habit. It is suggested that Kant’s apparently distinct critiques have set up three domains – knowledge, morality, aesthetics – which modern thought has treated as radically discrete. Although successful in linking the objective and the aesthetic (social class and its representation), Bourdieu was unable to incorporate the moral. Dewey’s reconceptualization of morality and habit is presented as able to overcome this limitation. The introduction of morality is intended to reflect the contingent and complex operations of social class. The article aims to destabilize contemporary conceptions of social class by clarifying the enduring moral aspect which supports its conceptualization and existence.