new class
Recently formed group
New class refers to an emerging social stratum distinct from traditional class categories, typically applied to knowledge workers, technocrats, or cultural elites who derive power from education and expertise rather than capital ownership or manual labor.
The term gained currency in mid-20th-century political theory to describe intellectuals and professionals whose influence comes through institutions like universities, media, and government bureaucracies.
Critics use it pejoratively to suggest this group pursues its own interests while claiming to speak for the common good.
- precariatClass facing chronic instability
- technocratsExpert-led administrators
- nobilityTitled ruling class
- upper crustSocial elite class
- aristocracyRule by hereditary elite
gentry · bourgeoisie · intelligentsia · prep · occupation · estate · clergy · proletariat · collective · nouveau riche · meritocracy · upwardly mobile · sociocultural · teacher · training programs · student · freshman · first day
new classsenior class
Final-year student body
advanced class · old guard · graduating class · veterans · old hands
new classold guard
Conservative faction within organization
ancien régime · hereditary nobility · old money · landed gentry · patricians