Tidlig på 1800-tallet hadde ideene om arbeiderklassen og middelklassen allerede blitt tatt i bruk i dagligtalen: «The old hereditary aristocracy, reinforced by the new gentry who owed their success to commerce, industry, and the professions, evolved into an "upper class". Its consciousness was formed in part by public schools (in the British sense where it refers to a form of private school) and Universities. The upper class tenaciously maintained control over the political system, depriving not only the working classes but the middle classes of a voice in the political process».