ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the symbolic and moral construction of the lower class. It argues that the principle of this construction, namely an invisible dividing line between the “worthy” and the “worthless” persons, is valid for all capitalist societies. The chapter discusses the incorporation of this dividing line into social practice and illustrates it with regard to the empirical case of Brazil. The lower classes in the world seem to be much less likely candidates for a potentially global class than the upper classes. Capitalism claims to be egalitarian and fair, and because of this develops a complex of formal equalities that populates the constitutions and legal systems of contemporary nation states. Pierre Bourdieu was a pioneer in demonstrating the influence of the invisible dividing lines created by the moral hierarchies in modern society. The dividing line between the two lower classes reflects the possibility of differential appropriation of what we call “cultural capital”.
