What does the expression "blue collar" mean?

It turns out that there are not only blue collars, but also white, gray, pink, blue. Such an expression, of course, is imaginative. It is not in the literal sense of this element of clothing, but in general about the dress code of certain categories of workers, depending on their professional duties. Also the expression "blue (white, blue) collar" serves to indicate the status of a person.

We will understand what is in these "multicolored" concepts.

So, the "blue collar".

This is what workers are called, who are engaged primarily in manual labor, often at large enterprises. The concept came to us from the West (from Great Britain), where its stable expression sounds like a "blue-collar worker". Traditionally (historically it happened) this is the working class. Such an expression denotes skilled workers or workers engaged in the field of manual labor in factories, workshops, construction sites. The uniforms of these people are literally more often than dark blue or blue in order to avoid rapid contamination, which is the reason for the name.

In contrast to the concept of "blue collar" There are "white-collar workers". They represent the caste of employees, officials, employees of the management apparatus, managers, engineering and technical workers, personnel engaged in mental work. This category of workers prevails in the developed countries over the number of industrial workers.

Sociological scientists (for example, E. Giddens in the textbook "Sociology"), considering the structure of society, namely class systems, suggests such a division of large-scale groups of people:

- the upper class (its representatives are rich people, big businessmen, industrialists);

- middle class (mainly represented by "white collars" and specialists);

- working class (includes "blue collars", people engaged in manual labor).

- peasants (people who provide their livelihoods by agricultural production).

In addition to these two main gradations, there are also such:

- "pink collars" - this is the bulk of women working in the office secretaries, typists, telephone operators, etc.;

- "gray collars" - this is the name of employees in the social infrastructure sector , as well as of the service sector;

- "golden collars" - this category is represented by highly qualified scientists and specialists with entrepreneurial veins, which they successfully use in combination with professional unique knowledge;

- "brown collars" - this is what employees of the service sector call.

Such figurative expressions denoting the nature of professional activity, however, also define class affiliation, since their status depends on the well-being of people and their occupation.

At present, there is a tendency to reduce the size of the working class and increase the category of "white-collar workers". This is explained by the democratization in the developed countries of the world, the accessibility of higher education, the development of foreign economic relations.