Social Classes - Mini Worldbuilding #2

Social classes have played, and continue to play, an important role in the history of humanity. No matter which slice of history you look at, there always seems to be some social hierarchy. These can range from relatively flat, like a chief and his tribe, to a king with varying levels of nobles and barons beneath him.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the key questions to ask yourself when determining the social order of your world. This isn’t meant as a how-to or complete guide, but more of a way to spark your creativity and to get you thinking about your world. It’s part of a series we call our “Mini-Worldbuilding”, where we take a topic at a high level and explore some key ideas around it.

What Is Valued?

Before thinking about anything else, it’s important to think about what sorts of attributes might lead to the development of social classes. What sorts of things do the people of your world value, and how might that lead to different classes emerging?

Some things we’ve seen in the past include physical capabilities, money, land, power, and influence. Any of these, or a combination of them, might be a key delineation of certain social classes. It might, for example, require the holding of land to be considered upper class in your world.

The key idea here is to start thinking about what makes the social classes in your world work. What sorts of attributes does the upper class have that separate them from those beneath them, and how does the desire to obtain those attributes reflect the attitudes and goals of society? Keeping those ideas in mind, it’s easy to see how conflict might arise both between those of differing classes, as well as the same class looking to expand their influence.

What are The Social Classes?

Another good place to start is by sketching out the social classes in your world. I find it helps to start broadly and then narrow down as needed. Knowing that there’s a difference between the upper and lower classes is often enough to begin without getting bogged down in the minutiae of where a scholar vs priest sits in the upper-class hierarchy. Start broad and narrow things down as needed.

That leads to another important point: there are likely sub-hierarchies inside of each class. While a King and a Baron might both be classified as nobles, there might be a big difference in their individual status. This can apply at every level, from the mightiest king to the lowliest peasant.

As noted above, sometimes having the broad outline is enough. Remember, the goal here is to flesh out enough details to tell your story. If it’s enough to say “Roger Mortimer is a noble”, and that serves the plot, then leave it at that; you may not need to answer the question on whether he’s a noble duke vs baron.

How Important Are The Classes?

Another thing to consider is how important being in a specific class is. You might envision a world where everyone has a fair shake at life regardless of their station, which would be a world where social classes matter little.

On the other hand, your world might have a strict caste system where those in the higher tiers might enjoy a significantly better life than those below them. This world would have a much stricter hierarchy, and would likely have certain problems like wealth inequality. Think about how big a disparity this is in your world, and what that means for the people living in it.

What Does It Mean To Be In a Certain Class?

Building off the above, it’s also helpful to start thinking about what it actually means to be in a certain class. If someone is a member of the upper class, what does that mean? Do they have certain responsibilities in society, a certain level of wealth, or education? Think back to the first question here, too. The higher in the rankings, the more “items of value” they likely have. The same is true for those in the lower class; what makes them lower class in comparison to others?

In many cases, we can see that different social classes are expected to act or behave in a certain way or participate in certain social events. Is that true in your world, and how important is that to the people?

Does Gender/Race Play a Role?

A small point here, but what, if any, is gender’s role in your social structures? Historically, women have always gotten the short end of the stick. That doesn’t have to be the case in your world, though.

In a fantasy world, we might also want to expand this thought to different races. Are humans treated differently from gnomes or dwarves?

Where Do Religion and Education Fit?

Another small point is that religion and education have also played a role in where people sit in society. We can see many examples in the past of priests and scholars having certain sway; some were even a feature of the king’s courts. Consider how religion or education might be a way to enable social mobility, or how it might be something restricted to the upper class.

How Do Social Classes Interact?

The interactions between social classes are another key aspect, and likely one where a lot of interesting conflict lies. How often do the classes interact, and what does that look like? Are they even allowed to interact, or is that considered taboo?

Do These Classes Differ Across Cultures?

Not all cultures of our world have the same social classes, and that’s likely to be true in your worlds as well. Consider the differences between cultures, and, specifically, how those differences crop up in interactions. A small tribe led by a chief is likely to have some significant differences when compared to a large empire headed by a divine emperor.

Is There Mobility Between Classes?

Lastly, and this was hinted at a bit above, consider how one might move from their original class to one higher or lower. Is that even possible, and if so, how difficult is it?

Historically, moving up on the social ladder was extremely difficult. It wasn’t often possible for someone born a peasant to move up much further than becoming a rich peasant. Even with wealth, they simply weren’t part of the high strata; you largely had to be born into it.

Of course, that wasn’t always the case, and doesn’t have to be the case for your worlds. You might very well have some sort of social mobility built into your world that allows people to move up or down the ladder.

Some ways that might allow social mobility:

• Acquiring wealth or land
• Having a close relationship with a king or other noble
• Performing a great deed for the kingdom or king
• Obtaining a legislative position, like the mayor of a major city
• Moving into a specific profession, like a priest or scholar

These aren’t all the ways, but just some examples. Keep in mind that all of these might not apply to your world.

Final Thoughts

As noted above, this is not meant to be a comprehensive article on building your social structure (we might do one of those later, though). Instead, use this more as a springboard to start thinking about societies and their social classes, and build from there.

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or comments. We love to hear from our readers!