Non native speaker is asking: Social climbing is used as negative and accusatory but Social mobility is good. What’s the difference ?
In: Other
Social climbing is usually used by elitists to describe those trying to be like them or emulate them. For instance, if a person of the deemed “lower class” were doing things to try to gain the good will of the “elite class”, they would be considered a social climber-trying to climb into the elite class. Keep in mind that the “elite” class would want to keep those of a “lower class” out of their social circles. Social mobility is the idea that people, using their own skills, can move above the level of the previous generation.
People like the idea that *someone* can move up in society, because that someone could be them. They’d rather live in a society with social mobility than not.
However, they’re often much less happy that *this particular person* is moving up in society. A given social climber is either leaving you behind or invading your fancy society.
Social climbing is a negative behavior, reflecting people behaving badly to improve their social status. Social mobility is a positive attribute of a society, allowing people to see their social status improve through good behaviors.
To clarify, taking the change you get from a cashier and put it in a charity jar, that’s a good thing. Reaching into the till to grab some of the store’s money and put it in the charity jar, that’s a bad thing.
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Social climbing is a kind of personal behaviour; getting ahead by associating with people based on their social status. This can be seen as sneaky and selfish.
Social mobility is a feature of a society; the extent to which people from a lower socio-economic group can improve their circumstances. This can be influenced by social and economic policies, and would generally be thought to be a good thing.
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