Social class in Ventora

The social classes in Ventora pre-date the current of Ventora, having their roots in the ruling, trading, and warrior classes of the early s as early as the 500s BC. The classes became more standardized over time, particularly during the periods of Haksar. The formation of the Kingdom of Ventora in 959 CE marked the beginning of the formalization of the es, making them a permanent fixture of society. Since then, the classes have adapted with time and technology but have remained rather consistent.

Characteristics
Only the nobility is defined by law. The other classes exist as a matter of long-standing tradition. The nobility and upper class have long-standing roles in society with respect to governance, community, politics, economic activities, and social affairs, as well as behavioral expectations that have developed over the centuries.

Over the last century, the other classes have tended to be delineated increasingly by economic parameters even as traditional aspects continue to influence social standing. As class definitions became more well defined, economic differentiations also became more ingrained as elements of social class.

Education also affects class characteristics. In the early days of the Kingdom, only nobles and certain members of the upper class were accorded educational opportunities, often by means of private tutors. As the value of knowledge to society as a whole became more apparent, educational opportunities also became more widespread. Nonetheless, higher classes tended to receive better education simply because they could afford more extensive and exclusive schooling. Although less prevalent today, education still carries some class characteristics. Wealthier families tend to avail themselves of private schools, typically of higher quality or more individualized in their approach to meeting common curricula requirements. Beyond compulsory education, the rich are also better positioned to attend university, the completion of which tends to result in higher earning potential. Nonetheless, attaining higher education is an effective means by which people can improve their class standing through higher income and more prestigious occupations or positions.

Urbanization is not a direct determinant of class but it does both reflect and influence class to an extent. In this regard, upper and middle classes tend to live in urbanized areas. Historically this had contributed to the wealth of the cities and has its basis in the early city-states. Living in an urban area, therefore, facilitates economic mobility simply due to increased opportunity. Conversely, some wealthy people, included about half of nobles and nearly a third of upper class, reside in rural areas, although some may work in cities. Persons in the agricultural sector tend to remain within their class and live almost exclusively in rural areas, resulting in such groups being the most directly influenced by their locale with regard to class.

Geographically, the coastal, south, and southwest duchies of Ventora tend to have wealthier residents than the northern duchies. This is due to density and economic activity, including trade and industry in the south compared to agriculture further inland and to the north.

Nobility
The highest echelon of society, the pre-dates the formation of the Kingdom of Ventora. It was formalized in the early 1000s as consisting of three tiers: and titled (or landed) and non-titled (non-landed)  nobility. The titled and non-titled nobility are sometimes referred to as the upper and lower nobility, respectively.

Noble rank in modern Ventora is only, passing to the noble's children through  which makes the eldest child heir apparent for a reigning noble. The conference of noble status for merit, honor, or achievement came to an end with the demise of King Florián III and the entire royal family during the Lorqui viaduct royal train derailment in 1961. Titled nobles may use the de before their familial name.

Originally, nobles were exempted from paying taxes and, in fact, landed nobles usually collected their own taxes in addition to those due nobles of higher rank. The nobility became subject to taxes in 1746 when the right to vote was extended to all taxpayers. This had the effect of ensuring the nobility retains significant influence in the politics of Ventora due to the three-tier franchise electoral system. The system considers ballots on the basis of top, middle, and bottom thirds of taxpayers by taxes paid.

Status as a noble is recorded by the Registrar of Nobility, the official who directs the work of the Syndicate of Nobles (Sindicato de Nobles). The Syndicate is an independent government agency charged with enforcing the laws on nobility and ensuring compliance with the privileges and responsibilities accorded to nobles. As of 2020, there are 10,234 nobles of all ranks in Ventora.

Titled nobles
The titled nobles, sometimes called landed due to their historic, former authorities over lands under their domains, comprise the upper nobility. There are three ranks, with dukes/duchesses being addressed as and counts/countesses and barons/baronesses being addressed as.


 * Duque/Duquesa (Duke/Duchess): hereditary former ruler of a duchy. The reigning dukes and duchesses of the duchies of Ventora now fulfill predominantly ceremonial duties with actual governance administered by an elected . This came about largely due to the lack of personal fealty of a reigning duke/duchess to a monarch following the demise of the royal family.


 * Conde/Condesa (Count/Countess): hereditary former ruler of a county. The modern role of counts/countesses in governance varies in each of the duchies. In some cases, the reigning count/countess fulfills a ceremonial role similar to the dukes/duchesses but at the county level. Some counts/countesses no longer have any role in their county's government. The count/countess actually rules their county in the duchy of Tramullas, last duchy where this practice remains. The directly elected Governor and representative parliament moderates the count's actions as ruler.


 * Barón/Baronesa (Baron/Baroness): hereditary former ruler of a . Today barons/baronesses have no or only ceremonial roles depending on the duchy and county where they are located.

Non-titled nobles
Comprising the lower nobles, non-titled nobles are known as . Although they are considered non-landed, most hidalgos actually own property. Some even own more land than the so-called landed nobility. The distinction, however, is the land owned by hidalgos is not part of a domain awarded for rule. The proper form of address for a hidalgo is Lord/Lady

Upper class
Historically, the upper class was comprised of the who were minor land owners and officials who fulfilled administrative and military duties for the nobles. Although not specifically hereditary in nature, patricianship tended to be passed down through birth. In the modern era, being considered upper class results from position, such as senior government and military officials or large business ownership, and, often, from wealth. Members of the upper class are commonly addressed as /Doña as a matter of customary respect.

Within the upper class, members with long generational standing&mdash;the original patricians&mdash;have some slight advantage in perception of their standing compared to those who have entered the upper class in relatively recent times. Despite their similar degrees of influence in overall society, within the upper class, the newer members are sometimes referred to as , which derives from the for "newly rich". The generationally wealthy tend to think of themselves as nearly noble while perceiving newer members of the upper class as "pretenders" to the class.

Middle class
The middle class is likely the most diverse, occupying the economic space between the highest income and wealth groups and those at the lower end of the spectrum. Sociologists consider about 28.5% of Ventorans as being in the middle class. The class can be further classified as upper and lower middle class, as distinguished by types of occupation and income and wealth levels.

Professionals, such as doctors, scientists, and other highly educated administrators, typically are upper middle class. High-level government and military officials and well-to-do medium-sized business owners, artisans, tradesmen, and high-caliber craftsmen may also be upper middle class. University-level educators and some mid-level government officials and managerial personnel fall into the entry range for the upper middle class. Post-graduate university education is common among upper middle class people. Households deemed upper middle class tend to be considered, having sufficient wealth and income to enable discretionary spending on luxury goods.

Middle managers, bureaucrats, mid-level military careerists, many craftsmen and technicians, and small business owners comprise the bulk of occupations in the lower middle class. Many members of the lower middle class have some university education, often having attained their licentura.

Working class
Making up over 61% of the population, the working class is Ventora's largest social class. Employment usually consists of unskilled labor, including farmhands, retail and service industry, assembly and production workers, and other menial or manual labor, as well as junior military careerists. Semi-skilled workers may be part of the working class, albeit perhaps better off than others. Those toward the lower income levels in the working class may qualify for one or more social assistance benefits.

Base class
Formerly officially known as the lower class, the base class consists largely of people who have little to no wealth and incomes at or below the basic needs assessment (cantidad de necesidades básicas, CNB). The term base class came about in an effort to reduce stigma for the disadvantaged. In practice, however, a majority of people actually refer to the base class as the underclass, the term which came about in the early days of the kingdom.

About 7.8% of the population fall into the base class. They are the most likely group to qualify for social assistance programs. People in the base class include the underemployed, vagrants, stateless persons, homeless, unemployed, and severely or chronically disabled. They tend to live in urban districts more so than rural locales but typically in areas of. They also often lack the education, skills, and physical or mental capabilities to improve their economic and living conditions.

Economic disparities between classes
Numbering 10,234, the nobility comprises only 0.013% of the country's population yet they hold almost 16% of the wealth in Ventora. Similarly, the nobility accounts for 11.6% of income in the country, much of which comes from their holdings and business operations rather than wages. Historically, much of the nobility's income derived from the domains over which they reigned but this practice has largely become obsolete due to the demise of the royal family. In essence, the lack of a monarch negates the personal fealty of nobles to their superior, thus breaking the regnal tie to the domain. Even before the death of King Florián in 1961, most taxation attributable to regnal nobles was transmitted to the domains for governance rather than to the noble him- or herself, a trend that started growing after the First World War.

The upper class makes up about 1.9% of the population but accounts for over a third of the wealth and income in Ventora. Together with the nobility, they represent over half the wealth and 46.2% of income.

At 40 percent of wealth and income, the upper and lower middle class comprises 28.5% of the population. The upper middle class, at 12.3% of the population, makes up 28.3% of wealth and 26.1% of income. The lower middle class, together with the working and base classes, make up 85.8% of people yet only account for just under 21% of the country's wealth and nearly 28% of income. The differences between the highest and lowest classes give Ventora an income of 53.9, one of the highest inequality ratings in the developed world.

Higher shares of base class persons tend to exhibit underemployment or unemployment, under-education, single-parent families, and higher levels of criminality than the other classes. There is wide disagreement among sociologists and other experts as to whether being a member of the base class tends to cause those conditions rather than the conditions relegating persons to the class. As a result, there is also disagreement on what policies could best resolve the issues facing the base class.