Chattering classes

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The chattering classes is a term often used in the media and by political commentators to refer to a politically active, socially concerned and highly educated elite section of the middle class, especially those with political, media, and academic connections.

The term "commentariat" is roughly synonymous with the "chattering class", although it connotes more authoritarian manners.

This group is assumed to have good connections with the politically powerful and the conclusion is made that its concerns can be quickly translated into political action. It is believed to have an influence on the political agenda out of proportion to its numbers.

The term is often used in a derogatory sense, to suggest that those concerned have a soft-left agenda which is unrealistic ("chattering" suggesting both a preoccupation with theory rather than practicality, and a lack of real experience of the problems under discussion), unserious ("He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat.") and elitist (unconcerned with the beliefs of ordinary people).

The first use of the expression recorded by the OED was in 1980.

[edit] External links

• BBC wordhunt entry
• OED entry from 1989
• revised OED entry from 2006
• Guardian on how the group may be expanding
• New Statesman essay on the CCs Oct 2005