The chattering classes is a politically active, socially concerned and highly educated section of the "metropolitan middle class",[1] especially those with political, media, and academic connections. It is a generally derogatory term,[1] often used by pundits and political commentators.
It is sometimes used to refer to a liberal elite, but its first use by British journalist Frank Johnson in 1980 appeared to include a wider range of pundits.[1] Indeed, the term is used by people all across the political spectrum to refer to the journalists and political operatives who see themselves as the arbiters of conventional wisdom.[2] As such, the notion of "chattering classes" can be seen as an antonym to the older idea of an unrepresented silent majority, made notable by the U.S. Republican Party President Richard Nixon.
United States
In the United States, the term has come to be used by both the left and right and to describe political opponents, with Stephen Perrault of the Merriam-Webster dictionary suggesting that the term has "connotations of idleness, of useless talk, that the noun 'chatter' does. ... These people don't amount to much — they like to hear themselves talk."[3]
chattering, classes, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, octobe. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Chattering classes news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The chattering classes is a politically active socially concerned and highly educated section of the metropolitan middle class 1 especially those with political media and academic connections It is a generally derogatory term 1 often used by pundits and political commentators Contents 1 United Kingdom 2 United States 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksUnited Kingdom EditIt is sometimes used to refer to a liberal elite but its first use by British journalist Frank Johnson in 1980 appeared to include a wider range of pundits 1 Indeed the term is used by people all across the political spectrum to refer to the journalists and political operatives who see themselves as the arbiters of conventional wisdom 2 As such the notion of chattering classes can be seen as an antonym to the older idea of an unrepresented silent majority made notable by the U S Republican Party President Richard Nixon United States EditIn the United States the term has come to be used by both the left and right and to describe political opponents with Stephen Perrault of the Merriam Webster dictionary suggesting that the term has connotations of idleness of useless talk that the noun chatter does These people don t amount to much they like to hear themselves talk 3 See also EditIntelligentsia Thought leaderReferences Edit a b c Chattering Classes 2006 Oxford English Dictionary See for example Walter Gretzky s honour The Globe and Mail December 29 2007 p A20 Kornblut Anne E The Peculiar Power of the Chattering Class The New York Times April 2 2006 Retrieved 2008 06 28 External links EditBBC wordhunt entry The Guardian How the chattering classes turned to talk The Chattering Classes This article about a political term is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This sociology related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chattering classes amp oldid 1143287034, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
