Matthew Arnold classifies the classes of the British society into 3:

Barbarians: the higher class consisting of the aristocracy, nobles, Royals… (Arnold calls them barbarians
because of their ancestors {knights with their barbarous actions such as killing and pillaging])

Philistines: the middle class consisting of merchants, union affiliates…

Populace: The proles, consisting of most of the population of the British society… WORKING FUCKING
CLASS

Arnold says that each class has some qualities of the other classes.

There’s an ordinary self in each class. There’s the better self and lesser self in each class.

But in each class there are those who possess the modicum of best self –The Aliens-, it allows them to
see things as they are and those who have this best self are the ones that will drive society forward;
because they are led by a general humane spirit and love for human perfection.

The necessity of having an authoritative center, like an academy… An ideal center of correct
information, taste, and intelligence, or farther away from it. This is a metaphor as to the need of an
authoritative center to control the masses.

He mocks the Mormons because they rebelled against Protestantism, he says that all of those rebels
can’t be like England, he criticizes the American and the French Revolution. Because the best self can
only exist in England. We have people who we elect, therefore we should not rebel against them
because we chose them ourselves.

Each class, mocks the other class… These actions should stop and we should all unite to advance the
British society.