Classes and Castes. Austrian society was traditionally highly stratified, with well-defined social distinctions. In the early 1800s, the three major social classes were aristocrats, "citizens," and peasant-farmers or peasant-serfs. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a small aristocracy remained, along with a small middle class of entrepreneurs, a larger working class, and a large class of peasant-farmers (about 55 percent of the population). During the period between World War I and World War II, these classes developed separate political affiliations as well, dividing the people into camps based on beliefs in either social democracy, conservative Christian politics, or liberalism. These camps dissolved after World War II, and a growing middle class effected change in the social structure.
Prosperity, mobility, and more government benefits in the late twentieth century resulted in a higher standard of living for nearly all Austrians. There are more middle-class citizens than any other group, and education is considered the means to upward mobility. Equality is promoted throughout Austria, although foreign workers, immigrants, and Gypsies are still generally less accepted by the middle class.-------------------------------------------
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