Marx, Magic, and a Mixed Bag

Susan Hall’s take on social stratification in the wizarding world draws important comparisons to the historical class divides in the muggle world of Great Britain. Hall claims that those in the muggle world benefit from social mobility based on inventiveness and ingenuity in a way that wizards generally do not. She also makes an important distinction between the class divide-busting efforts of someone like Harry and the misguided attempts at allyship made by those like Hermione. While the latter is a useful discussion of social justice in a broken class system, the former is founded on an old-fashioned understanding of bootstraps ambition.

While discussing upward mobility, Hall seems to be using an outdated model in terms of the western muggle world. There are still opportunities for individual innovation, but the increased divide between rich and poor means that it is now exponentially harder for the poor to work/invent/innovate their way upward. Access to the internet has made information a more plentiful resource, but large scale economic instability has forced lower class folks to work multiple jobs just to control their descent into debt. By occupying so much of their time, they have been kept from spending time on entrepreneurial endeavors. To make matters worse, all of the jobs they tend to be working exist within the service industry and offer few opportunities for ingenious employee input. Increased corporate control of business at all levels has also led to increased standardization that stymies creativity. Hall explains “There seems to be no framework within which their research endeavors can be recognized and rewarded.” She believes she is underlining a difference between the muggle and wizarding worlds, but really ends up underlining a frustrating shift in the muggle world.

In her brief comments on the differences between Harry and Hermione in terms of their feelings about house elves, Hall identifies parallels with current approaches to social justice. An attitude exists among upper middle class folks that leads them to believe that they know what’s best for those who are less privileged and must make decisions for them in order to solve their problems. Those who come from less privileged groups serve as better advocates for their advancement. Hall explains it well.

“Harry’s treatment by the Dursleys, which allows him to perceive life from a low rung on the class ladder, gives him insights that eventually allow him to defeat Voldemort. For example, the Dursleys treat him like a servant—or a house-elf. As a result, his treatment of house-elves such as Dobby or Kreacher is marked by his understanding and empathy.”

There is important nuance here that ought to inform progressive efforts to make the world a better place for all those who live in it. This is the sort of nuance I would have liked to have seen more of in Hall’s discussion of upward mobility in a modern corporate environment. We are increasingly limited in our freedoms, but rather than government control (as it exists in the wizarding world) it is corporate control that seeks to force us muggles into our socioeconomic roles. These parallels “cast new lights on real life” and illuminate necessary truths. It is exciting to me that YA fiction can be such a meaningful instigator for social commentary at a time when it is so necessary. As a soon-to-be English teacher, I look forward to helping students find books that act as “new lights” to help them better understand their own lives.

PS I think J.K. Rowling’s negative representations of poor people are lame. Didn’t end up focusing on that, but it’s on my mind now.