Class

The Fractopian social structure has no “caste system” and actually offers a modicum of social mobility -- though it's easier to drift downward than upward, of course. Every day another struggling creative strikes (virtual) gold with a popular vworld, a fad invention, or a viral wave of public attention (for whatever reason). Similarly, it’s not uncommon for a person of great wealth and power to be suddenly taken down, either by the consequences of a failed business venture or a scandalous flurry of unstoppable news exposés and rumors.

It's also true that the civilized world of Fractopia is stratified vertically as well as horizontally. Thanks to the ubiquitous nature of ambient computing and the immersive appeal of augmented and virtual displays, chances are good that at any given time, the person standing right next to you is looking at a significantly different world than you are.

For most economic and sociological purposes, however, the society can be viewed as a stacked hierarchy of socio-economic strata which can be loosely referred to as “social classes.” One's social class is highly correlated to one’s disposable income, occupational skills and district of residence. From top to bottom, roughly speaking, the socio-economic structure looks like this:

Social Classes

 * Corporate Upper Class – Technocrats, Politicians & Corporate Owners
 * Corporate Middle Class - Corporate Managers & Technologists
 * Corporate Lower Class - Corporate Contractees, Clerks & Specialists
 * Independent Upper Class - Small Business Owners, Online Celebs & Fortunate Hustlers
 * Independent Lower Class - Gig Workers (crowdsourced labor) & Indie Content Producers
 * Resource Zone Workers – indentured, desperate, and/or rugged individuals
 * Urban Homeless – a mixed bag of neurotics, psychotics, squatters and Scrumblies
 * Discons – the disconnected

Outsider Groups

 * Arcology/Aqualogy Dweller
 * Offworld-born
 * Nomadic Homeless
 * Wild Humans