2

I'm trying to write about two groups of people who have different levels of education given to them with different resources at their disposal. one group is at least all high school educated- some holding college degrees, able to search for jobs because they're in cities, the 2nd have illiterate to low reading levels and do not have complete highschool education, they have limited job opportunity available to them cause they're in a rural area.

Is there a better term than privileged to describe the difference, because privileged sounds like they are socially ostracized or some other social privilege than a physical time invested advantage thing.

Improve this question
3
  • In what respect is the difference between these two groups a matter of time investment?
    – alphabet
    Commented Nov 27 at 5:12
  • @alphabet , the first group has at least primary(13years), with an additional 3-5 years bachelor's, + 2 yrs for graduate level education, making their possible time invested into a maximum of 20 years spent on their education. the second group may have anywhere from 0 to under 12 years of formal education, beginning at the primary level. -edit looking into It there might be a bit of social ostracizing going on with the 2nd group
    – Asz
    Commented Nov 27 at 6:29
  • MODERATOR NOTE: Do not suggest answers in comments. Please put answers in the answer box. Do not comment unless you're asking a question to clarify the question.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Nov 27 at 12:39

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
3

You can refer to the group with the advantage as advantaged and conversely the other group as disadvantaged.

Merriam Webster:

advantaged adjective

: having or providing an advantage and especially a social or financial advantage over others

  • advantaged children

  • He comes from an advantaged community.

disadvantaged adjective

: lacking in the basic resources or conditions (such as standard housing, medical and educational facilities, and civil rights) believed to be necessary for an equal position in society

  • disadvantaged families struggling to get by will be benefited by changes in the tax code

[both Merriam-Webster]

Improve this answer
1
  • I think I'd have chosen a different dictionary here; I'm still working on the 'providing an advantage' subsense. Other dictionaries tend to omit this, and I think it's very rare. I haven't found a relevant example. // But 'advantaged' is certainly the optimal answer.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Nov 29 at 12:25
1

The adjective "well-endowed" seems the perfect choice, as the idea of special right is not a part of the connotations this word confers.

(SOED) well-endowed a. a) Well provided with talent or resources, havinf a substantial endowment.

(SOED) endowment 2) An ability, talent, attribute, etc., with which a person is endowed.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    You have to be careful, as this is often used as a euphemism for someone with large testicles.
    – Barmar
    Commented Nov 27 at 17:51
  • @Barmar I was well aware of that as this is a fact found in the SOED, or rather as it is found in it that the term "well-endowed" is used in connection with large genitals; however, in the present context, there can be no confusion since the abilities of the given persons is what the text is going to focus on. It'd be really ridiculous to weed out such a good term from your vocabulary for the sake only of preventing a few straying minds from indulging in inordinate speculations.
    – LPH
    Commented Nov 27 at 18:51
0

There are some words I can think of for a two class society.

The two groups would be considered bi-polar as a whole, the haves and have nots, highbrow and lowbrow, upper and lower class, even possibly even master and servant. The biggest factor would be money between these two since higher education would often leads to high paying positions; like doctors, lawyers, contractors, politicians, and the like.

The learned can be called elitist, refined, civilized, urban or urbanites, metropolitan, townies, or big-city people.

Since the biggest separation you described was education, there could be a slang the uneducated use to refer to the educated like "green caps" in reference to the graduation cap, but that is only if this would be a story.

Improve this answer
2
  • insightful yet probably not the right answer. these people I'm writing about are real and they don't share a society together.
    – Asz
    Commented Nov 30 at 23:10
  • If they are real, I would suggest asking them what they call themselves and the other half. A few hours of just talking to them could give you several phrases. Then again, you probably have been talking to them. In which case, just ignore this.
    – MofMWI_13
    Commented Dec 5 at 5:30

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .