Economy/Class

Money is an illusion

The population of the world in 2048 can be broadly split into 6 socioeconomic classes. There can be a lot of variation between individual members of any class however the split between different classes is much more pronounced.

Classes:

In order from richest to poorest (in the colloquial slang of 2048)

1. United Government

2. Chuff

3. Joneses

4. Civvies

5. PNG's

6. Outcasts

United Government

The Ruling Elite and their extended family who live quite literally in the sky. Here they are away from the rest of the world and enjoy untold riches that the people on the surface don't even know exist.

Chuff

Slang for the wealthiest upper class, so called because it is the sound their quadcopter cars made. This is a distinct characteristic as most people today still drive ground based vehicles. Many Chuff worked with members of the United Government to earn their wealth, but this relationship was usually purely for business. Most Chuff are extremely jealous of their wealthier neighbours who live above them, and wish they too could one day reach that position. The Enlightened are part of this group.

Joneses

These people live near civvies but are so called since they seem to always have nice or the newest things. They are the highest earners in their neighborhoods and don’t always fit in with the civvies but can't associate with the chuff.

Civvies

The second largest group that takes up the middle of the economic pyramid. Generally civvies support the United Government and consider their lives to be adequate. They aspire to one day be able to keep up with the Joneses, and believe they have a fairly good chance of climbing the economic ladder. Unfortunately statistics show that civvies who do take a risk (such as entrepreneurship) to escape their class are almost guaranteed to end up falling instead of climbing. As such most become content with their life and are grateful for what they have, while trying to avoid unlucky circumstances (such as health problems, vehicle crashes, etc. that will either be unpaid by the mandatory insurance or increase their rates exponentially).

PNG's

This group is made up of mainly homeless and replicants. The replicants are forced to wear an arm band which distinguishes them and allows for easy discrimination. United Government propaganda commonly blames replicants and the homeless for many social and economic issues.

Outcasts

This group is made up of "War Boars", Mutants, and the "Greens". Ostracized by most people and separate from society the people in this group hope desperately for a better life.

"War Boar": Slang for the cyborgs that mutilated their body permanently for wars. These "wars" are no longer fought for any reason except for the enjoyment of the rich. They are guaranteed to be saved from death on the faux battlefield due to their brain being backed up to a hard drive and extracted. The rich like to include themselves in the wars as well using huge mechs or otherwise overpowered equipment. Generally if you have nowhere else to go and no way of making money, you turn to becoming a war boar as a last resort for survival. After War Boars retire they have trouble fitting in to society, many with little left of their original body, PTSD and their only cybernetics being weaponry.

Mutants: Live underground in the sewers and are human/replicants that were mutated by cybernetic waste. They have developed a society that lives off of this waste and stays separate from the surface world. Persecuted by the United Government and killed on sight they are rarely ever seen above ground. The mutations and toxic waste that they consume causes them agonizing pain and can make them continuously grow limbs or other body parts.

Greens: Modern day hippies who reject the hyper advanced society we live in today. They wish for a return to simpler times and live outside the reach of the United Government in lands still unindustrialized. Little is known about them, but maybe one of our characters will find out more on their travels.