The aim of this project is to initiate research on the perception of society by individuals, along with their own position in it, from both theoretical and empirical aspects. As a timely empirical topic, we will study the possibilities of a correct perception of one’s economic position in times of changing distributions of income and wealth in Sweden. In order to match the generality of the empirical question, a large data set containing the entire Swedish population, aged 16 or older during the last 30 years will be employed, together with methods for large-scale analysis of social networks.