There are slight differences in where the middle class and the upper class go to eat, where and how often they vacation, but besides that there are very few differences. In this country, the upper class and the middle class are equally powerless in terms of self-expression and lifestyle. The middle class man can spend his excess in the exact same way an upper class man can spend his excess, the only difference is the degree to which individual has excess to spend. The same exact lack of differentiation applies to women of supposedly differing classes.
The game of social life in America is extremely boring and meaningless. This is not to say it is any better in Europe, as there are very few things Europe does better than America, but rather to say that the general American public is completely controlled by people existing outside of any accessible class structure. Money will not buy you entry into the club that has special permissions, because the only club that is left is not a country club but rather some bizarre cult based on blood that does not originate in America.
Most people (regardless of income) lack taste, so it’s not a real problem that the social system in America is limited to how much you are allowed to consume. With that said, it is a problem for people who do have taste and those who have ideals, which breaks down into a small percentage of people across all age spectrums -- the former group -- and a large percentage of people in the younger age range -- the latter group. This essay is not an exhortation, as I am not in the latter group, but rather an observation and analysis.
Besides stability, the two biggest advantages the rich have over the middle class in America are food and time. The rich can afford to eat food that is not largely chemical in nature, and furthermore this food can be cooked by people they employ. The time advantage of the rich has quickly become proportionally irrelevant, as the way in which the rich spend their time is increasingly mirroring the way in which the non-rich spend their time, eg in wasteful consumption of digital entertainment. The middle class, if they can be disciplined enough to cook instead of eating fast food or ordering food online, have no real fundamental difference in status from those who are “upper class”. There are those who can spend a little, and those who can spend a lot, but both these are simply people who are allowed to spend. Who is allowing them to spend? The same group.
The game of social life in America is extremely boring and meaningless. This is not to say it is any better in Europe, as there are very few things Europe does better than America, but rather to say that the general American public is completely controlled by people existing outside of any accessible class structure. Money will not buy you entry into the club that has special permissions, because the only club that is left is not a country club but rather some bizarre cult based on blood that does not originate in America.
Most people (regardless of income) lack taste, so it’s not a real problem that the social system in America is limited to how much you are allowed to consume. With that said, it is a problem for people who do have taste and those who have ideals, which breaks down into a small percentage of people across all age spectrums -- the former group -- and a large percentage of people in the younger age range -- the latter group. This essay is not an exhortation, as I am not in the latter group, but rather an observation and analysis.
Besides stability, the two biggest advantages the rich have over the middle class in America are food and time. The rich can afford to eat food that is not largely chemical in nature, and furthermore this food can be cooked by people they employ. The time advantage of the rich has quickly become proportionally irrelevant, as the way in which the rich spend their time is increasingly mirroring the way in which the non-rich spend their time, eg in wasteful consumption of digital entertainment. The middle class, if they can be disciplined enough to cook instead of eating fast food or ordering food online, have no real fundamental difference in status from those who are “upper class”. There are those who can spend a little, and those who can spend a lot, but both these are simply people who are allowed to spend. Who is allowing them to spend? The same group.