Class in America
A few days ago, G-Money referred with exceptional obliqueness to race relations (a conversation for which I wait with baited breath), and while there is a lot to say about that, any conversation about race eventually becomes a conversation about class. Since I've been meaning to write about Class in America for several months, I thought I'd eliminate the middle man and make it happen.
First of all, it's important to acknowledge that although our system affords greater social mobility than most, there exists a fairly rigid class structure in our society. People can move between classes if you have enough money or enough education, but the structure itself remains intact no matter how easily people move through it. And even though you can yourself move through classes -- either climbing the ladder or making your way downwards -- it's important to remember that class is a gift we give our children. No matter how hard we work, how much we earn, or how many country club memberships we accumulate, we are still stuck in the class to which we are born; our children come from the class in which we live.
For example, I went to high school with a guy whose father had not gone to college. Nevertheless, he -- the father -- was an intelligent and diligent man, and in fifteen short years, he built the largest concrete construction firm in Minnesota. Even though he lived in a solidly upper-middle-class neighborhood, owned three homes, and drove a Cadillac, he was still essentially a working-class guy. His son, though, belonged to the upper-middle-class community in which he had been born. The son belonged to that class; the father did not.
Or, if you like, think about Bill Gates. One of the richest guys in the world... but he's still just a high school drop-out computer nerd with a lot of money. His two children, however, have been born and are being raised as some of the affluent elite, and will eventually be acknowledged as "belonging" with other children who have names like Rockefeller, Forbes, and Rothschild.
And that's my other point about class: it is the earned and jealously guarded privilege of the middle classes to deny that class exists in America. The poor are painfully aware of the nature of class, and the wealthy are constantly reminded of the assault by the lower classes on their social dominance. But talk to a mid-level banker or an insurance salesman about class, and they will tell you that class is a myth. Middle-class thinkers who deny the reality of class are confusing social mobility and class structure. They might say that since people can move so freely from one class to another, class is not an issue. The clever social observer, though, might note that a high level of social mobility in fact reinforces the foundations of class. After all, what's the point of being rich if the poor aren't jealous of your money?
It is this very issue -- social mobility versus class structure -- that is at the core of conflict between races in our culture, and, I daresay, the jumping off point for where that conversation will go. Senator Lott, whose home in Mississippi was destroyed by Katrina, is, for example, is a much better position to deal with the loss of his home than are most of his poor, black constituents. But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. Maybe I should let Kanye West do the talking. (Hat tip: Marathon Man.)
First of all, it's important to acknowledge that although our system affords greater social mobility than most, there exists a fairly rigid class structure in our society. People can move between classes if you have enough money or enough education, but the structure itself remains intact no matter how easily people move through it. And even though you can yourself move through classes -- either climbing the ladder or making your way downwards -- it's important to remember that class is a gift we give our children. No matter how hard we work, how much we earn, or how many country club memberships we accumulate, we are still stuck in the class to which we are born; our children come from the class in which we live.
For example, I went to high school with a guy whose father had not gone to college. Nevertheless, he -- the father -- was an intelligent and diligent man, and in fifteen short years, he built the largest concrete construction firm in Minnesota. Even though he lived in a solidly upper-middle-class neighborhood, owned three homes, and drove a Cadillac, he was still essentially a working-class guy. His son, though, belonged to the upper-middle-class community in which he had been born. The son belonged to that class; the father did not.
Or, if you like, think about Bill Gates. One of the richest guys in the world... but he's still just a high school drop-out computer nerd with a lot of money. His two children, however, have been born and are being raised as some of the affluent elite, and will eventually be acknowledged as "belonging" with other children who have names like Rockefeller, Forbes, and Rothschild.
And that's my other point about class: it is the earned and jealously guarded privilege of the middle classes to deny that class exists in America. The poor are painfully aware of the nature of class, and the wealthy are constantly reminded of the assault by the lower classes on their social dominance. But talk to a mid-level banker or an insurance salesman about class, and they will tell you that class is a myth. Middle-class thinkers who deny the reality of class are confusing social mobility and class structure. They might say that since people can move so freely from one class to another, class is not an issue. The clever social observer, though, might note that a high level of social mobility in fact reinforces the foundations of class. After all, what's the point of being rich if the poor aren't jealous of your money?
It is this very issue -- social mobility versus class structure -- that is at the core of conflict between races in our culture, and, I daresay, the jumping off point for where that conversation will go. Senator Lott, whose home in Mississippi was destroyed by Katrina, is, for example, is a much better position to deal with the loss of his home than are most of his poor, black constituents. But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. Maybe I should let Kanye West do the talking. (Hat tip: Marathon Man.)
posted by Buckwalter at 9:27 PM
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