What you may be getting at is something similar to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_poverty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_poverty Whic

What you may be getting at is something similar to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_poverty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_poverty Which I don't completely disagree with. At certain cross-cutting cleavages, one can reasonably say that it is the people in a toxic environment who perpetuate the toxicity than most other influences (not combined)[1] Two problems, however, with redefining social class to be based upon "thinking" is that it neglects causality of said thinking, and, worse, fabulates "just so" stories. The first problem can be phrased as: are my poor friends bad at managing their socioeconomic lives because they don't have the same values or abilities as I, or is it because they're too exhausted by their daily drudgeries to invest the time and effort to climb the ladders of advancement? Do I have more natural talent and skills which align with market needs than my fellow? Perhaps a bit of both for the first question, and yes, probably, for the second. The second problem with that perspective is that it essentially boils down to: "The poor think poorly therefore they are poor.", "The middle class thinks good therefore they are the middle class." and, of course, "the upper class think amazingly therefore they are upper class." One can argue that poor thinking will lead them to make unwise decisions that will sap their financial strength[2]. But not always: what goes on in the head doesn't necessarily always changes the number of zeros in a bank account. [3] While I agree an individual ought not to be not foolish with their assets, other factors like environment must be included in analysis to know why some succeed and most flounder. Conflating class with intelligence, i.e. a way of thinking being the main criteria for class, is more or less an opinion page of the Wall Street Journal and not a good start for analyzing how to better social mobility. [1] Pakistan is a good example of people perpetuating toxicity. Context: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9642488 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9642488 and direct link: https://www.quora.com/Does-the-average-Pakistani-support-the-Taliban/answer/Muhammad-Zakariya-Al-Razi https://www.quora.com/Does-the-average-Pakistani-support-the... [2] In a rigged system, I would say that poor thinking by an upper class person could paradoxically help them ascend to even greater heights. For example: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2014/03/26/dismantling-ceos-golden-parachutes/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2014/03.... For a better and more topical example: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/donald-trump-bankruptcy-laws-213190 http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/donald-trump-... [3] http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/money-and-class/?_r=0 http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/money-and-class/...