4 ms·

The thing that's so weird about a Late Capitalist society like the U.S. is the amount of time spent ritualizing inequality into a quasi-religious phenomena. The

The thing that's so weird about a Late Capitalist society like the U.S. is the amount of time spent ritualizing inequality into a quasi-religious phenomena. The lower classes have no desire for wealth, but instead an ascetic mastery of whatever lot the divine order of the market has handed them. Meanwhile, our gilded class of saints must be free and untroubled by worldly concerns(mostly taxes), so they can harness their benevolent energies towards curing the ills of we small mortals. I guess it makes sense given our history of religious nuttery, but I never expected to live in such a "mythical" world.

Roboprog 10y ago
Watching TED Talks is like this. Sometimes they are interesting, but sometimes, sickeningly self congratulatory.
dmix 10y ago
Why would high performing employees with office jobs be "lower class"? As others mentioned once you hit a certain income threshold and job security, then you can start prioritizing the parts of the job you enjoy. This is who the article is talking about. This means keeping a $60k job instead of sacrificing your happiness for $90-100k. That's hardly quasi-religious phenomena. It's a luxury of skilled people living in a western society. If anything it's the result of the push back against capitalism, such as the type of comment you just made. We're all told since we're kids to do what we love. And to since the late 1980s this anti-consumerism Fight Club-style mantra has been pushed hard to the point it's basically mainstream now, which is why marketing is so hard these days, even kids see through ads and demand authenticity. The primary issue of inequality is largely the result of the fact that ~90% of recent job growth since the 2008 recession has been temporary/contract jobs, with little job security. These aren't the type of people who are valuing 'mastery' over money'. Middle class job growth is largely dead. And big incumbents dominate markets and global economic systems push wealth to a few. Entrepreneurship has also declined recently. There's plenty of reasons. I don't suspect it's some cultural, original sin, type of thing that we should all feel guilty about.
- alphonsegaston 10y ago
  >Why would high performing employees with office jobs be "lower class"? As others mentioned once you hit a certain income threshold and job security, then you can start prioritizing the parts of the job you enjoy. This is who the article is talking about. Because they're foolish enough to believe that themselves in solidarity with the oligarch class, when really they're only temporarily useful to them. If you think "high-performers" are part of the elite or are going to escape from this neo-feudalism unscathed, well, enjoy this sermon.
  - gozur88 10y ago
    >Because they're foolish enough to believe that themselves in solidarity with the oligarch class, when really they're only temporarily useful to them. Not everyone takes the Marxist view of society in which we're perpetually locked in a class struggle, with enemy classes and those with which we're "in solidarity".
    - psyc 10y ago
      I don't think it makes any sense to call that a 'view' - other than the trite philosophical sense in which everybody's worldview is their own. Not sure what part of Marx's analysis of class struggle would actually depend on personal opinion in any meaningful way.
      - gozur88 10y ago
        Because it doesn't reflect reality? Do you really feel like you're "struggling" with other classes?
        psyc 10y ago
        Absolutely. Every single day of my 40 years (no doubt this experience is strongly connected to having been raised in poverty). Not confrontationally, face-to-face, or with violence. That's the whole point.
        10y ago

Roboprog 10y ago

Watching TED Talks is like this. Sometimes they are interesting, but sometimes, sickeningly self congratulatory.

dmix 10y ago

Why would high performing employees with office jobs be "lower class"? As others mentioned once you hit a certain income threshold and job security, then you can start prioritizing the parts of the job you enjoy. This is who the article is talking about. This means keeping a $60k job instead of sacrificing your happiness for $90-100k. That's hardly quasi-religious phenomena. It's a luxury of skilled people living in a western society. If anything it's the result of the push back against capitalism, such as the type of comment you just made. We're all told since we're kids to do what we love. And to since the late 1980s this anti-consumerism Fight Club-style mantra has been pushed hard to the point it's basically mainstream now, which is why marketing is so hard these days, even kids see through ads and demand authenticity. The primary issue of inequality is largely the result of the fact that ~90% of recent job growth since the 2008 recession has been temporary/contract jobs, with little job security. These aren't the type of people who are valuing 'mastery' over money'. Middle class job growth is largely dead. And big incumbents dominate markets and global economic systems push wealth to a few. Entrepreneurship has also declined recently. There's plenty of reasons. I don't suspect it's some cultural, original sin, type of thing that we should all feel guilty about.

alphonsegaston 10y ago
>Why would high performing employees with office jobs be "lower class"? As others mentioned once you hit a certain income threshold and job security, then you can start prioritizing the parts of the job you enjoy. This is who the article is talking about. Because they're foolish enough to believe that themselves in solidarity with the oligarch class, when really they're only temporarily useful to them. If you think "high-performers" are part of the elite or are going to escape from this neo-feudalism unscathed, well, enjoy this sermon.
- gozur88 10y ago
  >Because they're foolish enough to believe that themselves in solidarity with the oligarch class, when really they're only temporarily useful to them. Not everyone takes the Marxist view of society in which we're perpetually locked in a class struggle, with enemy classes and those with which we're "in solidarity".
  - psyc 10y ago
    I don't think it makes any sense to call that a 'view' - other than the trite philosophical sense in which everybody's worldview is their own. Not sure what part of Marx's analysis of class struggle would actually depend on personal opinion in any meaningful way.
    - gozur88 10y ago
      Because it doesn't reflect reality? Do you really feel like you're "struggling" with other classes?
      - psyc 10y ago
        Absolutely. Every single day of my 40 years (no doubt this experience is strongly connected to having been raised in poverty). Not confrontationally, face-to-face, or with violence. That's the whole point.
      - 10y ago