3 ms·
Kind of an amazing age where the concept of a butler on demand is available to the middle class. I don't like the idea for myself, but the concept is incredible
by ballenf 9y ago
Kind of an amazing age where the concept of a butler on demand is available to the middle class. I don't like the idea for myself, but the concept is incredible.
- bzbarsky 9y agoActually, for the middle class (which was admittedly somewhat smaller than what we may think of as "middle class" now) domestic help was pretty normal before the 20th century. http://www.bradford-delong.com/2013/01/agatha-christie-i-never-thought-i-would-be-so-poor-as-to-not-have-live-in-staff-or-so-rich-as-to-have-a-car-and-driver.html http://www.bradford-delong.com/2013/01/agatha-christie-i-nev... is somewhat telling; Agatha Kristie's Wikipedia entry says her family was "upper middle-class", but it's not that common for families like that to have live-in help nowadays. Except maybe au pair arrangements.
- dragonwriter 9y agoHaving occasional domestic help has been typical of the middle class in capitalist societies for a long time; in early capitalist societies, often full-time rather than occasional, but with smaller staff than the upper class.