The lack of dignity and social respect conferred upon those who perform jobs like trash collection is precisely the cultural ill OP is describing. One of my fa

The lack of dignity and social respect conferred upon those who perform jobs like trash collection is precisely the cultural ill OP is describing. One of my favorite parts of living in Germany has been the relative lack of social hierarchy associated with one's job. I'm in a martial arts class with a mix of doctors, lawyers, musicians, carpenters, students, and (actual) garbage collectors, and not once have I noticed a stratification or class connotation in discussion during or after class. They have very different economic means of course, but "dignity and social respect" is exactly the right description for the quality they all grant each other as contributing members of society. It's a cultural quality I've come to accept as a marker of a functional social democracy.