> If we accept the mainstream American definition of middle class as being about income levels, then Andreessen can still be correct if... That's a lot of hoop

> If we accept the mainstream American definition of middle class as being about income levels, then Andreessen can still be correct if... That's a lot of hoops, and at the end you get a result that doesn't really say anything interesting about changes in society. :-) In the European definition of class, the big divider between working class and middle class is the value placed on education, and the optimism of the middle class. They believe that through the power of education they will have boundless opportunities as adults to shape their lives, lead a good life, and see their own children do the same. And that class of people is growing, those values are spreading, so under that definition he is clearly wrong. But as you say, under the American definition, yeah median income might be falling, and that makes him technically right. But is that position useful if the values of the middle class are spreading? If I were to make meaningful predictions about society, I would place greater importance to people's hopes and dreams and visions of the future, than changes in disposable income...