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You know what these people call themselves ? Middle class. You see the same thing here in the U.S., and to be honest, I think it's somewhat accurate. The vast
by dkarl 14y ago
You know what these people call themselves ?
Middle class.
You see the same thing here in the U.S., and to be honest, I think it's somewhat accurate. The vast majority of the United States is middle class, and there is a huge range of privilege within it. Some parts of the middle class are virtually inaccessible from other parts. The mistake is not in labeling those rich, privileged people "middle class," but rather in thinking that there is no such thing as middle class privilege. In fact, being born into the middle class is a privilege, and there is a vast range of privilege within the middle class. In the U.S. a middle class kid could have parents with high school diplomas or parents with PhDs, parents with no connections or parents with Ivy League connections, parents who have never been more than a few hundred miles from home or cosmopolitan globe-hopping parents, parents who force them to take out loans for college or parents who pay the entire cost of an Ivy League education with a break year plus professional school afterwards and apartments and cars the whole time. The label "middle class" just doesn't mean much these days.
- hkmurakami 14y agoMany SV millionaires still consider themselves to be "upper middle class" (rather than say, lower upper class), and while it may be a bit inaccurate in an absolute monetary sense, the sentiment may actually be somewhat justifiable considering their relatively lack of influence/status/connections that really drive the country (the "old money", for instance). In that sense, even the SV millionaires are outsiders to the real power brokers, the real upper class, the real movers of the country.
- javert 14y agoI don't think "old money" really "drives the country" in the US. Although that is probably also a bit of an overstatement in Europe as well, this issue is really one of the major historical distinctions between the US and Europe.
- walshemj 14y agooh I don't know America likes to think it doent have a class system but look at the Bushes old money also Bill Gates fits into this class where as say Larry Ellison doesn't
- philwelch 14y agoJust because there are old-money families doesn't mean they're a major part of the class system. Larry Ellison doesn't have fewer privileges than Bill Gates. The Clintons don't have fewer privileges than the Bushes.
- thrownaway2424 14y agoThat's because a million bucks in the Bay Area will only buy you a 900 sq. ft. bungalow on the brink of collapse. A millionaire stopped being remarkable quite a while back.
- smartwater 14y agoPeople make a million by accident these days!
- kstop 14y agoI would like to have this accident plz.