Middle Class Proud?

[Michael]

The discreet charm of the middle class
By Per Svensson

Nothing is as popular with the middle class as being horrified by the narrow-mindedness of the middle class.

What does the middle class have in common with cruel Sir Kato (from Astrid Lindgren’s Mio, My Son), apart from the task of embodying evil in the world? Self-loathing. No one despises the middle class as diligently as the middle class itself. Is there any contemporary novel where a reasonably typical middle-class existence is presented as harmonious and desirable?

The parking lot is abandoned. Are there any novels, plays, films, TV series or newspaper articles where the values and customs of the middle class are highlighted as an obstacle to a happy and authentic life?
Article (http://www.axess.se/magasin/english.aspx?article=527)

So begins an inquiry into the meaning and existence of 'middle class' (from a Swedish journalist). The middle class is a notoriously easy beast to attack and make fun of, rather like 'hitting the side of a barn' or 'spearing fish in a barrel'. But the middle class life is seemingly popular with some of those who live it, and it does deserve some kind words said in its favor now and again.

So what do you think of the middle class (aka the bourgeoisie)? As you may well surmise, I do have a strong anti-bourgeois streak in me, so I'm not a big fan of it, but I am certainly of the middle class, so my objections do ring hollow with hypocrisy. :shrug:

Anyway, tis an interesting and thoughtful article to read on a Sunday morning. :)

[dilettante]

Hmmm. I don't relate to that perspective at all, and I wonder if its a cultural difference between the US and Europe (or at least Sweden). Here the middle-class is where everyone wants to be; the breadth of people who self-identify as 'middle-class' is immense, so much so that we invent graduations (upper-middle, lower-middle...) in order to expand it.

We decry 'tax cuts for the rich' but laud 'tax cuts for the middle class'. Politicians talk about creating 'middle class jobs', meaning anything between flipping burgers and running a Fortune 500 company. They appeal to 'middle class values', which prove to be immensely flexible and ever changing.

In short, there's almost no consensus on how to define the 'American middle-class', but whoever they are, almost everyone here claims to represent their interests and wants to win their favor.

[Michael]

Hmmm. I don't relate to that perspective at all, and I wonder if its a cultural difference between the US and Europe (or at least Sweden). Here the middle-class is where everyone wants to be; the breadth of people who self-identify as 'middle-class' is immense, so much so that we invent graduations (upper-middle, lower-middle...) in order to expand it.

We decry 'tax cuts for the rich' but laud 'tax cuts for the middle class'. Politicians talk about creating 'middle class jobs', meaning anything between flipping burgers and running a Fortune 500 company. They appeal to 'middle class values', which prove to be immensely flexible and ever changing.

In short, there's almost no consensus on how to define the 'American middle-class', but whoever they are, almost everyone here claims to represent their interests and wants to win their favor.
Yes, it has been one of the greatest successes of US political propaganda that the US working class considers themselves 'middle class'. This tends to serve the political interests of the elites, not the working class.

Is it any wonder that the US working class is the one class in the USA that suffers the most when compared to other western nations? US elites and actual US middle class do very well compared to elites and middle classes in other nations. It is only the US working class (that pretends they are middle-class) that truly gets the short end of the stick. European working class people get way more pay and benefits than American working classes do - probably because they are not deluded into thinking they are middle class.

And the USA has less class mobility than just about any western nation to boot!

Anyway, you are entirely correct that US culture lacks a long tradition of recognizing the 'middle class lifestyle' as brain-dead, suffocating and a celebration of mediocrity, uniformity and small-mindedness.

[Americano]

Yes, it has been one of the greatest successes of US political propaganda that the US working class considers themselves 'middle class'. This tends to serve the political interests of the elites, not the working class.

Is it any wonder that the US working class is the one class in the USA that suffers the most when compared to other western nations? US elites and actual US middle class do very well compared to elites and middle classes in other nations. It is only the US working class (that pretends they are middle-class) that truly gets the short end of the stick. European working class people get way more pay and benefits than American working classes do - probably because they are not deluded into thinking they are middle class.

And the USA has less class mobility than just about any western nation to boot!

Anyway, you are entirely correct that US culture lacks a long tradition of recognizing the 'middle class lifestyle' as brain-dead, suffocating and a celebration of mediocrity, uniformity and small-mindedness.

The American Dream comes to mind.

[Michael]

The American Dream comes to mind.
It is not surprising that this is popular.

What is surprising is that so many people believe it is possible/likely. USA is the one western country where the 'American Dream' is most difficult to achieve - unless you inherit your wealth, in which case the USA is the best country to be in because they will protect your wealth and allow you to pass it to your heirs with the least amount of tax.

But more Americans believe in the American Dream than elsewhere. Seems odd. It might help if they did some research on the topic. :shrug:

[Americano]

It is not surprising that this is popular.

What is surprising is that so many people believe it is possible/likely. USA is the one western country where the 'American Dream' is most difficult to achieve - unless you inherit your wealth, in which case the USA is the best country to be in because they will protect your wealth and allow you to pass it to your heirs with the least amount of tax.

But more Americans believe in the American Dream than elsewhere. Seems odd. It might help if they did some research on the topic. :shrug:

Research? Surely you jest. Commercial advertising and resultant peer group opinion is the research tool of choice for most Americans.

[Michael]

Research? Surely you jest. Commercial advertising and resultant peer group opinion is the research tool of choice for most Americans.

And stop calling me Shirley! :shitfan:

:rofl:

[The Drunk Girl]

But more Americans believe in the American Dream than elsewhere. Seems odd. It might help if they did some research on the topic. :shrug:

I'm not so sure, but this could be due to who I typically hang around. The only people I have ever heard mention the American dream are ones who immigrated from other countries. :shrug:

The only "dream" there is, is work...work...work...and to continue to get stuck further and further in the system. I hate being apart of it, but it is fucking everywhere! One just can't escape it.

[Non Sequitur]

It is not surprising that this is popular.

What is surprising is that so many people believe it is possible/likely. USA is the one western country where the 'American Dream' is most difficult to achieve - unless you inherit your wealth, in which case the USA is the best country to be in because they will protect your wealth and allow you to pass it to your heirs with the least amount of tax.

But more Americans believe in the American Dream than elsewhere. Seems odd. It might help if they did some research on the topic. :shrug:

The American dream is a faith statement more than anything else. You believe it because it some way it's fundamental to the nature of America. Half of President Obama's rhetoric wouldn't fly if we threw out the American dream based on evidence. It's a myth in the sense that it tells a people (in this case Americans) who they are. Whether it happens or not is kind of irrelevant.