The Revenant of Class

The Revenant of Class

The middle class's unstated goals are to maintain a decent standard of living for itself and to pass on a stable, good life to their children, all within an agreed-upon set of constitutionally described limits. Prosperous but self-made, elite-adjacent but not elite themselves, it followed the rules while nurturing a belief in the ability to improve one’s circumstances no matter where you found yourself on the social ladder. The middle class served as a stabilizing force, taming the extremes of wealth and poverty while going about its business as white-collar professionals, small-business owners, and mid-level managers. 

The middle class was actually shrinking as many moved into the upper class. The middle class was proof of concept. 

In other words, the middle class, despite its anxieties, was supposed to homogenize the American culture, smoothing out its rough spots and spackling its ruptures as it traveled the cultural path. 

That may not be working now.

The Democrat Party has decided that fostering separation rather than unity benefits their political cause. They have emphasized differences rather than commonalities and have developed a program of intense, isolated, narrow, group identification that demands embracing failures and antagonism toward outsiders who are held responsible for its circumstances. The Republicans have decided they can win that fight with populism. But the essence of both positions is resentment.

And what remains to be seen is if such a self-loathing, self-destructive, and balkanized culture can persist and what, if anything, must be sacrificed for its survival.