this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2024
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chapotraphouse
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The middle class is part of the working class ("upper middle" is arguable, but many are still workers not owners afaik, just high paying jobs). Obviously not all of it, but depending on the definition it's the same amount or more people than the lower class.
That of course doesn't change the fact that 1) they're basically saying they don't care about the lower class and 2) the contents of that plan are definitely some neoliberal bullshit that barely if at all helps most of the middle class. And of course the distinction between lower and middle class purposefully exists to stifle consideration of the reality that it's actually a working class vs an owning class.
"Middle class" is a term tailor-made to get workers thinking "well I'm not in the same boat as those people" and primed to punch down or pull the ladder up. At best it's a stupid way to refer to tax brackets and at worst it's a malicious wedge.
That's basically what I said in my last sentence, but at the same time you can't discount from a leftist perspective that some working class are poor and barely getting by while some working class are rather comfortable, and that those two groups have somewhat different material interests despite both being part of the working class. Of course that fact is definitely used to pit those two sections of the working class against each other to the benefit of the owning class.
The "middle class" is a near meaningless term in the US because it means anybody making from (very roughly) - I dunno - ~$20,000 to $100,000+ a year. Libs rarely if ever think of themselves as part of the working class unless it's convenient - like now and they can say "we're all in this together" when they know that's a lie.
Biden himself said being middle class is a feeling.
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Edit
I forgot to mention this...
It is 100% a vibes based identity
Do we need a new occupy wall street? I think one useful thing that came about at that time was the idea of the '99%', recognizing that the ultra-wealthy hold such an absurd proportion of capital that distinctions like middle class were useless. It brought to the forefront of public sentiment at the time essentially a reworded concept of bourgeoisie vs proletariat.
Something like that now would be fantastic.
Absolutely
RIP David Graeber