Reply to S/O The obsession with class/tackiness/social standing

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[quote=Anonymous]I don't think there is an obsession with class, per se, in the United States. We don't have a class system as originally defined, like the old European and British class systems where there was a rigid pecking order of social classes from the king all the way to the poorest people, where you were born, lived and died in the same class no matter how much or little money you might have, where you were defined by not who you are or your accomplishments but by your family and the class they came from. We have never had anything like that, indeed, the whole point of the US was to get away from that.

But we do have socio-economic cultural groups. Everyone belongs to one. A clear difference between the class system and a socio-economic system is that you can change your groups very easily. So there is an element of wanting to fit in with your preferred group. You become aware of the little social rules and dos and don'ts and clothing and styles of your particular cultural group you want to join and that's where some of the obsession with tackiness comes from.

Then we do have some people who are obsessed with either their warped view of what constitutes "old money" families, or the pretty folks of the country club sets. Neither entity has any meaningful influence or social standing in today's world. Even Bill Gates has no "social" standing because there really isn't a class system that gives a person social precedence over others, and where lack of membership in certain clubs could exclude you from other opportunities.

The irony, given that the discussion is class, is that the most idealized "class" that you could say is aspired to by the most number of people is whitebread upper middle class. Race is not important here, it's the lifestyle, a.k.a Howard County McMansion and a house on a lake somewhere. The other idealized lifestyle that appeals to a much smaller number of people but one that is commonly aspired to in DC and familiar to many of us on DCUM is the educated urban upper middle class. The Chevy Chase/Bethesda/Arlington/NW DC and even Takoma Park if you're really liberal, well-travelled, well-read, Whole Foods shopping, New Yorker reading tribes. But they're not a class, just a socio-economic cultural group. There are no barriers to entry, just have the income and aspirations. [/quote]

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