Joint Book Review: Class, by Paul Fussell
4 days ago
- #american-culture
- #social-class
- #status-hierarchy
- Americans have a complex relationship with social class, often denying its existence while simultaneously engaging in class-based behaviors and discussions.
- Social class in America is defined by more than just income; it includes education, taste, values, and behavior, with the upper classes defining the hierarchy.
- Paul Fussell's 'Class' divides American society into nine classes, from the 'top out-of-sight' to the 'bottom out-of-sight,' focusing on the visible middle and upper classes.
- Upper-class individuals often exhibit eccentricities and anti-intellectualism, while the upper-middle class values education and sophistication, often displaying status through cultural markers.
- The middle class is characterized by insecurity and a desire for respectability, often using euphemisms and commercial jargon to appear sophisticated.
- Proles (working-class individuals) are divided into high, mid, and low proles, with distinct behaviors such as brand loyalty and practical hobbies like hunting.
- Class indicators have evolved over time, but natural, labor-intensive, and understated items remain higher class, while artificial and convenient items are lower class.
- Social media and the internet have blurred class lines, leading to 'prole drift,' where lower-class tastes influence higher classes, creating a flattening of cultural distinctions.
- Politics in America has become increasingly class-based, with the upper-middle class leaning left and proles leaning right, leading to heightened class conflict.
- The concept of 'Class X' represents bohemian individuals who reject conventional class markers, but this behavior has been co-opted by the upper-middle class, diluting its counter-cultural impact.