I disagree with the author’s description of class simply because the disparity between the wealth controlled by the upper 1% and everyone else is comparable only on orders of magnitude. Whether you call them technocrats, petite bourgeoisie, the “new” class, or anything else, they still have to sing for their suppers. A millionaire, even a small multi-millionaire, has luxury, but his grandchildren will need jobs.
In reality, there are only two classes. If you’ve ever had to work, if you’ve ever had to borrow for education, if you’ve ever had to care about money because there would be a consequence for not having enough, then you’re in the lower class. And with you is everyone else–everybody: the day-laborer immigrant, the blue collar professional, the mom and pop local businesswoman with single digit employees, your veterinarian, your dentist, your lawyer, the freelance software developer at the coffee shop, the university professor, and probably many or, depending on where you live, most or all of your local politicians. They’re not the enemy, because they all have something fundamentally in common that the 1% don’t: They work because they must.
That’s the thing the author gets right; it’s part of what makes me so frustrated whenever I see well-meaning folks succumbing to the crab bucket propaganda that wants to pit us against each other instead of the oligarchs who are literally selling the future.
No war but the class war. The sooner everybody realizes we’re fighting it, the sooner we can gain ground.
I’ve always drawn the dividing line between people who have to work and people who choose to work. The latter can spend every waking moment of their lives ensuring that the former never, ever become one of them. And it sure looks they are succeeding. If the survival of mankind hinges on rich people willingly giving up ANY of their wealth at all, then mankind will perish. To a rich person, giving up wealth is no different than someone suggesting to you that they need to cut your nose, ears and limbs off to save humanity. You’d say no to that as well. In fact, you’d do anything to avoid this scenario. And while you’re slaving away for a minimum wage that should be $25, and quibble over trans rights, the rich laugh into their fists, watching as you still don’t seem to have realised that the bargaining power would be in your hands if you could just unite for a fucking second.
