Another American Question.

I’ve been taking a bit of an interest in the American Presidential election recently, and something struck me as a bit odd. It became clear that Democrat supporters identify themselves as ‘middle class,’ and the Democratic Party openly declares its representative affiliation using the same term. Two facts rapidly became apparent:

Firstly, the term ‘middle class’ is clearly used differently in America than it is in Britain. Here, the term evolved gradually over hundreds of years in line with a gradually developing social system. It has more in common with the European term ‘bourgeoisie,’ and even carries the concomitant hint of a pejorative connotation (except to those who like to think of themselves in such terms, of course, because then they can see themselves as being superior to the 'working class.') Maybe that’s why the term is hardly used these days, that and the fact that the modern social structure is too complex for simple delineations like upper, middle and lower classes.

Secondly, the fact sunk in – even though it’s been obvious all my life – that America has only two major political parties, and that raises a question.

The use of the term ‘middle’ must necessarily imply that there is also a recognised upper and lower class. I assume the upper class consists largely of the Dallas Brigade – the greedy fat cats who get rich by milking the world’s ordinary people through the corporate portal – and they’re the ones the Republicans side with. So which people constitute the lower class, and which political party represents their interests?

I think I might know the answer, but I’ll leave it unsaid for now.