[jordan8]

You misidentify the ruling class, a common mistake. It isn't the super rich but what James Burnham called the managerial class, the bureaucrats in the government, academia, and, above all, the medias. The self-described intellectual elite. Most are upper-middle class, though some may be filthy rich. Certainly a large part of their motivation is the never ending struggle to prove their moral and intellectual superiority over the middle class and to separate themselves from that dreaded swamp. It is more about status than wealth. Someone posted an essay by Tom Wolfe that has some interesting points on this subject.

[jpsb]

"You misidentify the ruling class, a common mistake"

I undersand your point and you are correct, but I prefer to call these people the servants of the ruling class. While not entirely true, it does tend to help my argument and there is a lot of truth in it too.

[jpl]

You misidentify the ruling class, a common mistake. It isn't the super rich but what James Burnham called the managerial class, the bureaucrats in the government, academia, and, above all, the medias. The self-described intellectual elite. Most are upper-middle class, though some may be filthy rich. Certainly a large part of their motivation is the never ending struggle to prove their moral and intellectual superiority over the middle class and to separate themselves from that dreaded swamp. It is more about status than wealth. Someone posted an essay by Tom Wolfe that has some interesting points on this subject.

And these are usually the people who think that mundane chores such as washing the dishes and mowing the lawn (tasks that all American kids were expected to do not that long ago) are beneath their children, so they hire an illegal immigrant to do them instead.