The Class System in America

The rich are different from you and me.
Yes. They have more money.

   Whether that conversation really occurred between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway is doubtful, but it does summarize some of the difficulty Americans have when talking about social levels.
   (Here's a link to some background on this mythical exchange, and how it came to be: http://www.quotecounterquote.com/2009/11/rich-are-different-famous-quote.html.)
   The reality is that, officially at least, there is no class system in America. The nation does not have an aristocracy, though some in the wealthiest 1 percent seem to believe they deserve special treatment and deference simply because they are wealthy.
   In the heat of political and social competition, the motto set in the Declaration of Independence that all are created equal is too often forgotten. Meanwhile, here are a few more mottoes to consider:
   Nobody in this country can walk all over you unless you lie down and let 'em.
   You may be richer, but that doesn't make you better.
   
   Many of the super-rich, however, subscribe to the motto used in the book "Animal Farm," by George Orwell: "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."
   In any case, whatever passes as a class system in America is based more on money than on birth. The concept of class originated in Europe, and was spelled out in France during the 18th Century, in categories called estates.
   There were four of them:
-- The aristocracy, consisting of those who were born to it.
-- The bourgeoisie, or the wealthy merchant and business class.
-- Farmers and laborers, or the working class, a term still used in America.
-- Journalists, who are still known as the Fourth Estate.

   So while theoretically there is no official class system in a democratic society, the reality is that many in the several levels of society act as if there is, and that perception is based largely on wealth. Whether that's as it should be remains an open question.