About that obsession with economic classes

“What I’m suggesting might seem like a subtle or even trivial shift in how we look at the world. But that sort of shift can be huge in terms of how it changes behavior. Class warfare strikes me as a dangerous worldview. It encourages a win-lose approach to government policy in order to pursue the elusive unicorn of “fairness.” A more productive way to view the world is in terms of net creators and net consumers of wealth, at least so long as society makes it possible for any net consumer to become a net creator by going to school, training for a job, or investing in start-ups. For the middle class, it might simply mean spending less than they earn. I think this approach gets you to a healthy economy faster than a class war.”

Scott Adams provides some thoughts about Wealth Creators versus Wealth Consumers 11/26/2012. Hidden in his idea is that many wealth creators are not necessarily in the dollars game. He mentions philanthropists but misses the classes of others who generate wealth but not for their personal monetary gain. These classes include many volunteers and religious leaders, for example. That would get into some thought about why it is that the most capitalist societies tend to not only have very many money producers but also the most vibrant nonprofit social welfare efforts.

This also gets into the problem that those who set themselves apart by their efforts also tend to be impugned. The sneering at the nerds in schools is just one example. The rich, the over-achievers, the people who work hard to climb the ladder of success in their chosen field are often seen as ‘showing up’ those who don’t want to put in that effort.

The change in point of view would be back towards where the hard working, self made, successful were considered role models. These people were on parade at the Republican convention this year. The modern view, however, seems to use some other criteria for their models.