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Originally Posted by Sauron the White
Over the years, it seems that every other British film, or films set in British life, have class as its central or one of its more important themes. Here in the States, class is nothing important. It is understood that you will rise or fall on the basis of yourself and your abilities.
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There were no classes in early human history. Indeed the classes were introduced by the advent of neolithic (and pastoral) cultures about 8000 years ago. From there (modern day Iraq) they spread to Egypt, Greece, Rome... and then to Europe - the same developement can be seen in India and China as well; places where agricultural societies replaced the old hunter-gatherer societies. So the class society has it's roots in the earliest civilizations - in good and bad.
American indians were hunter-gatherers.
When the Europeans started to flux to America during the 16th century, they were mainly outlaws and protestants who were persecuted for their faith. In the "promised land" they thought the doctrine that fit only too well to their own status would be fine: every man is the maker of his own fortune - and God will follow closely how it goes. Calvinism - one of the major faiths of those immigrating to the Americas - says that those who are rich are approved by God and those who are poor are abhorred by Him.
Looking at the available "empty land" (the original Americans eg. the indians were not counted as humans having a pledge to their country) to be taken and the individualistic thread of European thought that started to evolve from the 14th century onwards (William ockham & Duns Scotus and their voluntarism added with the ideas of reformation a few hundred years after) the idea of a free Man being able to make his fortunes became a myth sought after by many and felt real in the new continent open for all possibilities.
There were no classes then in the becoming U.S., just free individuals doing their best and earning what was fit to them. But in part that was self-deceiving already at that time as some people had very different angles of departure as the others, like the aristocracy of the old world settling to the U.S. beside these outcasts...
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Here in the States, class is nothing important. It is understood that you will rise or fall on the basis of yourself and your abilities.
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Ahh.
Class is nothing important? Look at the statistics of black males with no education and compare it to highly educated parent's white children... No classes? Or look at the so called "white trash"... Education, wealth of the family... class.
Rising and falling on your own abilities? Well Napoleon in France got this idea two hundred years ago. It's called meritocracy. He decided to get away with the old aristocracy in his army and appointed capable soldiers to his staff.
Everyone for his merits, right? But how do you gain merits from starting points where you have no chance for education or benevolence?
Yes, some people do it. The story of Obama sounds like a fairy tale proving the point. But then again millions of people never achieve it.
You know, anyone can win a national lottery. Yes, anyone. But only one does and the millions of others do not win but lose. The stories that tell you about a guy who was a poor kid and became a millionaire are true, but not possible for everyone. Anyone can be a millionaire, but everyone can't - and the ones who are, are that by luck (my opinion) - it's the same logic as why everyone can't be celebrities.
It's a question of rarity - according to which being fat was sexy during the Middle-ages and the early new age...
Only a few can be rich / different / celebrities / whatever...
And that pertains to the classs-question as well. We can't all be high-middle-class... If we are, being high middle-class will wane and become nauseating mediocrity and leaves us with a great nausea towards the very rich and in shame in relation to the really poor.
It's the law of the market economy that those who have will get more and those who have not will lose even the little they have. Jesus had insight to say this in the Bible already - even if I find it troubling that he seems to approve of that...
So you can say it's the individual and not the class but I'd say it's (sadly) the class still whether you acknowledge it or not.