I’m American but moved to the UK about 14 years ago. The elite over here are just different. They genuinely think that people are just livestock, and they’re the all knowing farmers that keep the farm running. Without the farmers the whole operation would fall apart. It’s a “you need us. If left to your own devices you’d destroy yourselves” kind of thing. Honestly, it’s not that far from “the children yern for the mines” kind of thing.
In the US, my impression still is that anyone could become that wealthy elite, and the elite know it. They think they’re at the top because they’re the best. But they’re scared someone better is already out there. What worries them is knowing what someone would do to bring them down - because they know they’d do the same.
It really is a different vibe between the two sides of the Atlantic. One side thinks they were chosen by God. The other side knows they’re just the most vicious monkey in the free for all.
To be fair that isn’t entirely wrong. I would in no way say I was raised in the “elites”, but my parents got into the one percent from the middle class. Even among the .1 %, there’s a significant minority of people who are more or less outsiders to their social class.
I think you got the “anyone can become elite” aspect down, but the fear aspect incorrect. Once you reach a certain level of wealth it’s incredibly hard to squander without extreme incompetence. The average rich person isn’t afraid of being replaced. At the same time there is a lot of elitism with the underlying premise of “I did this, why can’t you”.
Sidenote a ton of talk about social justice 100 percent comes from people who grew up in families where money worries were minimal. The reason there’s a disproportionate focus on identity politics is because that’s the only struggle a lot of these people have ever known. The reason why the minority outreach ends up falling flat is because most people involved in these initiatives are white people taking cues off the one minority they know, and that minority often is a decently odd duck themselves. The reason why so much of economic discussion devolves into “capitalism bad” is because these people don’t have so little firsthand knowledge that they can’t really describe nuance.
Of course there’s also Old Money in the US too. My parents went to Ivy leagues so they are friends with a few. They largely tend to project elitism via strict social standards that go beyond wealth. The problem is that an almost comical amount of them seem to burn themselves out in three generations. It kinda kills the mystique when the mark of a “true elite” is hiding your fuckup son at a summer home on cape cod that looks super regal, but lacks a lot of modern amenities and is sort of falling apart.
I’m American but moved to the UK about 14 years ago. The elite over here are just different. They genuinely think that people are just livestock, and they’re the all knowing farmers that keep the farm running. Without the farmers the whole operation would fall apart. It’s a “you need us. If left to your own devices you’d destroy yourselves” kind of thing. Honestly, it’s not that far from “the children yern for the mines” kind of thing.
In the US, my impression still is that anyone could become that wealthy elite, and the elite know it. They think they’re at the top because they’re the best. But they’re scared someone better is already out there. What worries them is knowing what someone would do to bring them down - because they know they’d do the same.
It really is a different vibe between the two sides of the Atlantic. One side thinks they were chosen by God. The other side knows they’re just the most vicious monkey in the free for all.
To be fair that isn’t entirely wrong. I would in no way say I was raised in the “elites”, but my parents got into the one percent from the middle class. Even among the .1 %, there’s a significant minority of people who are more or less outsiders to their social class.
I think you got the “anyone can become elite” aspect down, but the fear aspect incorrect. Once you reach a certain level of wealth it’s incredibly hard to squander without extreme incompetence. The average rich person isn’t afraid of being replaced. At the same time there is a lot of elitism with the underlying premise of “I did this, why can’t you”.
Sidenote a ton of talk about social justice 100 percent comes from people who grew up in families where money worries were minimal. The reason there’s a disproportionate focus on identity politics is because that’s the only struggle a lot of these people have ever known. The reason why the minority outreach ends up falling flat is because most people involved in these initiatives are white people taking cues off the one minority they know, and that minority often is a decently odd duck themselves. The reason why so much of economic discussion devolves into “capitalism bad” is because these people don’t have so little firsthand knowledge that they can’t really describe nuance.
Of course there’s also Old Money in the US too. My parents went to Ivy leagues so they are friends with a few. They largely tend to project elitism via strict social standards that go beyond wealth. The problem is that an almost comical amount of them seem to burn themselves out in three generations. It kinda kills the mystique when the mark of a “true elite” is hiding your fuckup son at a summer home on cape cod that looks super regal, but lacks a lot of modern amenities and is sort of falling apart.