Paul Fussell's Class Lesson Two

One. How does Fussell define “class”? 

Class is a status system based on money, social prestige, and political power. 

The class lines are “rigid” and suggest a caste system, Fussell argues. 

There are different ways Fussell would divide the classes: “rich and poor; employer and employed, landlord and tenant, bourgeois and proletariat.” 

There are gentlemen and there are cads, he writes. 

You are either couth or uncouth (uncivilized, uncultured). 

There are homeowners and renters. 

Fussell explores the possibility of 3 classes: upper, middle, lower. 

However, he resolves that there are in fact 9 in the United States of America:

 

1. Top out-of-sight
2. Upper
3. Upper middle
4. Middle
5. High proletarian
6. Mid-proletarian
7. Low proletarian
8. Destitute
9. Bottom out-of-sight

 

These nine address the social differences more than the economic ones. 

Two. For Fussell, being rich is no guarantee of being high class. Explain. 

Fussell shows more than implicit contempt for the rich when they engage in the following: 

People engage in vulgar displays of self-aggrandizement through their accumulation of things. 

People with no self-awareness conform to all the clichés of “having made it.” 

People rub your nose into their conspicuous consumption. 

People define themselves solely by their material wealth and possessions. Such people are called philistines, a very disparaging term. 

People rely on their wealth to define their “greatness” while they allow themselves to become humorless, mediocre, and complacent. 

Because of their wealth, some people feel entitled to control and bully others who are “less” than they are. 

Such people in Fussell’s view (and I agree) are petty, vulgar, narcissistic, small-souled, low-class philistines. 

Three. Why do we know so little of the top class, the out-of-sight rich? 

They are literally out-of-sight. They live in stealth. They don’t want to be seen since their privileges are best maintained without rousing the lower classes. 

Because we rarely see them, we are unaware of their codes, language, clothing, travel, and even spending habits. Yes, we can generalize that their spending habits are extravagant, but we don’t know how specifically extravagant they are. 

Four. What do the super rich and the super poor have in common? 

Both exist in invisible mode. We don’t see them.

Both receive money without working. The rich get rich from stock dividends, interest, and inheritance. The poor get handouts.

Since neither extreme works for their money, they are both rather unemployable. 

Five. What are the distinguishing characteristics of the middle class? 

They are inclined to pay each other compliments as a way of reinforcing middle-class standards, values, and aesthetics. 

They are the most insecure of all the classes because they constantly fear they may fail in their middle-class performance and go down the social class elevator. 

They are obsessed with manners, modesty, and etiquette so as to be perceived as “classy” and “good role models for the community.” For example, a domestic argument wouldn’t hit high decibels; in contrast, a working-class or proletarian argument can escalate into an ear-piercing maelstrom or ruckus.  

They are eager to conform to society’s scripts for what constitutes a “decent family” and “achieving the American Dream.”