A Question of Class

EUROPE and the United States are said to be different in that the latter is not a class society. The United States, we are told, was founded on the idea of equality. Yet egalitarianism had little or nothing to do with shaping early American society. Leading Americans assumed the desirability of elites, in and outside of government. In the words of the Federalist Papers, an elite of representatives should “refine and enlarge the public views.” Even Thomas Jefferson, who did have egalitarian leanings, believed in a “natural aristocracy.” What John Lukacs calls “the American gentleman” has played a central role in American society up to this century. Those today who claim that “equality” was always of the essence of America draw very selectively from the historical record.

Indeed, all societies are and must be class societies. Societies that are built in the name of equality tend to become the most rigidly stratified of all. The real question is not whether society will have classes, but what kind of classes they are to be.

CR

About the Author

Claes G. Ryn

Featured Tags

EUROPE and the United States are said to be different in that the latter is not a class society. The United States, we are told, was founded on the idea of equality. Yet egalitarianism had little or nothing to do with shaping early American society. Leading Americans assumed the desirability of elites, in and outside of government. In the words of the Federalist Papers, an elite of representatives should “refine and enlarge the public views.” Even Thomas Jefferson, who did have egalitarian leanings, believed in a “natural aristocracy.” What John Lukacs calls “the American gentleman” has played a central role in American society up to this century. Those today who claim that “equality” was always of the essence of America draw very selectively from the historical record.

Indeed, all societies are and must be class societies. Societies that are built in the name of equality tend to become the most rigidly stratified of all. The real question is not whether society will have classes, but what kind of classes they are to be.