Future of the Middle Class ...
from a risk assessment by the UK Defense Ministry's Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre
(snip)"Stop being a compliant consumer. Face the ugly truth. Don’t get fooled by the stock market. Accept the need for the mistreated middle class to become the revolutionary class. The British military establishment's most prestigious think tank sees what too few over-consuming Americans are willing to anticipate. Unjustified and mounting economic inequality is planting the seeds for global economic conflict.
Here is what the new report from the UK Defense Ministry's Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre warned might happen by 2035. "The middle classes could become a revolutionary class. The growing gap between themselves and a small number of highly visible super-rich individuals might fuel disillusion with meritocracy, while the growing urban under-classes are likely to pose an increasing threat...Faced by these twin challenges, the world's middle-classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest."
Consider the wisdom of economist John Maynard Keynes: The rich are tolerable only so long as their gains appear to bear some relation to roughly what they have contributed to society. Think of it as proportional and justified economic success. This can be tolerated by poor and middle class people if they believe the economic system is fair and properly rewards those who work harder or have better capabilities. But truly obscene economic rewards angers people. When most prosperity and wealth is unfairly channeled to relatively few Upper Class people, it is only a matter of time until fuming, resentful people in the Lower Class decide enough is enough and revolt. Perhaps violently, if the political system remains controlled by the Upper Class. "(snip)
(snip)"What the future holds for the victimized middle class will not only depend on the uncontrolled greed of the wealthy Upper Class and its control of the political system. It will also be linked to the coming tsunami of global warming impacts on climate, sea level, water supplies, crops and disease. There will be devastating impacts on hundreds of millions and perhaps billions of people worldwide. Lower Class people will be sacrificed – left to suffer the consequences. The rich will retreat to their walled, protected and well stocked havens.
Add to this scenario the inevitable collapse of the entire economic system. At some point it will not be controllable as it is now by those in banking and finance, able to manipulate it to sustain economic injustice. Eventually the inherent fundamental absurdities of the global economic system will prove unsustainable. The wealthy Upper Class will have siphoned off most of the world’s wealth and hoarded resources to maintain a luxury lifestyle.
What the future holds: Lower Class economic slaves fighting to survive in a medieval, ugly and bleak world that so many science fiction stories have portrayed. In that hell their best option will be to rise up and revolt against the rich and powerful Upper Class. With such a prospect, global class war on a sick planet, prevention is a priority. For us, that requires paying much more attention now to economic inequality, economic injustice, economic apartheid and the many attacks on the middle class. If not, we get Economic Armageddon along with environmental disaster."(snip)
Re: Future of the Middle Class ...
Interesting. In May Playboy, Forum: For every dollar earned by the bottom 90% between 1950 & 1970, those in the top 0.01 % earned an additional $162.00 Btween 1990 & 2002 that same top 0.01% earned an extra $18,000.00 for every dollar earned by the bottom 10%. America has now by far the worst wealth gap of any advanced economy..In 1997 the average white collar worker earned just 6 cents more an hour, adjusted for inflation, than in 1973. America's middle & lower classes also have to work harder. Everything from lunch-break time to vacation time is down sharply since early '80's, to the point at which Americans work far longer, with far less leisure time, than any other people in the 1st world. But unlike their counterparts in any other advanced economy, Americans don't have guranteed health care.
Re: Future of the Middle Class ...
It's because American's don't care about learning how their government works, what they can do to benefit themselves, and don't bother voting.
If the top 10% vote one way, they need less than 25% of the remaining people to vote their way and remain in power. Usually more than that do vote their way, with stars in their eyes of someday benefiting from that choice.
Re: Future of the Middle Class ...
^^^ there's the magic formula ... with typically low US election participation rates, all that's needed for a majority win these days is a coalition of the very rich and the very poor (which is exactly what happened last November). The very rich profit from inflation and tax loopholes, and the very poor 'think' they will receive more gov't benefits and a minimum wage increase.