19 min
The Small Mindedness of the Middle Class The Aaron Renn Show
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- Society & Culture
The upper class and the intellectuals have always particularly loathed the middle class. The novels of Sinclair Lewis or the essays of H. L. Mencken exhibit this mindset. Conservatives, whose social base and principal character is middle class, have pushed back against this, celebrating middle class values. It's worth considering, however, whether there is something to the critique of the middle class. Middle class values too often revolve around small pleasures and respectability that fatally compromise their ability to politically or culturally engage with the world.
My article on Grand Rapids: https://www.city-journal.org/html/manufacturing-comeback-15833.html
The upper class and the intellectuals have always particularly loathed the middle class. The novels of Sinclair Lewis or the essays of H. L. Mencken exhibit this mindset. Conservatives, whose social base and principal character is middle class, have pushed back against this, celebrating middle class values. It's worth considering, however, whether there is something to the critique of the middle class. Middle class values too often revolve around small pleasures and respectability that fatally compromise their ability to politically or culturally engage with the world.
My article on Grand Rapids: https://www.city-journal.org/html/manufacturing-comeback-15833.html
19 min