How Easy Is It To Become Middle Class Now? -- Charles Hugh Smith

Charles Hugh SmithCharles Hugh Smith -- Of Two Minds

Sept. 27, 2024

If we want social/economic renewal, we have to make it straightforward for anyone willing to adopt the values and habits of "thrift, prudence, negotiation, and hard work" to climb the ladder to middle-class security.

How easy is it to climb the social mobility ladder into the middle class? It's a key question because the middle class is the ultimate source of social stability, innovation and democracy.

To answer this question, we must start with the rise of the middle class in Europe and the market economy that enabled that rise.

This article explores the specific cultural adaptations that set the stage for Europe's adoption of a market economy as the primary social-economic force, supplanting family and feudal ties.

When did Europe pull ahead? And why?

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