Contrary to popular belief, class is not a marker of the material wealth of a group of people, but rather a moral characteristic embodied by an individual. It is an indicator that one has a deep and intimate love for certain human values. Among these are honor, dignity, respect, community, honesty, wisdom, common sense, empathy, peace; the list goes on.

We must realize that capital wealth does not determine class, but actually caste. The socioeconomic groups in which we live are part of a human-constructed caste system that attempts to show the appearance of class the more capital one has. To that effect, many leaders of societies throughout history have linked peoples’ uncontrollable traits to their castes—such as sex, race, ability, intellect, and so on—in order to dictate which specific characteristics define people as appearing to have class or to not have class in a particular society.

Throughout history, it has been much easier for rich individuals to cultivate class from within themselves than it is for less fortunate people, because people with more wealth generally have more access to the finer things in life. But this does not mean that all rich people have class. Nor does it mean that all poor people have no class. Class is not contingent on wealth or social position; that would be caste. Rather, it depends on an individual’s core values and how they express these values by way of the choices they make in the real world.

  Many people on our planet have no class whatsoever. They may act entitled, disrespect authority, put unrealistic pressure on others to get their way, and only care about themselves (except when they see that they can use another person to further their own interests). Their entire concept of the world is surrounded by the self and they have no respect for other people, even when they act like it. Selfish ulterior motives drive their every thought and action, as they constantly push further to satisfy their every wish at the expense of everyone else.

  People without class do not work for society, as a good citizen should. Rather, they believe that society works for them and that they are entitled to superior treatment. Because many institutions in the United States have not only made it possible but even profitable for individuals to abandon the values that keep civilizations healthy, the lack of accountability and even encouragement of this behavior in our social norms reinforce to these people that what they are doing is working and that it is good for them. So, they continue to exploit these conditions as much as possible, regardless of how it may affect a society at large.

  The American caste system currently in place portrays the lower castes not only as people without class, but hardly as people at all—more like savages and animals who threaten the existence of class by their very nature. Yet because we have chosen to value our castes instead of exhibiting class in these modern times, some of the wealthiest people in the world have become the most primitive ones in their behaviors and thought patterns, while some of the people that truly have class are living paycheck to paycheck.

This is not meant to glorify poverty and demonize wealthiness. What may be true about the selfish rich person could absolutely be true about any poor person. And what may be true about the honorable poor person can be said about many rich people. Again, there is no inherent connection between wealth and class, only wealth and caste. Ultimately, it doesn’t take money to have class or to be proud to exhibit it. That is why class is so important for the health and preservation of our civilizations, because it reaches everyone regardless of caste.

It may be difficult to believe that some of the classiest people on our planet live in serious material poverty. Yet they may be the most respected individuals in their neighborhoods. They may find joy in being kind and taking care of others. They may work incredibly hard, respect the rule of law, not deceive people for social advantages, have sophisticated taste and know how to savor a luxury, give back to their communities, and nobody ever has a bad thing to say about them. This is the true definition of being high class. It is their moral character rather than their money that drives the ways in which they contribute to their societies. The caste system may severely limit these peoples’ access to capital, but that does not stop them from being upstanding and admirable citizens, friends, lovers, family members, and human beings.

  It is up to us, therefore, as multiple individuals taking part in societies, to change the caste system by prioritizing human life over material profit. It would be even better to prioritize the spiritual value of all existence over the materiality of things, but we don’t even need to go that far yet to make a lasting difference. If the caste systems in which we live are inevitably hierarchies, because no two people have the same amount of capital, then we need to separate class from caste and recognize class as a character trait instead of a material state of being. Only then can we successfully compete with each other without losing a sense of what keeps our civilizations sane and what forms the foundations of our shared humanity.

For the good of civilization, we must give up glorifying the appearance of class and begin to see true class as something inside an individual that exhibits the clarity of their moral character. If we consider class this way and value it above whether or not somebody has the best material things, then there is hope for real social progress towards considering every person as the individual they are, looking beyond labels and groups while still caring about the fact that they exist within these groups. With true class leading the way, we can redesign our policies and restore our communities by considering outstanding moral character in the ways we structure our institutions and interact with each other as human beings.

© 2024

The Modern Ideal