It’s not true that there aren’t classes in the US, although that idea is commonly held in the US and even promoted about it. There are highly refined ideas of class, especially in older areas like the Northeast. I grew up in Massachusetts were there was not just the upper class, there were the nouveau riche or new money and old money. New money spent a lot of money, drove nice cars, bought designer clothes, and flaunted their wealth. Old money was *old money* and generally could trace itself back to the days of the Revolution and beyond (I think some of them thought the Revolution was a mistake). Old money often spoke with transatlantic accents and was unfailingly Episcopalian. Old money dressed in LL Bean (expensive, but you could always return it if it failed you and it had a reputation for quality), drove reliable cars (we knew an old money family that drove a Toyota station wagon), and was frugal. Old money would have jobs for a time, then retire early to write books or do something else quirky. Old money rarely travelled, unless it was to a vacation house in Kennebunkport. Old money did not flaunt its wealth, ever.
New money’’s goal was to say they had arrived. Old money’s goal was to ensure their wealth would survive (so many family’s wealth had not).
Many moustacheans are more old money than new, minus the transatlantic accent. Others are happy to rely on government handouts (such as getting subsidized for Obamacare) so I suppose they are another category altogether.
Paul Fussell’s book is great.
As for how we see ourselves … We inherited some wealth from my family, but not a lot. I managed to parlay it into enough to retire on (two years ago at 48 so not that young and in a dead end job in academia that paid the bill while our real estate business grew). I don’t really see myself in the nouveau riche or old money camp. We’ve had our days spending a lot of money (where we live, everyone spends a LOT of money, except poor people), but I also am an artist (not that crazy, runs in the family and there is even a museum that bears our family name…although my father barely made any money at all doing that) and writer so that’s something I’d rather do that than teaching millennials.
See also
https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/growth-strategies/2017/03/how-old-money-and-new-money-habits-differ.htmlBut just to confuse matters, I’ll upend this post by saying that things are very different today. Old money has dwindled, while new money has expanded and its ways of spending money have proliferated. The classes have also greatly changed. A working class immigrant family and a family with deep roots in this country that make the same amount of money have very little in common today. The former often strives to get into money, the latter often is accustomed to its plight in life and turns to escape measures such as opioids, ATVs they can’t afford, and watching TV all the time. Social mobility is much less common in this country than it used to be.
Take a look at the research Claritas has done on the segmentation of consumer demographics in this country, here.
https://claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments/#segDetails