Hostility or envious of the rich: the middle class conundrum with emerging freedom (Fromm, 95)
The middle class dislikes the poor but they hate the rich. The rich are everything they have fallen short of. Everything they cannot have. Modernity provided the outlet to finally reach the pinnacle. Freedom to attain the riches. The American dream in sight but failing to prevail. Envy sprouting from the incapability. Having to work harder and yet unable to make it. Freedom has exposed a major liability. Here is the offer. Good luck.
Middle class-men were at a clear disadvantage from the rich. They had to start from scratch. The rich were given everything. Generational wealth as well as foundational land to work upon. Resources not privy to the newly freed man. Impassioned and inspired, the freed man searches for excellence. He works extra hard but is unable to compete. Without the proper tools he falls short quickly. He ventures to the the rich to borrow resources. A free man now enslaved to the rich. A debt he cannot easily pay. He has his own field but can only work his field with the rich’s tools. Thus a portion of the produce is allocated to the rich. The rich didn’t work the land but he provided the tools to be able to work it. Owning the means to produce allots him a substantial profit. Where would the free man be without his tools. The free man is part of a larger social group who can only receive tools from the rich who possess the monopoly. Naive and new to the game he is submerged in a quasi-slave mentality.
He works and works. There is no break and no foundation to stand on. If he cannot attain his share he will lose his land. His land must be profitable to be maintained by him. A disastrous pickle. His hard work may not pay off. His fated failure may be sooner than he thinks. It is work or forever be under the thumb of the rich. Enslaved to his land or enslaved to a master. Both leave him without any control. Deprived of the sweet freedom he once aspired for. The hope for salvation was a vile satanic dream to make his life more miserable. Responsible for his own land has made him quite neurotic. He has no one to fall back on. No welfare to compensate his lost. He is alone figuring the world for himself. He comes from nothing and may return to nothing. It is all on his head. The yoke bears heavy on his aching shoulders. The difficult winter months only strengthen the yoke burdening his shoulders further. Part of him wishes to return to slavery. Return to the automatic compensation. Freedom is painful and jarringly isolating.
His social circle has collapsed. Yet there is no turning back. There is no return to the salvaged slave life. He is now a struggling free man. He works and works to keep his land afloat. At times he loses his land to the rich. Paying a debt to win it back at some point. Maybe a surplus will bring in the necessary profit to win back his lost reward. The promise of hope in the capital inspires him to find a new role. Farming is much, maybe the industrial advances will be a better fit. Maybe a new trade is in order. The land has been in the hands for generations but every good thing must come to an end. Making his way to the big city is foreign but a start on the way to a new path. Poor and unsheltered he seeks employment. He picks up a newspaper from the ground and finds the available jobs. He makes his way to an interview astoundingly is accepted. With left over money he has from his hometown, he finds a small apartment to rent. His freedom hangs in the balance. The hope is to work hard enough to climb the ladder. Freedom is at the top of the hierarchy. He must pay fees but it is all in hopes of finally achieving his own space.
As he succeeds, technological advancements make commuting easier. The city has been his home for a decades but the architecture out in suburbia is tempting. A house of his own then commute on the transit to his office. He can finally have something of his own. No more debt to the landlord, he is purchasing his own home. He has moved up in the company but is still an employee, yet there is time till he can be the VP right under the CEO’s son. Life in the suburbs is more flexible. Luscious green grass covers his backyard. Two stories with a playroom for a basement. He has qualified. He matches his house with the magazines. The American dream a mini-Rockefeller. The magazines do not lie. Look at those happy faces and styled attire. At his coronation to VP he exchanges his polo for a dazzled suit. Invited to the CEO’s house he marvels at its expanse. Wowed at the extravagance. Despite cleaning up he realises he is still below the bar. He is outmatched by his superior. Arduous labour and he is yet to meet the CEO’s level of prestige and projection.
With a seat at the table he attempts to meet their standard. He cannot. Their hats a fortune, their watches too expensive. He is neatly dressed but feels underdressed. He feels poor amongst his peers. He has attained so much and yet feels inferior materialistically. He is always one step behind. He has moved into a beautiful house, bought a nice car and wears designer clothing. It pales in comparison. Turning over to the president, he mirrors the CEO. Dressed in the CEO’s hand-me-downs passed the torch to keep the machine running. Feeling left out of the surplus chain, he invests his money for a larger return. He plans on upscaling to fit in. On one trip he realises the difference. He sat business while his boss sat first class. The first trip they took he could only afford economy while his boss leisured in business. Now he was in business class but his boss was in first class. He was just playing catch up. There was a clear financial divide. He was able to acquire the new thing by the time the next new thing came out. He was behind but trying to reach the pinnacle of wealth. For him, he was rising a little at a time but couldn’t seem to outmatch his boss as long as his boss was in the chair. His highest run was VP as an outsider.
A role model to his children. They grew up financially stable. Able to acquire much of which they sought. Yet there was always a limit. Money was not unloading by the second. It was paced excess. His children didn’t experience the poverty and the struggles he endured during his adolescence but they acted spoiled. Desiring that which others had. His boss’ children received top-notch toys while his children waited until they dropped in price. They were secondhand after the rich ignored them. His children complained about the rich kids but at times more about the other suburban kids. Other parents went out of their way to buy expensive gifts. Demonstrating to their children that they could afford the price. Pride clouded their financial capabilities. Desiring to look well off when in reality was one step away from reduced poverty. Investments acted as an emergency fund but they were insufficient to compensate the collateral had disaster stricken. Accepting the eternity of the middle class does not mean richness was not strived for in other areas. Articulating rich jargon was a ploy in many regards. Whether it be schooling or simply dressing. The children of the middle class try to manage themselves as financially stable but they do not know the truth.
Envy forms in his mind. He has worked so hard but he is a part of a company that could whither. Entrepreneurial routes have caught his eye but he is old and set in his ways. Stubborn and naive he persists in his ways. His children are ignorant to the detrimental truth. He will never reach the pinnacle of wealth. He has strived but has fallen short. Succeeded but there is a higher rung. Capitalism offers that possibility. It is plausible and yet he does not make it. A good life but one that can topple in minutes. A scary reality. His children live in their hopeful positivity. All is swell at home. His freedom has enabled him to climb but has also resisted his ability to claim the title he so deeply seeks. Despite his loneliness, he pushed forth. A lion ruthless and impassioned. A proud member of the middle class with aspirations for more. Tied to a social class with lacking social ties. He lives by business. Raised a family and provides for their future. It is a dog eat dog world and he will ensure his family is satiated.
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