"Middle class" was originally a vague concept, referring to those groups whose political and economic status is in the middle reaches of society. The "intersexuality" of this class inevitably makes it the most suitable level for most people to exist, but the inherent fear of "mediocrity" makes everyone afraid to avoid this label. Thus, in China, the "middle class" has become synonymous with all troubles and disappointments. It means you need a house but you can't afford it. It means that you are facing the dilemma of unemployment at any time. It means that there is a ridiculous gap between high materialism and low income, and it also means that blx is in an anxious state.
Many people think that the current situation faced by the middle class is a special product of the primary stage of socialism, but in fact, no matter what social system, the middle class will encounter the same problems. There is an article in New Concept English called The Double Life of Alfred Bloggs, which describes the living conditions of the American middle class in the last century. The hero Alfred Bloggs is a cleaner in a company. Although his salary is twice that of ordinary employees, he is often ashamed of his professional status. In order to improve his social status, he disguised as a company employee and left home for work every day, and hid it from his wife for two years. Finally, he found a white-collar job and gave up half his salary.
The middle class seems to be a group of people who care most about their social status. Their education makes them clearly aware of the gap between themselves and the upper class, and at the same time urges them to draw a clear line with the poor class. Stylistically, paul fussell regards the middle class as the most mediocre and boring group. They are extremely concerned about other people's opinions, fearing and advocating power; They lack social foundation, and in order to keep their jobs, they have to "depersonalize" their existence in the workplace; They are eager for social recognition and like to achieve this goal by joining various communities and "buying in buy buy"; At the same time, insecurity makes them suffer from "habitual self-mockery" and act as their most loyal audience with ecstasy.
A white-collar employee who likes reading and tasting wine and a blue-collar executive who is keen on Taobao online games may have the same income, but obviously they don't belong to the same social class. The evaluation of social rank follows the principle of "low is not high", that is, the rise of individual evaluation index can not bring about the improvement of social status, but the decline of a certain evaluation index will lead to the overall decline of individual social status. This principle not only applies to the United States in the 1980s, but also can be used to describe China society today. To put it bluntly, we invented such special terms as "nouveau riche" and "relocated households" in order to implicitly humiliate those groups with rich economy but no style.
In contrast, the labels of "petty bourgeoisie" and "literary youth" appeared. In order to make up for the lack of economic status, these people focus on life taste and personal cultivation. They read Sartre and Wang Xiaobo, advocate a light diet and are keen on fitness, love traveling but seldom make friends, like being alone and hate parties ... Although practice can't make them leave the middle class in essence, it can create an illusion and make them mistakenly think that they are on the road to leaving the middle class.
However, whether in China or the United States, class solidification seems to have become an indisputable fact. Paul Fossel clearly pointed out with great style that we can never escape from the class we came from, even though we memorized his whole Guide to Social Grades. There is a view that a person's personality, habits and even the formation of values are deeply influenced by family. No matter how maverick you feel, you can't escape the potential control of family genes. And these elements are just the key indicators to determine a person's class status.
If we have to make a distinction, it seems easier for the class to fall than to rise, which is probably the main reason for the middle class panic. The poor class not only means economic difficulties, but also means the lack of freedom and self-esteem. Of course, this is just the illusion of the middle class overlooking the well. From the perspective of the whole society, the poor class can only be regarded as superficial losers at best. Because in the industrialized era of mass production, more and more evidence shows that the whole society has fallen into the process of sinking, showing a trend of poverty.
The most obvious thing is the vulgarization of the taste of mass consumers. Whether it is literary works or audio-visual media, the primary factor that determines whether it can be profitable is no longer product quality, but popularity and market potential. It seems that the more vulgar names such as "Zhi Li" and "to the sky kingdom" are, the more popular they are. In order to improve the acceptance of the audience and readers, the experienced old opera bones are replaced by "vases" that only lip-synch, and the traditional segmented reading is replaced by "sentence by sentence" fragmented reading. The most shocking thing is that this phenomenon of bad money driving out good money has not only become a means for the media to make profits, but also won the unanimous acquiescence of the audience.
Another obvious sign of poverty is the popular self-service in shopping centers and restaurants. When Zara, H &；; When a fast-moving fashion brand like M visited China with the sales model of "Outlets", the middle class boiled to an explosion. This not only means that we can get rid of the chatter of the shopping guide from now on, but also indicates that everyone can occupy a fitting room unscrupulously and try on all the favorite clothes in the store all day. According to paul fussell's view in Style, "the poor like this practice because it minimizes the risk of being humiliated in the process of buying and selling." In layman's terms, what the middle class wants is not only the right to "try not to buy", but also the right to "be free from white eyes and ridicule on this basis".
Therefore, we don't have to panic too much about social status. Even if we don't make any efforts, the worst result will only fall into the poor class with the tide of social development. This inevitably raises a question, if everyone can really be reduced to the poor class, will people feel more comfortable and happy? The answer seems to be yes, but socialism and capitalism always hold different views on whether the class system can be eliminated. William Ballet, a former socialist, once said when reviewing the social changes in the United States: "The' classless society' seems to be more and more like a utopian illusion, and socialist countries have developed their own hierarchical structure." In contrast, this hierarchical structure may be more obscure, and people's ambiguous attitude is the best evidence of this reality.
Although every citizen likes to hold high the banner of "freedom and equality" in front of the government, as independent individuals, we seem to enjoy the sense of difference brought by being different. As a result, a strange circle has emerged: when "awl face" becomes the main symbol of contemporary beauty, more and more people are bound to pursue "equal" treatment in appearance through plastic surgery. Although people's original intention is to improve their "appearance status" through plastic surgery, thus widening the gap with others, the actual result is that everyone becomes unremarkable.
From this point of view, although the trend of poverty is not conducive to the overall development of society, it is the most direct means to eliminate the individual gap. It seems that "* * * common prosperity" is no longer a "pie" painted by the proletariat. As long as the bottom people desperately drag their legs to their heads and realize the goal of "common prosperity", "prosperity" is just around the corner. After all, the upper class has a well to lean on, the lower class has thighs to pull, and the middle class is the most confused. In fact, in the era of poverty, when the public taste has fallen sharply, maintaining the status of the middle class is the most basic victory. At least we still have taste and feelings. We are willing to go to Guomao for afternoon tea and enjoy the snow and flowers in Japan. You know, those "former middle classes" who have become poor have long lost this elegance.