OK. So, ever since the French Revolution it’s been World War This and World War That. Because? Because politics must have an enemy and with the modern state where the government can extract molto bucks for war-fighting, and indeed, with the benefit of central banking, commit the entire wealth and income of every nation to war, the wars must necessarily scale to the increased ability to pay.
Let’s also note that while the educated class hates their enemies — fascists, greedy bankers, deplorables — and the lower class is encouraged in its resentments, the middle class is different.
The western middle class pretty well accepts the world as it is, and tries to make a life as best it can within the guard rails defined by the social rules and the culture that prevails. The middle class takes the world as it finds it.
Notice that this is different from the educated class. The educated class, not later than the French Revolution, sees its meaning in life in making the world a better place with politics and activism and justice. But politics always involves an enemy.
Notice that this is different from the lower class, that waits around for orders and resents anything that goes wrong. We was robbed: by the boss, by the credit card company, by the ethnic group across town, by the white racists: that is lower-class reality.
Notice what happens when the educated class decides to have a World War, whether it’s World War Slavery in the US, or World War Kaiser or World War Hitler. Young middle-class men show up and volunteer, whether the war cry is “On to Richmond,” or “Hang the Kaiser” or “See you in Berlin.” Middle-class women get told that their sons and husbands are heroes and they believe it. Lower-class men? How about the New York draft riots in the 1860s? The Shanty Irish didn’t see why they should fight the nation’s wars. Educated-class men? They weren’t going to fight in Vietnam in the 1960s: "Hell no, we won't go", "Make love, not war."
My point is that the middle class is the most social class. It sees its role as contributing to society: getting a decent education and a good job, being a good spouse and parent, pitching in when it’s time to volunteer. The middle-class person doesn’t expect to see their name up in lights, but also works to build a good reputation for honesty and reliability.
Yet all we hear about are the glorious political movements of the educated class, and the unjust sufferings of the lower class. And yet the world as it is today is the consequence of middle-class anybodies: the ones that follow the rules, go to work, and obey the laws. And then there are the standouts: the Carnegies, Rockefellers, Wright brothers, Fords, Jobses that transformed the world with nothing but a good idea and a lot of determination.
And yet when the ruling class calls for another World War, the middle class shows up.
But suppose the educated class called for a war and the middle class did a Bartleby and said it prefer not to.
Imagine the pejoratives that would fly from the mouths of our educated geniuses if that ever happened! Racist-sexist-homophobe would be nothing compared to the pithy pejoratives that our leaders would invent to shame the middle class into volunteering for the World War.
And right now the middle class doesn’t seem to be volunteering for World War Climate.
I like to imagine a society that would honor the middle class for its social culture and willingness to do its part. But I do not think that our liberal friends will ever do that. Right now they are busy burning the place down because they cannot face the fact that their rule has Made Things Worse.
And that’s a shame. Because the modern middle class is a remarkable moment in the story of Homo Sapiens the social animal.