# How social classes divide In any [large group](groups-large.md), people divide out into [smaller groups](groups-small.md) from [distinctions](people-discrimination.md) between [values](values.md) they [believe](understanding-certainty.md). Even though they share certain values across their [group](groups-large.md), smaller and more specific values arise from differences in [status](image.md), [power](power.md), [purpose](jobs-specialization.md), and [appearance](image.md). No matter how much anyone tries to [equalize](politics-leftism.md) everyone's [power](power.md), it's uneven because people will [always](humanity-universals.md) have uneven [purposes](purpose.md) directed toward different things. Over time, they'll always subordinate themselves to others and form an informal hierarchy toward the [purpose](purpose.md) they want, with the leadership of that hierarchy arising through [appearing](image.md) to the majority to be the most competent at those purposes. In a [perfect society](politics-perfectsociety.md), this hierarchy would be motivated by [love](people-love.md) that promoted [good purposes](purpose.md) and valued effective [interaction](people-conversation.md) *beyond* the familiar [culture](people-culture.md) of the local group. But, throughout [history](stories-storytellers.md), people near the top have tended to abuse the hierarchy to exert even *more* power on their group. Further, any attempts to relate across groups are often met by hostility, typically from an [unforgiving](mind-feelings-happiness-stress.md) attitude over something that happened in the past. People find shared interest over relatively unimportant things. It protects them from cultural "outsiders" who could threaten their [power](power.md), but also operates as the beginning of [meaning](meaning.md) inside a group. We typically inherit our social class from our [family](people-family.md). While we didn't earn it, we can certainly change it with our [decisions](people-decisions.md). ## Divisions Social classes *always* arise through how much power each person sees compared to those around them, even when there's zero [discrimination](people-discrimination.md) about [race](image.md), [gender](gender.md), [attitude](success-1_why.md), or anything else. Most of this expresses itself through the availability of money, but can also arise through [military force](people-conflicts-war.md). APPLICATION: There's no reason to [feel](mind-feelings.md) [shame](mind-feelings-shame.md) for being in a particular social class, despite any [insistence to the contrary](politics-leftism.md). The only shame is if we're [immoral](morality.md) or [unloving](people-love.md) toward others we encounter. Depending on the definition of each class and [economic freedoms](economics.md) of the group, there's a "soft" [statistical](imagination.md) range of three major classes: 1. Underclass - 40-94% 2. Middle class - 5-50% 3. Upper class - usually <1%, but can sometimes be up to 10-15% Historically, the middle class has been a comparatively small support system for the middle class, but [modern society](https://gainedin.site/here/) has shifted the middle class to represent a large, near-majority of society through endless [specializations](jobs-specialization.md). APPLICATION: The effort connected to the social classes depends heavily on how much [wealth](power-types.md) a [society](groups-large.md) has. In poor societies, the people who work hardest are the lower class because they need every bit they have to survive, while the wealthy will splurge on luxuries. In wealthy societies, the people who work hardest are the middle class because they must exploit every advantage they can to outpace others' wealth, while the poor will [buy dumb things](money-1_why.md) that fritter away any chance at acquiring wealth. ### Underclass There's always a class with very little [power](power.md) to do much. They could be poor, [young](maturity.md), unimportant, or simply new to the group. As they encounter [power](power.md), they have very little experience or [wisdom](understanding.md) in managing it. Thus, many of them will quickly waste it instead of stockpiling it. Usually, the power they have is proportionally close to or less than the power they need merely to keep surviving. Generally, in a [large group](groups-large.md), the lower class is too preoccupied with surviving to concern themselves with the other groups. However, they do [imagine](imagination.md) it's not particularly [fair](morality-justice.md) that they don't have as much power as the other groups. Parents of the lower class tend to raise their children to not ask questions that could get them in trouble, as well as teach them how to avoid suffering the worst of the [rules](people-rules.md) that would absolutely decimate them. Thus, barring a [virtuous](morality.md) belief against it or the unlikely person willing to [take on risks to change the situation](socialrisk.md), they have a vague [desire](purpose.md) for equality and for the rest of the [group](groups-large.md) to meet their needs. ### Middle class While the middle class uses their [power](power.md) as they create it (similar to the underclass), they have the means to stockpile some of it. Thus, they can survive a particularly difficult season but wouldn't be able to survive indefinitely. The markers of the middle class are very clear compared to the underclass: - They're often married, and often while young. - They have children, and typically 3 or more of them. - They [own a home](homes-buysell.md). Most of the middle class concerns itself with climbing into the upper class or maintaining their way of life (e.g., suburban living), and many of them stockpile their [power](power-types.md) to those [desired ends](purpose.md). While very few will attain the upper class, many will try. Parents of the middle class tend to raise their children to out-succeed them and potentially climb to the upper class if at all possible (often for self-interested reasons), especially if that parent had risen from a lower social status themselves. Except for [love](people-love.md) towards other people, they're not that concerned with the lower class, and many of them are too busy conforming to the [cultural requirements](people-culture.md) for climbing the social ladder to care about too much else. The middle class has always been a large-scale stabilizer for [society at large](groups-large.md). The upper class is so wealthy that most of their effort is toward [power games](power-types.md), and the underclass is poor enough that their concern for day-to-day activities prevents their ability to [plan for the future](imagination.md). The middle class has enough [forms of power](power-types.md) available that they can make [decisions](people-decisions.md) that steer society at large. APPLICATION: The underclass requires an [attainable means to survive](hardship-poverty.md). But, beyond that, provoking the poor to be motivated to become independently middle-class is *far* more effective at fixing their mindset (and builds *much* more [meaning](meaning.md)) than giving more things to the poor beyond the basics. APPLICATION: Our greatest expression of ourselves comes through being middle-class. It gives us enough wealth to discover what we want to do (with the added bonus of financial constraints that incentivize [creativity](mind-creativity.md)), but not enough to corrupt us beyond moral redemption. With very little wealth, we never move beyond survival, and with too much wealth we start becoming antisocial. ### Upper class At any time, the upper class only uses a small fraction of the [power](power.md) they possess to meet their needs. The rest is managed, conserved, and magnified by middle-class people they hire to do their work. The upper class has four major concerns: 1. They worry about losing their [influence](influence.md) within their [small group](groups-small.md). 2. They're concerned with losing power from any other upper-class people who are trying to [compete](people-conflicts-war.md) for the position. 3. They must maintain a public [image](image.md) of [virtue](morality.md) to prevent the lower and middle classes from growing too dissatisfied with the situation. 4. They must ally with the rest of the upper class to prevent the other classes from taking away their privileges. The upper class *never* has to worry about what they require. Often, they'll spend absurd amounts of money to [show](image.md) their [power](power.md). This lifestyle is an intentional [insurance](money-insurance.md) policy to [scare](mind-feelings-fear.md) anyone from considering [attacking](people-conflicts.md) them. While they may appear to live a life of comfort and sophistication, they're in a constant [battle](people-conflicts.md) with other people to keep their power. They work hard to [tweak their image](image-distortion.md), so their titles and forms of power maintenance constantly change (e.g., aristocracy, executive class, political beltway). Parents of the upper class have the most varied approach of the three. Many of them train their children to honor the [culture](people-culture.md) and avoid shaming their [public image](image.md), but some will raise their children to inherit their [power](power.md), while others will try to prevent competition against their offspring. Morality is weakest among the upper class, since they're more able to draw from [money](power-types.md) or [influence](influence.md) to avoid or mitigate [direct consequences](results.md) for what they do. For this reason, the upper class isn't too concerned with the lower and middle class until there's a [coup or revolution](people-conflicts-war.md). ## Migrating Because of how people use power in each class, migrating back-and-forth across them often requires [changes](people-changes.md) to [habits](habits.md). The culture propagates itself [across generations](maturity.md) as well: most parents of lower classes teach their children to *not* ask questions (since they might get in trouble), and most parents of higher classes give them an unnaturally privileged [education](education.md). Beyond the standard cultural adaptations like specific [language](language.md) and [rituals](people-culture.md), there are a few others. Generally, higher classes have an attitude problem when they're demoted, and lower classes have a self-respect problem when promoted. The way the person [imagines](imagination.md) their social status typically expresses itself in how people react to it. Moving out of the lower class requires *tons* of discipline and restraint, as well as some luck and [connections](people-friends.md) with others. The person must make [wise](understanding.md) [decisions](people-decisions.md) that give long-term benefits, then discover an [opportunity](power.md) they can seize with what they've been preparing. When people move upwards in a social class, they must trust more [power](power.md) to others who will more reliably [specialize](jobs-specialization.md) in handling things like their [assets](money-accounting.md), [legal situation](legal-safety.md), and [insurance](money-insurance.md). Unlike the [cleverness](mind-creativity.md) required to subsist with little in a lower class, higher class people must be proficient with their [social skills](people-3_boundaries.md) and make more [friends](people-friends.md). Because of the difficulty of transitioning upward in social classes, most people don't succeed at it. They often hit a "glass ceiling" at the top of their class. Sometimes, if they're willing to take [social risks](socialrisk.md) that backfire tremendously, they'll go *down* a social class! Most people moving *down* a social class are permanent outsiders because they don't have the [intuition](mind-feelings.md) and [creativity](mind-creativity.md) the lower classes had to develop to survive. Unless someone is a [cross-cultural](people-culture.md) [missionary](religion.md) or raised in a different culture than their [family](people-family.md), almost nobody *ever* [voluntarily](purpose.md) goes down a social class, but people always seem to want to climb that ladder. APPLICATION: The healthiest society is where individuals in the classes constantly cycle up and down. This is a collective social product of many people living [the good life](goodlife.md) at once, mixed with enough wealthy people facing the logical [consequences](results.md) of their bad [decisions](people-decisions.md). ## Conflicts There is an endless conflict over power between the classes: - The upper class wants to keep their power. - The middle class wants to become the upper class, and will often be ready to make [dramatic social risks](socialrisk.md) to that end. - The underclass is concerned with survival, but would like a chance to become at least the middle class, but often without the [required risks](socialrisk.md). APPLICATION: There will always be poor people, and there will always be rich people. Those groups don't really think about each other until it becomes [political](politics-leftism.md), or they have something to gain from them. While it may [feel](mind-feelings.md) [unfair](morality-justice.md), the [cultural distinctions](people-culture.md) between poor and wealthy create the best possible [social solutions](purpose.md). Someone in the upper class will frequently try to overthrow someone else in the upper class. To make this happen, they will engage in a [large-scale conflict](people-conflicts-war.md). To recruit people for their purposes, upper-class people employ various methods: - They'll make [agreements](people-contracts.md) with other upper-class people to form an [alliance](people-conflicts-war.md). - They'll promise the middle class will become the upper class. - They'll promise that the lower class will have a more [fair](morality-justice.md) system, typically with a [leftist](politics-leftism.md) angle involved. APPLICATION: A *gigantic* component of how fast and effectively civilization develops comes through how well the upper class treats the underclass. In a society where the underclass is all [specialized](jobs-spcialization.md) with a low-entry role (e.g., rice farming), the upper class is more likely to treat them with some degree of respect, which means their [ideas](values.md) (and, by association, [social risks](socialrisk.md)) have a higher chance of [equal](people-culture.md) treatment. Generally, they'll also appeal to [specific political values](politics-conservativeliberal.md) that are most [fashionable](trends.md) among the public. At the end of the conflict, though, nothing [really](reality.md) changes except that a few upper-class people have changed roles. Often, if the new leadership was more [evil](morality-evil.md), everyone loses some of their [freedoms](morality-justice.md). APPLICATION: We only make decisions as part of a social class as far as we [identify](identity.md) with our situation. We can frequently [appear](image.md) as a different class, and there is sometimes [wisdom](understanding.md) in appearing to be a lower class than we are. APPLICATION: The social expectations and use of things vary heavily by each class: - Underclass is preoccupied with handling [hardships](hardship.md) and emphasizing [relationships with others](people-friends.md): - [Money](money-1_why.md) is to be spent (living paycheck-to-paycheck). - The best [personality](personality.md) is within a [sense of humor](humor.md) (High Openness + Extraversion). - The social emphasis is on inclusion (to stick together through harship). - The [food](cooking.md) is focused on more quantity. - [Time](datetime.md) is about living in the moment. - [Education](education.md) is an abstract and largely [useless](purpose.md) thing. - [Language](language.md) is a casual codex of information. - [Family structure](people-family.md) is matriarchal (from [mothers](gender.md) being forced to work *and* take care of children). - Destiny is defined by fate and things that can't happen. - The social standards prioritize honesty, and sometimes respect. - Middle class is about capitalizing on [success](success-1_why.md) and achievement: - Money is to be managed (living on prior paychecks). - The best personality is ambitious (High Conscientiousness). - The social emphasis is on self-sufficiency. - The food is focused on quality (for [health reasons](body-4_health.md)) - Time is about focusing on the future. - Education is focused on success and money. - Language is a formal mechanism for [negotiation](people-conflicts-negotiation.md). - Family structure is patriarchal (from fathers earning more money). - Destiny is defined by [decisions](people-decisions.md) we make. - The social standards prioritize polite behavior, and sometimes honesty. - Wealthy is about maintaining and growing [power of all forms](power-types.md): - Money is to be [invested](money-investing.md). - The best personality is through [connections](people-friends.md) (to make the largest social network). - The social emphasis is on exclusion (to protect wealth). - The food is focused on presentation (for [reputation](image.md) reasons). - Time is about preserving [tradition](habits.md). - Education is focused on maintaining connections. - Language is a formal mechanism for networking with others. - Family structure is from whichever parent has the money. - Destiny is defined by [expectations](imagination.md) of what can happen. - The social standards prioritize both [values](values.md) and polite behavior.