The historian Ben Friedman has observed that the “central question” in US history is not “the poverty of the most disadvantaged” or “the success of the most privileged”; it is “the economic well-being of the broad majority” of the population. The same is true on a global level, as billions of aspiring consumers rise up to join the middle class.
历史学家本·弗里德曼曾指出美国历史的“核心问题”既不是“最弱势群体的贫困”也不是“最强势群体的成就”；而是“最广大民众的经济福祉”。这一规律在全球范围内同样适用，因为数十亿满怀希望的消费者正在加入中产阶层。