The 9.9 Percent Is the New American Aristocracy
This was a very long article so it doesn&#x27;t surprise me that most people are commenting on the 9.9% figure while missing the authors point. I&#x27;ve seen a similar point made several times recently and it goes something like this:<p>The &quot;true elites&quot; have constructed a social and economic system that syphons off the majority of wealth. The &quot;wannabe elites&quot; at the top of the remaining pile are actually complicit servants of the elite (who cares if it is 9%, 11% or whatever). These wannabes enjoy their privileges but realize their position is precarious. Their anxiety at losing this position makes them more eager servants to the elites and they become highly protective of their own positions. Maintaining wannabe elite status is more important than effecting societal change and it consumes all of their available resources and time.<p>The people at the bottom of the system are always upset and spend most of their time fighting amongst themselves and scheming on how to get into the privileged wannabe group. They spend all of their resources and time just trying to survive. There is a constant threat that if this rabble becomes angry enough then they will violently revolt. The elites like to remind the wannabes that when the pitchforks come out then it will be for the wannabes, those soft&#x2F;weak knowledge workers who are unable to fly to their second home in Europe. So, it is really in the wannabes best interest to quell the dissent.<p>In this narrative, the alliance between the insanely rich and the dirt poor makes sense. The real elites let the educated wannabes know they have their finger on the button. They do so in subtle think pieces in the kind of magazines the rabble won&#x27;t read. Don&#x27;t forget, your comfortable lifestyle is predicated on serving the elites. If individually you rebel then you will lose your privileges. If en-masse you rebel then there will be a violent revolt directed at you. Good luck finding a way out of all of this is what the author leaves us with.<p>The wannabes are the dupes in a con-game. We think we are in on the con and yet we also realize that if things go bad then we&#x27;ll be the ones left holding the bag. We&#x27;re being taught to accept an inherit complicity as a means to convince us to keep going along with it. You already knew everything there was to know before you read this article.