This article about burgeoning class resentment in the United States – gee, thanks, Democratic Party; my ancestors came to this country to get away from that garbage – is pretty good, actually. But it does have one passage that makes my head hurt:
This terminology may be confusing: the “middle class” in the US means the skilled working, or lower middle, class. University-educated professionals are described as the “upper middle class” which, in this country, tends to mean a notch or two below titled aristocracy.
As it happens, my wife definitely (engineer) and I possibly (some grad school, library science) qualify as ‘upper middle class’ by this particular British usage. If this is true, and our equivalent life and lifestyle over there is firmly in their second highest social class, then God save the United Kingdom.
Moe Lane
*Mind you, Francis Fulford’s Blog – the guy’s family apparently has been landed gentry for 600 years, and it shows** – is pretty good.
**At least, if you’re reasonably familiar with British cultural history.
It actually probably is equivalent, Moe. I haven’t spent much time in the UK, but I’ve stayed with a couple in Munich for Oktoberfest a couple of times, and the standard of living over there is much, much lower than the equivalent in the US. And they’re considered pretty well off.
In general, I’d say that most of Europe has about the standard of living of Oklahoma.