Vanishing
Middle Class
Maybe shrinking middle
class is better.
Let's go with the transforming
middle class.
Most of the middle class
are sinking, others will morph into the netcohort.
The point is, a whole
bunch of people have lost their middle class status.
A lot more people are worried about losing it.
Most of the studies on
this phenomena have been finger pointing; folks with
a political agenda making up obfuscating reasons the
other guys are at fault. The followers of political
party lyrics are singing the songs they have been handed.
Very few are thinking.
To start our thoughts we will take a look at the transformation
from a historic view. The rising middle class is usually
associated with the industrial age.
Small businessman, and
workers at skilled jobs in larger businesses, reaped
rewards commensurate with their contributions. As they
raised themselves above the level of their brethren,
the economic level of everyone they were associated
with was also raised.
Industrial society as
a whole became better off, the emerging middle class
was much better off. But there was a group that was
hurting and vanishing, the guilds.
As the industrial age
advanced, the middle class expanded. Unskilled labor,
by politics, extortion, and the compound growth of wages,
secured many highly paid positions with access to middle
class incomes.
The world has for a few
centuries had huge populations controlled by strong
central governments. In most of those nations all but
the politically influential became working poor.
The middle class of more
open societies prospered by lack of innovative competition
from the more socialist societies.
"The inherent
vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.
The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing
of misery." - Winston Churchill
The transformation of
the protected middle class is now in effect. Workers
in China and other formerly highly managed economies
are now starting to compete, and the people want a piece
of the pie.
Just as when the guilds
faded into history, the industrial age middle class
is shrinking. People now want to be treated as individuals
- not as part of a fungible mass known as citizens.
Small businessmen will
remain, a constant of open societies from all ages.
Those with skills, knowledge, adaptability, integrity,
and who apply networking relationships will form the
Netcohort that replaces the current middle and upper
middle classes - and above.
Those netcentric knowledge
workers that are replacing the old middle class have
far more options than the middle class had before. This
is similar to how the industrial age middle class had
more options than the guildsman.
The Netcohort Society
is real.
We will define ourselves.
return to top of page
