Arsène Hodali

web novels, poetry, prose.

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Middle Class: Forever Unhappy?

Thought Provoking: dancePROOF- Middle Class happy unhappy

Here’s troubling news:

“In February 2009, the Economist magazine announced that over half the world’s population now belongs to the middle class.”

Why do I find this to be troubling and not a sign of progression?

Well, first and foremost I’m happy about about the fact that the world is improving considerably and that there continues to be fewer and fewer “developing” countries in the world. I am happy that more and more people don’t have to starve and die for senseless reasons. I’m happy that more and more people have achieved the so called “good life”.

However, have we taken a look at what we have given up in order to attain “middle class-hood”? Have we taken the time to realize that more and more people are working 12+ hour plus days in order to keep their “middle class” status? Have we taken the time to realize that once we attain what we consider a good/reasonable livelihood that we will most likely have lost all our friends in the meantime? Have we taken the time to realize that this “middle class” status was, in fact, defined by the “upper class”? Have we taken the time to realize that by letting these so called “upper class-men” set the standard for what it means to have a good life, we have let them control/lead us into pursuing their lively hood even though they 1- don’t consider us good enough to attain it, and 2- don’t particularly like being “upper class” themselves? Have we taken the time to consider that by forever chasing this so called “upper class” we end up being eternally unhappy with the things we do have? Have we taken the time to realize that we can abolish this divider (because that’s what it is) and that by doing so we greatly diminish the amount of people who don’t consider themselves happy? Have we taken the time to consider that these titles basically go against everything equality stands for?

I guess with all these questions I really have one MAIN question constantly running through my mind:

Have we taken the time to realize that by abolishing such dividing terms as lower class, middle class, and upper class we can make people happy with the things they DO have, and go one step closer to making the world a better place?

10 Comments

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  1. sean says:
    12.17.09 at 6:48 pm · Reply

    This makes me think of the book “Walden” by Henry D. Thorough. Henry, a harvard grad, abondons everything he has except his mind and some tools and moves to the middle of a forrest in order to abandon the class, rich-poor, stress induced life. He said that so many men spend their whole lives chasing material goods and never stop to appreciate what they do possess. A very great nonfiction book that changed my life. The material world is unnatural and is why humans live such a stressed out lives. Animals just live for the essentials (food, water, warmth, sometimes shelter) and they live chill lives.

    • Arsene Hodali says:
      12.18.09 at 1:41 am · Reply

      I loved that book.

      Glad you agree with me; good to know I’m not the only person who might think like this.

  2. sean says:
    12.17.09 at 11:48 pm · Reply

    This makes me think of the book “Walden” by Henry D. Thorough. Henry, a harvard grad, abondons everything he has except his mind and some tools and moves to the middle of a forrest in order to abandon the class, rich-poor, stress induced life. He said that so many men spend their whole lives chasing material goods and never stop to appreciate what they do possess. A very great nonfiction book that changed my life. The material world is unnatural and is why humans live such a stressed out lives. Animals just live for the essentials (food, water, warmth, sometimes shelter) and they live chill lives.

    • Arsene Hodali says: (Author)
      12.18.09 at 6:41 am · Reply

      I loved that book.

      Glad you agree with me; good to know I’m not the only person who might think like this.

  3. em says:
    12.04.09 at 7:28 pm · Reply

    And i do realize about the real ”lower class” but I was reflecting on the idea that in the approaching future, the ”middle class” I thought u were referring to, will become lower. This is beginning to happen already -> reflecting on your initial idea of the world now belonging to the middle class without defining middle class. But anyhoo, this might just be a crazy theory, but it is looking more and more positice.

    agreed, knowledge is power. this is why i haven’t bought a new new pair of shoes for a total of five yrs. Much to my parents dismay. Unfortunately in sauga it is required you were shoes outside, this is annoying. I normally work without shoes, so I am getting bad blisters now due to 2 months without shoes. This is all leading to the point that, not only is knowledge power, but also camping is power in a sense. Once you go two months without, shoes, constant electronics, a ”normal” bed, heating, showers, and hot home cooked meals suddenly you fall in love with warm water all over again. The best part is, those two months, are what I look forward to everyyr. So go do some crazy shit. Go camping in canada, the weather is fucking retarded.

  4. em says:
    12.05.09 at 12:28 am · Reply

    And i do realize about the real ”lower class” but I was reflecting on the idea that in the approaching future, the ”middle class” I thought u were referring to, will become lower. This is beginning to happen already -> reflecting on your initial idea of the world now belonging to the middle class without defining middle class. But anyhoo, this might just be a crazy theory, but it is looking more and more positice.

    agreed, knowledge is power. this is why i haven’t bought a new new pair of shoes for a total of five yrs. Much to my parents dismay. Unfortunately in sauga it is required you were shoes outside, this is annoying. I normally work without shoes, so I am getting bad blisters now due to 2 months without shoes. This is all leading to the point that, not only is knowledge power, but also camping is power in a sense. Once you go two months without, shoes, constant electronics, a ”normal” bed, heating, showers, and hot home cooked meals suddenly you fall in love with warm water all over again. The best part is, those two months, are what I look forward to everyyr. So go do some crazy shit. Go camping in canada, the weather is fucking retarded.

  5. em says:
    12.03.09 at 10:06 pm · Reply

    by not defining middle class you make this confusing.

    First most ”middle class” people buy things needlessly, spending money on things they dont need rather than what is necessary. They are more often then not ”lower class”.

    You have met my confusion. Really there is no ”middle class” anymore, just people in huge amounts of dept (the ”middle class” and soon to be ”lower class”) and then those who are more rich then they know what to do with. They are the ”crazy fucking rich class”. There in terms of monetary value there is only upper and lower. Unfortunately we have been raised to believe in the importance of consuming….

    But anyhoo, long story short I think you have been mislead, the world is massively fucked and we are all slowly residing into what is currently considered ”lower class” and being lead to believe this is normal ”middle class”. Basically 1984 to the maximum. This would otherwise be a good thing, except we continue to consume and this leads us into this state of ”lower”. 12+ hour jobs only stop us from rebelling or realizing this. Unfortunately people will still die senselessly, but now it will be at the control of the ”upper class”. So you better conform now.

    • Arsene Hodali says:
      12.04.09 at 7:04 pm · Reply

      middle class
      noun [treated as sing. or pl. ]
      the social group between the upper and working classes, including professional and business workers and their families.

      Me defining middle class would not help the situation. All that people define middle class as is “the people between upper and lower class”, which just leaves a whole LOT of people confused. But for the sake of a definition I self-defined middle class as

      middle class
      noun [treated as sing. or pl. ]
      the social group between the upper (crazy fucking rich) and lower classes (crazy fucking poor class), including professional and business workers and their families, who continuously work long needless hours away from their family, friends, and loved ones in order to buy even more needless items (that have been pushed upon them as actually needs by the upper class) resulting in their continuous unhappiness.

      Thought that defined middle class better than the “dictionary” version.

      And the whole “middle class people buy needless things they don’t need” was actually one of my points. I was talking about how these needless things have been told/sold to them as needs by the people labeled upper class.

      And you astound me by calling “middle class” the true “lower class” when you do realize that they are not in the majority of people who are constantly looking for food on the streets, who are saving their last $1 to somehow buy an entire months of food for their brothers and sisters because their parents either left them or died, and when they are not turning to drugs in order to not feel the pain of hunger, loneliness, and hate. I would consider THESE people the true lower class (if we must label them), and if I would actually have the audacity to group myself with these people even though I am so much more well off than them, then I don’t think I deserve to call myself caring or humane.

      The whole time I was constantly saying the people who I do label middle class are the only people aside from the upper class who can afford to buy needless things (because lower class only buys survival items), yet don’t have the financial backing that upper class-men do. Thus, they go in debt, which thus leads to their eternal unhappiness and constant workaholic hours.

      The whole 1984 thing was mentioned when I was talking about how the upper class-men made the middle class-men believe that they need to buy all these items which in fact they don’t need. The whole “make them work continuously so that they don’t have the time to think about the troubling situation they are in” was what I was touching on. But basically, I was saying that yes, we have been mislead by those with power in order to keep us away from power per-say rings true in my post (hopefully), and that fortunately we do have the power to change this system.

      And the whole people will die senselessly if they continue to do what they normally do is true. Unless, the middle class takes time to realize that the things which they consider needs are in fact needless. Unless, the middle class takes the time to realize that true happiness will not be measured by the attainment of these material possessions, but in fact be measured by how they have enjoyed the short time they have with the few people that matter to them most. WHICH, I was trying to convey in the post. If I didn’t, i hope that now I do.

      But I’m rambling… I guess I’ll stop.

  6. em says:
    12.04.09 at 3:06 am · Reply

    by not defining middle class you make this confusing.

    First most ”middle class” people buy things needlessly, spending money on things they dont need rather than what is necessary. They are more often then not ”lower class”.

    You have met my confusion. Really there is no ”middle class” anymore, just people in huge amounts of dept (the ”middle class” and soon to be ”lower class”) and then those who are more rich then they know what to do with. They are the ”crazy fucking rich class”. There in terms of monetary value there is only upper and lower. Unfortunately we have been raised to believe in the importance of consuming….

    But anyhoo, long story short I think you have been mislead, the world is massively fucked and we are all slowly residing into what is currently considered ”lower class” and being lead to believe this is normal ”middle class”. Basically 1984 to the maximum. This would otherwise be a good thing, except we continue to consume and this leads us into this state of ”lower”. 12+ hour jobs only stop us from rebelling or realizing this. Unfortunately people will still die senselessly, but now it will be at the control of the ”upper class”. So you better conform now.

    • Arsene Hodali says: (Author)
      12.05.09 at 12:04 am · Reply

      middle class
      noun [treated as sing. or pl. ]
      the social group between the upper and working classes, including professional and business workers and their families.

      Me defining middle class would not help the situation. All that people define middle class as is “the people between upper and lower class”, which just leaves a whole LOT of people confused. But for the sake of a definition I self-defined middle class as

      middle class
      noun [treated as sing. or pl. ]
      the social group between the upper (crazy fucking rich) and lower classes (crazy fucking poor class), including professional and business workers and their families, who continuously work long needless hours away from their family, friends, and loved ones in order to buy even more needless items (that have been pushed upon them as actually needs by the upper class) resulting in their continuous unhappiness.

      Thought that defined middle class better than the “dictionary” version.

      And the whole “middle class people buy needless things they don’t need” was actually one of my points. I was talking about how these needless things have been told/sold to them as needs by the people labeled upper class.

      And you astound me by calling “middle class” the true “lower class” when you do realize that they are not in the majority of people who are constantly looking for food on the streets, who are saving their last $1 to somehow buy an entire months of food for their brothers and sisters because their parents either left them or died, and when they are not turning to drugs in order to not feel the pain of hunger, loneliness, and hate. I would consider THESE people the true lower class (if we must label them), and if I would actually have the audacity to group myself with these people even though I am so much more well off than them, then I don’t think I deserve to call myself caring or humane.

      The whole time I was constantly saying the people who I do label middle class are the only people aside from the upper class who can afford to buy needless things (because lower class only buys survival items), yet don’t have the financial backing that upper class-men do. Thus, they go in debt, which thus leads to their eternal unhappiness and constant workaholic hours.

      The whole 1984 thing was mentioned when I was talking about how the upper class-men made the middle class-men believe that they need to buy all these items which in fact they don’t need. The whole “make them work continuously so that they don’t have the time to think about the troubling situation they are in” was what I was touching on. But basically, I was saying that yes, we have been mislead by those with power in order to keep us away from power per-say rings true in my post (hopefully), and that fortunately we do have the power to change this system.

      And the whole people will die senselessly if they continue to do what they normally do is true. Unless, the middle class takes time to realize that the things which they consider needs are in fact needless. Unless, the middle class takes the time to realize that true happiness will not be measured by the attainment of these material possessions, but in fact be measured by how they have enjoyed the short time they have with the few people that matter to them most. WHICH, I was trying to convey in the post. If I didn’t, i hope that now I do.

      But I’m rambling… I guess I’ll stop.

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